Pearson GCSE Spanish (2024) - Vocabulary and Grammar Updates - Extract from Specification Issue 1

Sep 28, 2026

Extract from Specification Issue 1 for Pearson GCSE Spanish (2024) defines the approved vocabulary scope and how it is assessed across Foundation and Higher tiers. It states that the list covers 1200 words for both tiers plus 500 additional Higher-tier words, including linguistic and conceptual selection criteria. The document explains tier enrichment via synonyms, the role of cultural/geographical words and short phrases, and expectations for frequent-word coverage. It also details exam use, permissible supplementary vocabulary, cognates handling, and categorization by grammatical function with English alphabetical organization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages127

Reading Time5 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

Appendix 1: Vocabulary

Scope of the vocabulary list (Foundation and Higher)

Higher-tier selection criteria

Cultural/geographical words and short phrases

Coverage expectations (frequent words)

Treatment of unknown vocabulary and cognates

Speaking and writing assessment approach

Vocabulary organization by grammatical function

Spelling variations and accent optionality

Support materials and tools

Pearson GCSE Spanish (2024) Vocabulary and Grammar Updates – Extract from Specification Issue 1 Appendix 1: Vocabulary The following vocabulary list is the full vocabulary content that will be assessed by this qualification, in both receptive and productive tasks. We have created a vocabulary list in collaboration with teachers and students which allows them to engage with subjects that they have told us are meaningful and interesting, as well as providing a strong linguistic and cultural foundation. The vocabulary list includes many of the basic and familiar words which you will already cover across key stage 3, as well as adding new and up-to-date content to reflect the diversity of our students and their diverse range of interests such as social equality, gaming, social media and the environment. The vocabulary list comprises 1200 words to be used at both Foundation and Higher tier and an additional 500 words to be used at Higher tier only. Our considerations when selecting the 500 words for Higher tier included: • linguistic complexity (e.g. decepcionante, comportamiento) • conceptual complexity (e.g. proporcionar, concepto) • the grammatical requirements of the course at each tier (e.g. acabar (de) is required for Higher tier-only grammatical constructions) • enrichment of Higher tier students' vocabulary, by providing synonyms or nearsynonyms of words in the Foundation tier list. Where we have done this, we have placed at Foundation tier the word most likely to be familiar to students from previous study (e.g. Foundation barato vs Higher económico) or that is more similar toa common English term (e.g. Foundation lengua vs Higher idioma) . There are also 20 additional cultural or geographical words and 30 short phrases. At least 85% of the vocabulary, at each tier, is expected to be taken from the top 2000 most frequent words according to the corpus published by Routledge 1. 1 Davies, M., & Davies, K. (2018) . A frequency dictionary of Spanish: Core vocabulary for learners (2nd ed.) . London: Routledge In our reading assessments, any vocabulary that is not listed below will be glossed and this will be no more than 2% of words in any text. Additionally, up to 2% of words in any text can be cognates 1 which are not included in the vocabulary list below. Speaking and writing assessments In our speaking and writing assessments, we have designed the tasks so that they elicit vocabulary from the list below and full marks can be gained if students respond with vocabulary taken exclusively from the vocabulary listed. However, teachers and students should not feel limited to this vocabulary list and if they wish to supplement the list with additional vocabulary during teaching and learning, the use of any additional vocabulary in productive tasks will be equally rewarded. 1 Cognates are words in which the substantial majority of letters are the same in English and the assessed language; they have the same meaning in both languages and any difference in spelling should not impede understanding for students entered for GCSE MFL (French, German, Spanish) qualifications. Examples of cognates in Spanish include ‘bádminton’, ’emoción’and ‘biología’. We have presented the vocabulary list in the way that will be the most useful and supportive to teachers to access the content and organise it for teaching needs. We also provide the list in an interactive, editable format on our website. We begin with a section on the basic vocabulary that you may expect to have already covered with students during KS3, if they have studied the language prior to this GCSE qualification. This section includes: • greetings • numbers • days of the week • months of the year • seasons • times of the day • colours. We then list the words we have selected for our allowance of: • cultural and geographical words and • short phrases. The remainder of our vocabulary is then organised by grammatical functi

FAQs

What vocabulary coverage is included for Foundation and Higher tiers?

The list includes 1200 words used at both Foundation and Higher tier, plus an additional 500 words used at Higher tier only.

How were the additional 500 Higher-tier words selected?

Selection considered linguistic and conceptual complexity, tier-specific grammatical requirements, and enrichment through synonyms or near-synonyms. Where appropriate, the Foundation word is chosen to be more likely familiar to students.

How are unknown vocabulary items and cognates handled in reading assessments?

Any vocabulary not listed is glossed, and this should be no more than 2% of words in any text. Up to 2% of words in any text can be cognates not included in the vocabulary list below.

Sep 28, 2026

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