Unit AS 2: Relationships — Influences on Young People
Welcome to your study guide for Influences on Young People (Las influencias en los jóvenes), a core topic within the Relationships theme for CCEA GCE AS Spanish (Subject Code: 5750). This unit directly feeds into AS 2: Listening, Reading and Use of Language, which makes up 40% of your AS Level award (16% of the full A Level).
In this guide, we will break down the essential cultural ideas, key vocabulary, grammatical structures, and exam strategies you need to succeed. Don't worry if this topic feels broad at first—we will break it into clear, bite-sized sections that make revising straightforward and manageable!
---1. The Three Big Influences on Hispanic Youth
To score high marks in your listening, reading comprehension, and translation tasks, you need to understand both the language and the contemporary social realities of Spain and Latin America. Young people today are shaped by three major forces: peers, family, and digital media.
A. Peer Influence & Social Dynamics (La presión de grupo y los compañeros)
Friendships and peer groups are central to adolescent identity. In Spanish-speaking societies, youth culture has strong social rituals that can bring both positive support and negative pressure.
Key Concepts to Understand:
• The Need for Acceptance (La pertenencia al grupo): Teenagers often seek belonging and validation. Fitting in (encajar en) shapes fashion, music choices, and social habits.
• Social Gatherings & Street Culture (La movida and El botellón): Socialising outdoors is a long-standing cultural tradition in Spain. However, el botellón (meeting in public spaces to drink alcohol together) has sparked ongoing public debate regarding youth drinking, noise, and anti-social behaviour.
• Risk Behaviours (Conductas de riesgo): Peer pressure (la presión de grupo) can lead young people to be swayed (dejarse llevar por) into substance abuse, underage drinking, or skipping classes (hacer novillos / faltar a clase).
• Positive Peer Support: Friends also act as crucial emotional anchors, providing mutual trust (la confianza) and empathy during stressful academic or personal transitions.
B. Family Influence & The Hispanic Reality (La influencia familiar y parental)
Family remains a cornerstone of Hispanic culture, but traditional structures and expectations are evolving rapidly.
Key Sociological Realities:
• Delayed Independence (La emancipación tardía): In Spain, young people leave the family home much later than the European average—typically around the age of 30. This delay is driven by high youth unemployment (el desempleo juvenil), precarious temporary contracts (los contratos temporales), and high property/rental prices.
• Prolonged Parental Authority: Because young adults live at home well into their twenties and thirties, parental guidance (la orientación parental) and family rules continue to exert influence long after childhood.
• Changing Values & Conflict (El choque generacional): Traditional, Catholic-rooted family values often contrast with secular, modern viewpoints on cohabitation, relationships, and lifestyle choices. Overprotective parenting (la sobreprotección) can sometimes clash with a young person's desire for independence (la autonomía).
C. Digital World & Media (Las redes sociales y los referentes modernos)
Modern Hispanic youths are heavily influenced by online spaces, which create new types of role models and mental health pressures.
Key Trends:
• Digital Role Models (Los 'streamers', creadores de contenido e influencers): Online personalities from Spain and Latin America hold massive influence over consumer habits, career ambitions, and lifestyle choices.
• Comparison Culture & Cyberbullying (El ciberacoso): Unrealistic standards of beauty and success on social networks can damage self-esteem and lead to isolation or anxiety among adolescents.
Key Takeaway: When answering comprehension questions or translating, always connect youth behaviour to real Hispanic social contexts—especially el desempleo juvenil, la emancipación tardía, and peer rituals like el botellón.
---2. Essential Vocabulary & High-Yield Phrasing
Learning these specific AS-level nouns, verbs, and set expressions will make listening recordings easier to understand and give you the precise vocabulary required for translation exercises.
Key Nouns & Relationships
• Los compañeros / Los pares: Peers / Classmates
• Las amistades: Friendships
• La presión de grupo / social: Peer pressure / Social pressure
• Los modelos de conducta: Role models
• La orientación parental: Parental guidance
• El apoyo emocional: Emotional support
• La convivencia: Coexistence / Living together
• La emancipación: Gaining independence / Leaving home
• El distanciamiento: Growing apart / Distancing
• La rebeldía: Rebellion / Defiance
Crucial Verbs & Collocations
• Influir en / Tener un impacto sobre: To influence / To have an impact on
• Dejarse llevar por: To be led / swayed by (someone or something)
• Encajar en: To fit into (a group / dynamic)
• Imitar patrones de conducta: To mimic behavioural patterns
• Llevarse bien / mal con: To get on well / badly with
• Inculcar valores: To instil values
• Fomentar la independencia: To encourage independence
• Estar bajo la influencia de: To be under the influence of
Memory Trick: Remember the preposition after influir! In Spanish, you say influir en alguien (to influence someone), NOT influir a.
