Spanish is a little different to other Leaving Cert subjects in that it can’t be crammed. Language is more like a skill rather than a subject so it has to be practiced and grammar and vocabulary need to be memorised (treat it like a sport or instrument). Hopefully, you will pick up some tips and tricks in this guide that will help you to succeed in this wonderful language.
How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert Spanish
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Natasha got a H1 in her Leaving Cert Spanish and in this guide, she shares her advice for succeeding in this subject.
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Introduction
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The oral exam
The oral exam is worth 25% (100 marks) of your grade at higher level and the exam lasts around 15 minutes. The oral may seem daunting and vague at first as there is no set list of questions. It is also much harder to predict than written papers, not to mention you must think on your feet but I found that once I created a breakdown of the exam, I felt less intimidated and more confident. The oral examination consists of 2 parts:
The general conversation is worth 70 marks.
The role-play is worth 30 marks (you choose 1 out of 5).
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General conversation
Let's discuss what you might expect for this section of the oral. First, there is the introduction where personal questions will begin as a general conversation (just as you would do in English). You introduce yourself, say your name and state your age, etc. First impressions are important and a nice way to make you stand out amongst the crowd is to say, “Buenos días y bienvenido/a señor/señorita”.
Once you have answered some easier questions to help you settle in, the examiner may proceed to ask questions on various topics such as:
Yourself and your friends and family.
Your house and town.
Your daily routine.
Your pastimes (sport, music, etc.).
Pocket money/housework.
Technology/holidays/current affairs.
Spanish culture.
Fashion/shopping/food.
School/your future plans (university, ideal job, dreams, etc.).
Bear in mind that there is no definite list of subjects and the examiner may choose to go outside the box. If you are aiming for a H1, you might be asked about advanced topics such as drugs, terrorism, politics, etc. If this happens and you do not have it prepared, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and give it your all.
- I recommend dedicating an A4 page to useful phrases for the oral exam. Keep it nearby when you’re in class or doing homework and jot down useful phrases.
- Speak as much Spanish as possible before the exam to gain confidence. This might just be getting a sibling to ask you questions and you reply in Spanish. Practice makes perfect.
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Grammar
Grammar is very important in the oral so here are some things to remember:
Show off tenses
Try to use every tense you can, especially if you’re aiming for a high grade. The more tenses you use, the better grammar you show.
Use a range of verbs
The wider the range of verbs you demonstrate, the better. Try not to repeat verbs such as “me gusta” and instead use synonyms like “me encanta” or “me fascina”.
Expand your vocabulary
Make sure you know the necessary vocabulary for popular topics and vocabulary specific to you. Try keeping a vocabulary notebook throughout the year and studying the words you’ve learned regularly to keep them fresh in your mind.
Learn question words
Learn the question words such as 'what', 'where' and 'who' as they’ll be repeated throughout the exam.
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Carrying the conversation
It is important to vary sentences to create a casual conversation. If you make a mistake, correct it (you won’t get marked down as we make mistakes in English as well). To show confidence in speaking Spanish, you can introduce topics that you know very well. Remember, it’s an exam on general conversation, not a strict interview. This lets you control the conversation and steer away from any surprise topics you might not be prepared for.
Although it’s hard when you’re nervous, try not to sit stiff and only recite the page you learned off. Try to be spontaneous and natural. If you don’t feel confident, fake it till you make it! Smile, relax your shoulders and even crack a small joke if it’s going well. Here's some more advice on sitting the oral:
Good to know
Address the examiner in the 'usted' form and never reply with just 'sí' or 'no'. If you do, make sure to develop the rest of the answer as it is not enough to gain marks.
Use filler words
Use filler phrases such as “por desgracia” or “pues”. These can be used when you are thinking of a reply.
Control the conversation
If you don’t have an opinion on a topic in English, you do not need to pretend you have one for another language. If you do not know a lot about something, give at least two sentences showing off verbs and a little vocabulary. Be honest and tell them it doesn’t interest you. You can tell them what does interest you instead.
Not understanding a question
If you don’t understand a question, ask politely for it to be repeated. We often ask people to repeat in English so it’s perfectly fine. Try to avoid saying you don’t understand the vocabulary or verbs. Just say, “¿Puede repetir la pregunta por favor?” and they will most likely reword it.
