Glossary of the Spanish education system
This is a list of education-related words. You should bear in mind that many words are specific to just one country, just as they are between British and American English. Using terms such as K-12, Secondary modern, GCSE, A level, sixth form, etc. with no explanation should be avoided if you are speaking to an international audience. In Spain, they have recently changed the education system so rather than EGB, BUP and COU it has been changed to Primaria, ESO and COU. Apparently every Spanish-speaking country has a separate set of acronyms. For this reason, we have avoided country-specific vocabulary.
Español | English |
| nursery school | la guardería |
| kindergarten | jardín de infancia |
| primary school | el colegio/la escuela |
| secondary school (Br. Eng.) high school (Am. Eng.) | el instituto |
| technical college | la escuela técnica |
| university | la universidad |
| a state school | una escuela pública (primary) un instituo público (secondary) |
| a private school | una escuela privada (primary) un instituo privado (secondary) |
| a public school (Br. Eng.) Eton, harrow etc. | un colegio privado |
| a boarding school | un internado |
| faculty | la facultad |
| medicine faculty | la facultad de medicina |
| the Open University | la Universidad a Distancia |
| private classes | las clases particulares |
| the year | el curso |
| the term | el trimestre |
| a degree | una licenciatura |
| a course | un curso |
| to do an English course | hacer un curso de inglés |
| a degree course | una carrera/licenciatura |
| I'm in the second year | Estoy en segundo |
| I study French at university | Estudio francés en la universidad. |
| to have a degree in chemistry | ser licenciado en química |
| I graduated last year (i.e. from university) Note: There is a lot of confusion between the word career between English and Spanish. In Spanish "carrera" means a university course not a career (profesión). | Acabé/Terminé la carrera el año pasado. Me licencié el año pasado. |
| She graduated in French. | Se licenció en francés. |
| a dissertation | una tesina |
| a thesis | un tesis |
| a doctorate/PhD | un doctorado |
| a master's degree | un master |
| Teachers and pupils - Los profesores y los alumnos | |
| the headteacher/principal (of a school) | el director/la directora |
| a teacher | un profesor/una profesora |
| a primary school teacher | un maestro/una maestra |
| a pupil | un alumno/una alumna |
| a boarder | un interno |
| a maths teacher | un profesor de matemáticas |
| a classmate | un compañero/una compañera de clase |
| a swot (colloquial) | un empollón/una empollona |
| teacher's pet | el favorito/preferido del profesor |
| a (college/university) student | un estudiante/una estudiante |
| a lecturer (a university teacher) (Br. eng.) a professor (Am. Eng.) | un profesor universitario |
| freshman | estudiante de primer año |
| a professor (higest academic rank) (Br. Eng.) | un catedrático |
| At school - En el centro docente | |
| a class | una clase |
| a classroom | una aula |
| staffroom | la sala de profesores |
| the headteacher's office | el despacho del director/de la directora |
| library | la biblioteca |
| language lab | el laboratorio de lenguas |
| the café | el bar |
| playground | el patio |
| gym | el gimnasio |
| auditorium/assembly hall/school hall | el salón de actas |
| a desk | un pupitre |
| blackboard | la pizarra |
| chalk | la tiza |
| board rubber/eraser | el borrador |
| school bag | la cartera |
| a book | un libro |
| an exercise book | un cuaderno |
| a notebook | una libreta |
| a dictionary | un diccionario |
| a pencil case | un estuche |
| a pencil | un lápiz |
| a ballpoint pen | un bolígrafo |
| a fountain pen | una pluma |
| a rubber (Br. Eng.)/an eraser (Am.Eng.) | una goma |
| a ruler | una regla |
| a pencil sharpener | un sacapuntas |
| a calculator | una calculadora |
| Phrases - Frases | |
| to go to school/university | ir al colegio/instituto/a la universidad |
| to study | estudiar |
| to learn | aprender |
| to do my/your homework | hacer los deberes |
| to know | saber |
| to play truant to skive off (colloquial) | hacer novillos pirarse |
| to miss class/school | faltar a clase |
| I flunked French | me reprobaron en francés |
| to swot up (Br. Eng.) | empollar |
| Exams - Los exámenes | |
| to sit/take an exam | presentarse a/hacer un examen examinarse |
| to pass | aprobar |
| to fail | suspender |
| marks/grades | las notas/las calificaciones |
| an oral exam | un examen oral |
| a written exam | un examen escrito |
| a multiple choice test | un examen tipo test |
| (public/state) competitive exams. (You have to do an "oposción" to get many state jobs in Spain such as teacher or doctor. If you come number one, you will get the best job and can choose your post, if you get bad marks you will only be offered a job in an unattractive village in the middle of nowhere.) | las oposiciones |
| to revise | repasar |
| to prepare for an exam | prepararse para un examen |
| If you go to study in a Spanish speaking country it may be necessary to have your qualifications recognised to validate, recognize; they accepted or recognized many subjects | convalidar: le convalidaron muchas asignaturas. By the way: A certified copy = una copia compulsada |
| to repeat a year | repetir curso |