---3. Grammar in Action for Section C (Use of Language)
Section C of AS 2 tests your grammatical precision through gap-fills, verb conjugations, sentence manipulations, and English-to-Spanish translations. Here are the core structures tied to this topic:
A. The Present Subjunctive (Desires, Influence & Advice)
Whenever someone is trying to influence, advise, or require another person to act, you must trigger the Subjunctive mood.
Rule: Trigger Verb (Present Indicative) + que + Different Subject (Present Subjunctive)
• Mis padres quieren que estudie una carrera tradicional. (My parents want me to study a traditional degree.)
• Es vital que los jóvenes tengan modelos de conducta positivos. (It is vital that young people have positive role models.)
• Los amigos influyen para que uno cambie su forma de vestir. (Friends influence one so that they change their way of dressing.)
B. Direct and Indirect Object Pronoun Placement
In Section C sentences, placing pronouns correctly is an easy way to pick up full marks.
• Before conjugated verbs: Mis padres me aconsejan bien. (My parents advise me well.)
• Attached to the end of Infinitives: Es difícil aconsejarles sin juzgar. (It is hard to advise them without judging.)
• Attached to Gerunds: Están influyéndonos constantemente. (They are constantly influencing us.)
C. Essential Connectors & Discourse Markers
Use these linking phrases to show logical relationships in translation and comprehension:
• Por lo tanto: Therefore / As a result
• Sin embargo: However
• A pesar de que (+ indicative / subjunctive): In spite of / Even though
• Ya que / Dado que: Since / Given that
• En cuanto a: As for / Regarding
Key Takeaway: Whenever you see verbs of influence (aconsejar que, querer que, exigir que, es necesario que), check immediately whether the following verb needs the subjunctive!
---4. AS 2 Exam Skills & Common Pitfalls
The AS 2 exam has a very specific structure. Knowing how it is marked helps you avoid losing marks unnecessarily.
A. Exam Structure Overview (AS 2)
Section A: Listening (Approx. 40 minutes)
• Recording 1: Questions and answers in Spanish.
• Recording 2: Questions and answers in English.
Section B: Reading (Combined with Section C - 1 hour 20 minutes)
• Question 1: Reading comprehension with questions and answers in Spanish.
• Question 2: Translation of a continuous passage from Spanish into English.
Section C: Use of Language
• Grammatical exercises, cloze/gap fills, and translating short sentences from English into Spanish.
B. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
1. Answering in the Wrong Language
Always double-check the instructions at the start of each question! Writing a brilliant answer in English for Recording 1 or Reading Question 1 will result in 0 marks because the task requires Spanish.
2. Direct Lifting in Spanish Comprehension Questions
In Reading Q1 and Listening Recording 1, do not simply copy whole sentences verbatim from the text. You must manipulate the language. For example:
• Original Text: "Vivo con mis padres porque no tengo suficiente dinero para alquilar un piso."
• Wrong (Direct Lift): "Vivo con mis padres porque no tengo..."
• Correct (Manipulated): "Vive con sus padres porque no tiene suficiente dinero para alquilar."
3. False Friends in Translation
Be alert for words that look like English words but have different meanings:
• Los parientes: Means relatives / extended family (NOT 'parents' — parents are los padres).
• El éxito: Means success (NOT 'exit').
• Actualmente: Means currently / nowadays (NOT 'actually').
4. Translating Idioms Literally
Do not translate word-for-word. The English phrase "to get on well with my peers" must be translated as llevarme bien con mis compañeros, never a literal translation like obtener en bien.
5. Quick Topic Review Box
Before moving on to practice papers, check that you can confidently do the following:
1. Core Knowledge: Explain why young Spaniards leave home later (emancipación tardía) and how peer pressure manifests (el botellón, conductas de riesgo).
2. Vocabulary: Use terms like los compañeros, los modelos de conducta, la confianza, and dejarse llevar por correctly.
3. Grammar: Form the Present Subjunctive after verbs of influence (e.g. Quieren que yo haga...).
4. Exam Strategy: Check the language required for each question in Sections A and B, and manipulate verb persons (1st to 3rd) when answering in Spanish.