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Role play
Finally, you will complete a role play which you will have prepared in class. If you are willing to memorise the lines, it will be the easiest 30 marks you’ll get. There are 5 role plays you must learn and I recommend practicing one every weekday for 5 minutes so that you are constantly revising.
There are different types of learners so I suggest studying in a way that suits you. If you are a visual learner, for example, colour code your role plays on different coloured paper or with different coloured pens. If you are an aural learner, record yourself saying them and listen to them when you have a spare minute or pop headphones in and go for a walk. If you are a kinaesthetic learner, keep repeating them aloud or make them into a song. If you prefer to read and write then keep on writing. Here is some more advice for preparing for the role-play:
Pronunciation
Make sure your pronunciation is correct. To do this, you could practice with your teacher or a Spanish speaker. Record yourself saying the lines and listen back to your pronunciation and you could also use an online dictionary for specific words such as Spanishdict.com.
During the exam
During the exam, make sure you know whether you begin the role-play or whether the examiner has the first line. Although I know you might be nervous, try not to speak too fast as it’s easy to trip over pronunciation. Make eye contact with the examiner during the role play and add a slight change of tone so that it isn’t perceived as learnt off.
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The written exam
The written exam makes up the majority of your grade at 55% (220 marks). It lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes and is composed of 3 sections: A, B and C.
Section A
This section tests your ability to read and understand Spanish and is composed of prescribed literature or a journalistic text and two short comprehensions. It is worth 70 marks.
Most classes choose to take on the journalistic text (50 marks) and two short comprehensions (20 marks). For me, this was the most challenging part of the exam as it was impossible to learn every single word and verb in Spanish. To improve my mark in this section, I used the following vocabulary and timing tips:
Vocabulary
I followed Spanish newspapers on social media such as El Mundo where I picked up on vocabulary from recent events and things that were topical. I changed all my social media to Spanish to learn even more vocabulary and I had an A4 page where I jotted down useful vocabulary and verbs as I was doing the comprehension.
Timing
The journalistic text should take no more than 30 minutes. I practiced the comprehensions from 2007 to 2017 and some mock papers. I also timed myself to improve my speed for the exam. The short comprehensions should take no more than 15 minutes but if you go over time, leave it and move on to the next part of the exam. If you have extra time at the end you can go back and finish it off.
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The journalistic text
The journalistic text is divided into four parts:
Part 1 of the journalistic text contains sections (a) to (e). You will be asked questions on the comprehension to see if you understand it. Each question is related to a particular paragraph so read the question, read the paragraph, highlight the answer and write your answer in English. You will need to carefully translate part of the text to answer the question (look at the verb first and then the vocabulary that follows).
If it asks for full details, you must give all possible answers. You may be asked for one reason, three points, etc. If there is no part (i) to (iii) then make every point its own sentence for clarity.
Part 2 of the journalistic text gives 3 Spanish phrases or words for which you need to find a phrase or a word with the same meaning. My advice would be to write the English above them, scan through the paragraph they are related to and highlight all possible answers in a highlighter different to the one you used in Part 1.
If you are stuck, brainstorm alternative ways of saying the phrase/word given and see if it’s in the paragraph. If it’s a tricky one, see if the word is plural or singular and if it's singular, pick a word from the singular words you’ve highlighted. A way of practicing this before the exam is to use a Spanish thesaurus. Finally, jot down synonyms of words on an A4 page to make links. This can be kept beside you in class or when doing homework.
Part 3 of the journalistic text asks you to translate the sections of the text given to you. Read the sentence and then the section to grasp the concept. Break it down into verbs and vocabulary. Translate the verbs first, then the vocabulary. Re-read the sentence in English to ensure it translates correctly.
Part 4 of the journalistic text contains 2 Spanish phrases or words. You must give an alternative way of saying it or a synonym. Practice is key for this part. If you don’t understand it, read the part of the paragraph it belongs to, to see if you can make sense of it. If you can, translate both sentences in the exam.
