Getting a handle on the literature element of an advanced Spanish course can be tricky for both teacher and student. A number of students emerge from their GCSE English course convinced that they’re ‘no good at literature’, or that literature is ‘hard (especially the poems…)’. Likewise, a number of teachers have completed their Spanish degrees without enough exposure to literary study to feel confident about it.
Four members of the Bulletin editorial team have taught and examined literature for Spanish A level, Pre-U and IB, and are eager to help. Via the links below they offer insights drawn from their experience. Most of their suggestions would apply to any literature course at this level, not just to Spanish.
Our editors do not purport to be handing down a ‘one true way’ to approach literature. Instead, we see these ideas as an invitation to dialogue, and would be pleased to receive further suggestions from teachers or students, past or present, who have developed successful approaches of their own. Buena lectura.
Literature and film at A level: what’s on offer? – Trish Henderson
A look at the exam boards’ most widely offered texts and films. (800 words)
Practical tips for teaching A-level literature – Helen Laurenson
Fifteen bullet points to check off when teaching a literature class. (550 words)
ATQ! Answering The (different types of) Question – Fran Compán & Robin Wallis
No matter how well you know the text, you’re doomed if you don’t ATQ. (450 words)
Lierature essays: getting to why – Robin Wallis
It’s not just what the author does, it’s also why s/he does it. (350 words)
Bulletin of Advanced Spanish 