GCSE Spanish Vocabulary: Free Time, Festivals and Celebrities

The reformed GCSE in Spanish (first exams in 2026) draws every question from a defined vocabulary list: about 1,200 word families at Foundation tier and a further 500 at Higher tier. The second theme, Popular culture, is where many of these words come together: what you do in your free time, how festivals and celebrations are marked in Spanish-speaking countries, and what you think of celebrities and influencers. This material covers the three topics of that theme as they are organised, for example, in AQA's specification; other boards use different topic titles for much the same vocabulary.

The quiz presents each word inside a short Spanish sentence, the way the reading and listening papers do: riding a bike on Sundays, a team winning a match, a dance competition, presents at Christmas, a parade through the town, eating twelve grapes on New Year's Eve, following a singer online, an actress's success. Several items are built around false friends that regularly cost marks: costumbre is a custom, not a costume; éxito is success, not an exit; concurso is a competition, not a course. The last question asks you to pick the Spanish word for singer from a group of related words.

The twenty-eight flashcards give the Spanish, with its article, and the English: free-time activities, sport and competitions, cinema, theatre and series, festivals and celebrations, Christmas and New Year's Eve, parades, fireworks and presents, fame, singers and actors, stars, influencers and followers, success and wealth. Words that are only on the Higher-tier list are marked.

The written sheet practises the words actively: recall in both directions, a translation each way, a gap-fill, and three short pieces of writing in Spanish, about your free time, a festival you enjoy and your opinion of celebrities. The model answers show a strong version and list the points a marker looks for, including time frames and opinions with reasons.

Use the flashcards to learn the words both ways, the quiz to check you recognise them in context, and the written sheet to use them in the kind of answer the photo card conversation and the writing paper expect.

• Recognise and use the GCSE Spanish vocabulary for free-time activities and sport
• Talk about customs, festivals and celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries
• Use the vocabulary of celebrity culture: fame, singers, actors, influencers, followers
• Avoid the false friends costumbre, éxito and concurso
• Give opinions on popular culture with reasons in Spanish

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE modern foreign languages subject content (2022) and on the Theme 2 topics and Spanish vocabulary list in AQA's GCSE Spanish specification (8692, version 1.0, Appendix 2), used here as an example. The sentences are original.