Part 1 of the journalistic text contains sections (a) to (e). You will be asked questions on the comprehension to see if you understand it. Each question is related to a particular paragraph so read the question, read the paragraph, highlight the answer and write your answer in English. You will need to carefully translate part of the text to answer the question (look at the verb first and then the vocabulary that follows).
If it asks for full details, you must give all possible answers. You may be asked for one reason, three points, etc. If there is no part (i) to (iii) then make every point its own sentence for clarity.
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Comprehensions
The two short comprehensions are similar to Part 1 of the journalistic text. You are not told what paragraph the answer is in but it is usually split into three paragraphs and questions (this is not always the case so be careful).
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Section B
Section B is composed of an opinion text worth 100 marks. It is similar to the journalistic text but has a relevant opinion piece topic at the end. You should spend at least 35 minutes on this: 5 minutes planning the opinion and 30 minutes writing it. Very similar to the journalistic text, you can divide the opinion text into 4 parts:
Part 1
Part 1 of the opinion text is similar to Part 2 of the journalistic text and is worth 15 marks.
Part 2
Part 2 of the opinion text is similar to Part 3 of the journalistic text and is worth 15 marks.
Part 3
Part 3 of the opinion text is similar to Part 2 of the journalistic text and is worth 5 marks.
Part 4
Part 4 of the opinion text is similar to Part 1 of the journalistic text and is worth 15 marks.
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Opinion piece (50 marks)
Planning for the opinion piece
A plan helps focus the opinion piece, stops you from ranting aimlessly and helps you stick to the timing of the exam. When you are planning, you should ask yourself questions such as "What points am I going to discuss?" and "What points will I put into each paragraph?". I would write 5 short paragraphs:
Paragraph 1
Introduce the piece and state the topics you will discuss. Refer to the title at the beginning and end.
Paragraphs 2-4
Discuss your points separately and make sure you relate them to the title of the piece throughout.
Paragraph 5
Try to tie all the points together and relate them to the title, coming up with a solution, conclusion, etc.
The above plan is vague in the hope it will provoke you to think about the opinion piece title. I used this plan for all my opinion pieces to try to create a flow and to limit writing too much (you must write 80–150 words). Bear in mind, however, that you will not be penalised for writing too much.
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Top tips
Try to start the opinion piece by stating whether you agree or disagree, e.g. “De primero, me gustaría empezar diciendo que estoy totalmente de acuerdo con esta afirmación”. Make sure to keep referring to the title to show your point is relevant. This will help you stop babbling and give clarity to the examiner. Here are some more tips for the opinion piece:
Useful phrases
If you make a phrase sheet, use it every time you practice an opinion piece to help you remember them. Phrases such as “¡Que pena!” and “hay que” can be impressive but do not overdo or repeat them as they’ll lose their value. If you feel you need to use it again, try to use a synonym such as "por desgracia/desafortunadamente".
Verbs
Like in all written pieces, the more verb tenses you use, the better. Tick a spare piece of paper each time you use a different tense to see if you used enough.
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Topics
Your teacher will cover a list of topics in class they feel are topical or likely to appear. It’s worth looking back on previous year’s topics and brainstorming vocabulary, verbs, etc. so that if they were to reappear, you’d be prepared. It’s also worth following news in Spanish-speaking countries as sometimes, they can appear in the opinion piece text. Opinion piece titles are vague so they may not be specific to a news story but you may get the chance to show off your knowledge. Hot topics from years gone by include:
The environment
The world of work and education
Alcohol
Friendship
Bullying
Poverty
Terrorism/violence
Inequality
Health
Languages and travel
Technology
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Section C
Section C is composed of a dialogue construction or letter writing (50 marks) and is a matter of personal preference. I chose the dialogue as it saved me time and I found I finished the dialogue quicker and could dedicate more time to my opinion piece.
The dialogue
It is divided into 5 small paragraphs that you must translate. The dialogue should take a maximum of 20 minutes (dedicate no more than 4 minutes to each one). You must translate one side of the dialogue and it's important to read the context of it, i.e. “you are working as an au pair…”. It's equally as important to read the other side of the dialogue (the person you are speaking to) as sometimes the words or verbs you need are mentioned there. Take one sentence at a time and make sure you:
Underline the verb and write above it in the tense that suits you.
