How the dictation works
The dictation is the last section of the listening paper on both boards. You hear short sentences and write them in Spanish, so it tests whether you can spell what you hear using the sound-symbol correspondences below. A few words aren't on the vocabulary list: you can still spell them from their sounds.
AQA (8692)
Paper 1 (Listening), Section B
You hear each sentence three times: first in full, then in short sections, then in full again.
| Tier | Sentences | Length | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 4 | At least 20 words in total | 8Meaning 4 marks, spelling and grammar 4 marks |
| Higher | 5 | At least 30 words in total | 10Meaning 5 marks, spelling and grammar 5 marks |
How it's marked
- Meaning (AO1) and transcription with grammatical accuracy (AO3) get separate marks, each judged across the whole dictation
- Meaning: would a Spanish speaker understand what you wrote? "Mi hermano jugar al baloncesto" still gets the meaning across
- A few minor slips (a wrong accent, or a spelling that keeps the sound, such as ermano for hermano) still allow the top spelling mark; many of them lower it
- A blank counts as a very inaccurate attempt, so always write something
- Zero for meaning means zero for spelling
- Two minutes at the end of the recording to check your work
Two words from outside the vocabulary list at both tiers. Sentence counts as in the board's sample papers.
Pearson Edexcel (1SP1)
Paper 2 (Listening), Section B
You hear each sentence three times, and the number of each sentence is announced.
| Tier | Sentences | Length | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 6first 3: fill the gaps | 4 or 5 words each | 10One mark for every 2 correctly spelt words (20 in the sample paper) |
| Higher | 6first 2: fill the gaps | 6 or 7 words each | 10One mark for every 3 correctly spelt words (30 in the sample paper) |
How it's marked
- Every word spelt in a way that shows you know the sound-symbol correspondences counts, and the total gives the mark out of 10
- Sound-alike spellings still count: b or v (vastante for bastante), ll or y (yevar for llevar), ge/je and gi/ji (jente for gente)
- Spellings that change the sound do not count: gitarra for guitarra, dansa for danza, huntas for juntas, pequeno for pequeño, pero for perro
- Higher only: a missing or extra accent does not count (movil, tiempó); two words in each Higher dictation test stress
- Two minutes at the end to check your answers
The sample papers include a few words from outside the vocabulary list. Sentence counts as in the board's sample papers.
The sounds you need to know
The DfE subject content lists the sound-symbol correspondences that both boards test: the letters whose sound differs from English. Here they are grouped by sound. Listen to each example, learn the pairs that sound alike or nearly alike, then try the mini dictation.
The five vowels
Each vowel has one short, clear sound, and keeps it even when it isn't stressed or ends the word.
- naranjaorange
- estethis
- milthousand
- pocoa little
- unoone
- ideaidea
Pairs to tell apart
- casa housecosa thing
- piso flatpeso weight
English blurs unstressed vowels ("about", "sofa"). Spanish never does, so write every vowel you hear.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
ll (and y)
ll sounds like the y in "yes". In most of Spain y sounds the same, so learn which words take ll.
- llamarto call
- callestreet
- llegarto arrive
- lluviarain
- playabeach
- mayoMay
A pair to tell apart
One l or two changes the sound and the word.
- pollo chickenpolo polo shirt
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
ch
ch sounds like the ch in "church", never like the k in "chorus".
- lechemilk
- ochoeight
- chicoboy
- muchoa lot
- cochecar
- escucharto listen
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
c and z
c before a, o or u sounds like k; c before e or i, and every z, sound like the th in "think" in most of Spain.
- caroexpensive
- cocinakitchen
- cuandowhen
- cercanear
- graciasthank you
- zonaarea
- manzanaapple
A pair to tell apart
- casa housecaza hunting
cu before another vowel sounds like "kw" (cuando, cuerpo). z turns into c before e or i: lápiz, lápices; vez, veces.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
que, qui, gue, gui
In que, qui, gue and gui the u is silent: it only keeps the c or g hard before e or i.
- porquebecause
- quesocheese
- equipoteam
- tranquilocalm
- hamburguesaburger
- guitarraguitar
- alguiensomeone
Hear "keh" or "kee"? Write que or qui. Hear a hard g before e or i? Write gue or gui. Without the u, ge and gi have the j sound.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
g and j
g before a, o or u is hard, as in "got"; g before e or i, and every j, are a breathy sound like the ch in Scottish "loch".
- ganarto win
- amigofriend
- gustarto please
- gentepeople
- colegioschool
- ojoeye
- naranjaorange
Pairs to tell apart
- higo fighijo son
- gota dropjota the letter j
ge and je (gi and ji) sound the same, so learn the spelling: gente, gimnasio, but jefe, jirafa.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
ñ
ñ sounds like the ny in "canyon". Without its tilde it is a different letter, and often a different word.
- añoyear
- mañanatomorrow
- EspañaSpain
- pequeñosmall
- cumpleañosbirthday
- señorMr, sir
Pairs to tell apart
- una one, auña nail
- cana grey haircaña cane, (fishing) rod
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
b and v
b and v make the same sound in Spanish, so learn which letter each word takes.
- verdegreen
- verdadtruth
- vivirto live
- bienwell
- buenogood
- beberto drink
- abuelograndfather
Same sound, different spellings
These sound exactly the same: only the spelling and the meaning differ.
- tuvo he hadtubo tube
- votar to votebotar to bounce
Both sound like a b at the start of a word or after m or n, and softer (lips nearly touching) between vowels.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
r and rr
One r between vowels or at the end of a word is a quick tap; rr, r at the start of a word and r after n, l or s are a strong roll.
