Roleplay practice

SpanishAQAGCSEUnit: Speaking
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The basics

El juego de rol — Roleplay Task

🗣️ El juego de rol — Roleplay Task

AQA Paper 2 includes a transactional roleplay. You are given a scenario card in English and must respond in Spanish to 5 prompts. Two of these prompts are predictable cues printed on your card; three require you to react in the moment — one of which is a question you must ask the examiner. The roleplay is the most controllable part of the exam: you can prepare 3 of the 5 prompts word-for-word in your 12 minutes of prep time.
Symbol / prompt What it means Example
Cue 1, 2, 3 Printed on your card — prepare these in advance "Say what you want to eat"
! YOU must ask the examiner a question "! Ask about opening times"
? Unexpected question — NOT shown on your card "What time does your train leave?"
Spotlight
Frases clave del juego de rol — Essential Roleplay Phrases

AQA always tells you the topic of the question you must ask (e.g. "! Ask about price"). You just need to pick the right question word:

Exam tip

Earn the mark scheme marks

❌ Errores del juego de rol — Roleplay Errors

❌ Saying "No lo sé" and going silent when the unexpected (?) question arrives.

✅ Use a filler, then say something: "Bueno, pues… creo que… el tren sale a las tres." Even if you are guessing — an attempt in Spanish earns marks. Silence earns zero.

Why it matters: AQA marks communicative attempts, not accuracy alone. A wrong answer with correct grammar scores more than no answer at all. The ? question is designed to be unpredictable — the examiner expects you to manage it, not to know the correct answer.

❌ ¿Cuánto costo?

✅ ¿Cuánto cuesta? — cuesta is the él/ella present-tense form of costar. Costo does not exist as a question form in Spanish. For multiple items: ¿Cuánto cuestan?

Why it matters: This error is extremely common and appears in mark-scheme comments. Stem-changing verbs like costar (o→ue) change in the él/ella/usted form: yo cuesto, él cuesta, ellos cuestan. Committing cuesta / cuestan to memory avoids the mistake entirely.

❌ Forgetting to deliver the ! prompt entirely — completing cues 1, 2, 3 and skipping the question you must ask.

✅ Count your prompts before you begin: 1, 2, !, ?, last. The ! must be a genuine question with rising intonation. If you lose your place, end your current turn with the question — examiners credit a late attempt. Omitting the ! entirely is one of the most common reasons candidates lose marks on this task.

Why it matters: Each of the 5 prompts carries its own mark. Missing the ! question forfeits that mark outright. In the preparation time, write the prompt type (1, 2, !, ?, 5) on your prep sheet and tick each one off as you go.

❌ Me gustaría reservar una habitación para dos personas y tres noches. (stopping there)

✅ Good start — but add the room type: doble (double) or individual (single). "Me gustaría reservar una habitación doble para dos noches." More specific language earns more marks.

Why it matters: AQA rewards precise, developed communication. Specifying the room type (doble / individual, con baño / sin baño) signals language range and shows you have moved beyond a minimum response. It takes one extra word and can lift your mark by a band.

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