National Spanish Exam
Specifications for Vocabulary Levels 1, 2, & 3
World
Leisure Time
Family and Home
School and
Education
Travel and
Transportation
Meeting
personal needs
World of Work
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Level 1
cardinal points (north, south, east, west)
simple geographical divisions (continent, country, city)
names of 21 Spanish-speaking countries
nature and the environment (basic words plants and animals)
days of the week
months of the year
weather
telling time
simple pastimes and sports
simple description
basic colors
immediate family
basic parts of a house
basic educational words (test, teacher, to study)
basic items found in the classroom
simple places in a city
basic directions (left, right)
greetings and farewells
basic expressions of courtesy
basic introductions
expression of likes and dislikes
basic food expressions
basic clothing
simple parts of the body
basic expressions (office, computer, telephone, etc. . .)
Level 2
Everything from Level 1 plus:
 cardinal points expanded (northwest, southeast, etc. . .)
 names of water (ocean, river, lake)
 names of land (valley, island)
 major geographical names (Pacific Ocean, Amazon River)
World
 the seven continents
 names of major world countries (France, England, Japan,
China etc..)
 nature and the environment (plant and animal kingdoms)
 days of the week in expressions (next Monday)
 months of the year in expressions (last January)
Leisure Time
 telling time (expanded)
 passtimes and sports (expanded)
 description - temporary states
 physical and mental description
 describing colors
Family and Home
 nationalities
 extended family
 rooms of the home and basic furniture
 educational words
School and
 items found in the classroom
Education
 names of basic school subjects
 buildings in a city
 methods of transportation
Travel and
Transportation
 parts of a city (block, corner, city limits, etc…)
 directions
 expressions of courtesy
 formal introductions
 food expressions (buying and preparing)
Meeting
 restaurant
personal needs
 clothing (expressing a purpose)
 shopping
 visible parts of the body
 basic professions
World of Work
 basic computer terms
Level 3
Everything from Levels 1 and 2 plus:
 geographical words (equator, hemisphere, latitude)
 names of world countries (Great Britain, Greece, etc.)
World
 nature and the environment (global problems)
 the universe (basic astronomy terms)
 cultural entertainment (movies, theatre, etc.)
Leisure Time
 passtimes and sports (mastered)
 religions and races
Family and Home
 human life cycle and its ceremonies
 holidays
 words associated with language (noun, paragraph, etc.)
School and
Education
 words associated with mathematics (plus, divided by, equals)
 air travel
 train travel
Travel and
Transportation
 car travel
 hotel
 invitations (making, accepting, declining)
 agreement and disagreement
 expression of an opinion
Meeting
 expressing reasons for likes and dislikes
personal needs
 parts of clothing and types of fabric
 interior parts of the body
 basic terms for an office visit to the doctor
 expressions of work (employment, boss, payments)
World of Work
 professions
 communication (telephone, computer, post office)
 people of history (king, governor, discoverer, etc . . .)
 measures of time (century, B.C.E, epoch, time period)
History, Politics,
and Social Issues
 events of history (war, invasion, battle)
 actions of history (conquer, invade, civilize)
 basic literary terms (story, play, plot, character)
Fine Arts
 basic musical terms (concert, harmony, melody)
 basic art terms (painting, drawing, sculpture)