- perobut
- horahour
- hablarto speak
- perrodog
- cerrarto close
- rojored
- sonreírto smile
Pairs to tell apart
- pero butperro dog
- caro expensivecarro cart
You only ever write rr between two vowels. At the start of a word the roll is spelt with one r: rojo, río.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
Silent h
h is never pronounced: hora sounds like "ora". (ch is a different sound.)
- hacerto do, to make
- hospitalhospital
- hoytoday
- hermanobrother
- ahoranow
- heladoice cream
Same sound, different spellings
These sound exactly the same: only the spelling and the meaning differ.
- hola helloola wave
- hecho done, madeecho I throw
You can't hear an h, so learn the words that have one. Many forms of haber and hacer start with h: hay, he, ha, hago, hice.
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
Stress and written accents
HigherWords ending in a vowel, n or s stress the second-to-last syllable; other words stress the last; a written accent marks the exceptions.
Reading aloud
- Stress any vowel with a written accent
- Otherwise stress the last syllable, except in words ending in a vowel, n or s, which stress the second-to-last syllable
Writing: put an accent on
- Words stressed on the last syllable that end in a vowel, n or s (así, corazón, inglés)
- Words stressed on the second-to-last syllable that end in a consonant other than n or s (fácil, árbol)
- Every word stressed on the third-to-last syllable (número, película)
- problemaproblem
- examenexam
- ciudadcity
- inglésEnglish
- corazónheart
- fácileasy
- númeronumber
Pairs to tell apart
Same letters, different stress, different word.
- papa the Pope (el papa)papá dad
- esta thisestá is
- termino I finishterminó he finished
Mini dictation
Play each word and write what you hear.
Dictation practice
Choose your board and tier. Each paper plays like the exam: press start, and every sentence plays three times with pauses for writing. Type as you listen, then check your answers. Each paper is marked its board's way: AQA gives separate marks for meaning and for spelling, Pearson marks spelling only (sound-alike spellings such as b for v still count). Each spelling slip links to the sound that caused it.
AQA Foundation: practice paper 1
You will now hear 4 short sentences. Write down in Spanish exactly what you hear. You hear each sentence three times: first in full, then in short sections, then in full again.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
- Sentence 2
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
AQA Foundation: practice paper 2
You will now hear 4 short sentences. Write down in Spanish exactly what you hear. You hear each sentence three times: first in full, then in short sections, then in full again.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
- Sentence 2
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
AQA Higher: practice paper 1
You will now hear 5 short sentences. Write down in Spanish exactly what you hear. You hear each sentence three times: first in full, then in short sections, then in full again.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
- Sentence 2
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
AQA Higher: practice paper 2
You will now hear 5 short sentences. Write down in Spanish exactly what you hear. You hear each sentence three times: first in full, then in short sections, then in full again.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
- Sentence 2
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
Pearson Edexcel Foundation: practice paper 1
You are going to hear someone talking about summer in their village. Sentences 1 to 3: write the missing words, one word in each gap. Sentences 4 to 6: write the whole sentence. You hear each sentence three times.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
Mi es muy .
- Sentence 2
Llevo una muy .
- Sentence 3
Como de .
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
- Sentence 6
Pearson Edexcel Foundation: practice paper 2
You are going to hear someone talking about school. Sentences 1 to 3: write the missing words, one word in each gap. Sentences 4 to 6: write the whole sentence. You hear each sentence three times.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
Mi favorita es .
- Sentence 2
Pinto una .
- Sentence 3
Después de como .
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
- Sentence 6
Pearson Edexcel Higher: practice paper 1
You are going to hear someone talking about the environment. Sentences 1 and 2: write the missing words, one word in each gap. Sentences 3 to 6: write the whole sentence. You hear each sentence three times.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
En mi hay .
- Sentence 2
Muchas y comen .
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
- Sentence 6
Pearson Edexcel Higher: practice paper 2
You are going to hear someone talking about a holiday. Sentences 1 and 2: write the missing words, one word in each gap. Sentences 3 to 6: write the whole sentence. You hear each sentence three times.
Press start when you're ready.
- Sentence 1
Nos en un .
- Sentence 2
En el comimos .
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 4
- Sentence 5
- Sentence 6
Practice papers written for this site in each board's format, using words from the GCSE vocabulary lists. Words marked * in the answers are outside the lists, as the real dictations include a few.
Sources
Exam details checked 18 October 2026 against the official documents. Board papers can change, so check your teacher's information for your exam year.
- DfE subject content for GCSE Spanish (word-list rules, sound-symbol correspondences, grammar)DfE subject content for GCSE French, German and Spanish (2025), Annex C
- AQA GCSE Spanish (8692) specificationVersion 1.3, September 2025
- AQA GCSE Spanish support and resources (specimen papers, vocabulary)
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE Spanish (1SP1) qualification page
- Pearson Edexcel specification (PDF)Issue 2, May 2025
- Pearson Edexcel sample assessment materials (PDF)Issue 3, August 2025
Dictation facts: AQA 8692 specification v1.3, sections 2.2, 4.4.1 and 4.8.1; AQA 8692 sample assessment material: Paper 1 Listening question papers, transcripts and mark schemes (Foundation and Higher); Pearson Edexcel 1SP1 specification Issue 2, Paper 2; Pearson Edexcel sample assessment materials Issue 3: Paper 2 question papers, transcripts and dictation assessment criteria (Foundation and Higher).
More on Spanish sounds: the Spanish alphabet and syllables and stress. Back to the GCSE listening exam.