People and places (e.g. continents, countries and nationalities, compass points)

Cambridge IGCSE Spanish 0530 – The World Around Us

Objective: Students will be able to identify and describe people and places, including continents, countries, nationalities and compass points, using appropriate Spanish vocabulary.

1. Continents (Los continentes)

Learn the names of the continents in Spanish and the corresponding adjectives for nationality.

Continent (English)	Continente (Spanish)	Nationality adjective (Spanish)
Africa	África	africano / africana
Asia	Asia	asiático / asiática
Europe	Europa	europeo / europea
North America	América del Norte	norteamericano / norteamericana
South America	América del Sur	suramericano / suramericana
Australia (Oceania)	Australia / Oceanía	australiano / australiana
Antarctica	Antártida	antártico / antártica

2. Countries and Nationalities (Países y nacionalidades)

Below is a selection of important countries with their Spanish names and the corresponding nationality adjectives.

Country (English)	Country (Spanish)	Nationality adjective (Spanish)
Argentina	Argentina	argentino / argentina
Brazil	Brasil	brasileño / brasileña
Canada	Canadá	canadiense
China	China	chino / china
France	Francia	francés / francesa
Germany	Alemania	alemán / alemana
India	India	indio / india
Japan	Japón	japonés / japonesa
Mexico	México	mexicano / mexicana
United Kingdom	Reino Unido	británico / británica
United States	Estados Unidos	estadounidense
Spain	España	español / española

3. Compass Points (Puntos cardinales)

Knowing the directions is essential for describing locations.

• Norte – North (N)
• Sur – South (S)
• Este – East (E)
• Oeste – West (W)
• Noreste – Northeast (NE)
• Sureste – Southeast (SE)
• Sueste – Southwest (SW)
• Noroeste – Northwest (NW)

4. Suggested Diagram

5. Classroom Activities

5.1 Matching Exercise

Match the English country name with its Spanish equivalent and the correct nationality adjective.

1. Germany – ______ – ______
2. Japan – ______ – ______
3. Brazil – ______ – ______
4. Canada – ______ – ______
5. Australia – ______ – ______

5.2 Fill‑in the Blanks – Compass Points

Complete the sentences with the appropriate direction.

• Madrid está __________ de Barcelona. (north)
• Buenos Aires está __________ de Santiago. (south)
• Tokio está __________ de Beijing. (east)
• Los Estados Unidos están __________ de México. (west)

5.3 Dialogue Practice

Students work in pairs to ask and answer questions about origin and location.

A: ¿De dónde eres?
B: Soy ______ (nationality). ¿Y tú?
A: Yo soy ______.
A: ¿En qué continente está tu país?
B: Mi país está en __________.
    

6. Assessment Checklist

• Can name all seven continents in Spanish.
• Can give the Spanish name of at least ten countries and their nationality adjectives.
• Can identify and use the four cardinal points and the intercardinal points.
• Can ask and answer simple questions about personal origin and location.