Write the verb and then finish the sentence (verbs make up most of the marks so it’s important to get them right).
Read the sentence twice to make sure it makes sense altogether and then move on to the next.
If a word pops up that you don’t know, try to think of a synonym or a way of describing it. It is better to attempt it than leave it blank, e.g. a puppy is 'un cachorro' but if you didn’t know that try saying 'un perro pequeño'. Verbs like 'gustar' e.g. 'chiflar/encantar', etc. are tested in every dialogue so make sure you know them very well in all their tenses and pronouns.
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Section D
Section D consists of a diary entry or a note. You must only choose one and it is worth 20 marks. You should write no more than a page for either the diary entry or note and I would recommend the diary entry as the note can be very specific. However, you should try both to see which one suits your style of writing better. You should spend a maximum of 15 minutes on this section.
The diary entry
Use as many verb tenses as possible and remember that emotion is important in a diary entry as it’s supposed to be personal. Use phrases such as “estoy agotada” or “vaya pesadilla” to express them. If you must describe something, share your opinion for a personal touch, e.g. “la casa era verde y no me gustó”. For the diary entry, make sure you:
State the day and date on the top right-hand corner, e.g. ”lunes, el diecinueve de marzo”.
Skip a line and on the left-hand side, begin by saying “Querido diario”.
Treat each point (there will be 4 given) as its own paragraph and ensure they are equal in length. They are worth about 5 marks each.
Sign off at the end by saying “no puedo escribir más porque tengo mucho sueño” and “hasta mañana, buenas noches”, with your name on the final line.
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The listening exam
The listening comprehension makes up 20% (80 marks) of your grade and lasts 40 minutes. It takes place about 5 minutes after the written paper so you might be a bit tired. Try to leave the written paper behind you, drink water, go to the bathroom and stretch a little. There are 7 sections to the exam (each section will be played 3 times):
- 1
Anuncio
- 2
Diálogo 1
- 3
Diálogo 2
- 4
Descriptivo 1
- 5
Descriptivo 2
- 6
El Tiempo
- 7
Una Noticia
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Recurring vocab
Some groups of words come up every year and it’s important to know them well:
Numbers (be careful of similar sounding numbers like 60 and 70). Numbers 0 to 1000 are necessary to know.
Years and larger numbers, e.g. nineteen seventy-one (1971).
Dates, e.g. the 10th of May.
Time, e.g. it is 10 o’clock at night.
Ordinal numbers, e.g. 1st, 2nd and 3rd, etc.
Describing the weather, e.g. cold, foggy, cloudy, etc.
Types of weather, e.g. wind, temperature, storms, etc.
Days, months, seasons, e.g. Monday, May, Autumn, etc.
Time frames, e.g. a while ago, last night, next month, etc.
News items, e.g. a robbery, a prisoner, etc.
Countries and nationalities, e.g. Dutch and the Netherlands.
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Top tips for the listening exam
Top Tips for Listening
Practice makes perfect
The listening exam is impossible to cram the night before as it’s a skill that has to be practiced. There are listening practice books and listening exercises in some textbooks. You can also practice past exam listening sections on Studyclix using the aural tool. Listen attentively to your Spanish teacher in class when she/he is speaking Spanish and take every opportunity to talk to a native speaker.
Immerse yourself in the language
You can listen to Spanish music (Spotify has some great playlists). I found it hard to understand the entire song because they sang quite fast but I found myself picking up words here and there. There are also Spanish podcasts such as the app “News in Slow Spanish”. You can watch Spanish TV shows such as "Las Chicas Del Cable", "Gran Hotel" and "Jane the Virgin" (only Jane’s grandmother speaks Spanish but if you’re not a fan of subtitles it’s a good option).
Read the questions
During the listening exam, read the questions and quickly underline keywords before each section begins, e.g. underline the question words such as 'where' (this makes it easy to see if you must state a place, etc.). Aim to fill in all your answers the first 2 times and on the 3rd listening, check to see if they’re correct and if you have filled in all the information required to gain full marks.
Be specific
Finally, make sure to be specific, e.g. if they ask you to state items of clothing and in the listening exam it says “long red coat”, make sure to include 'long' and 'red'. Pay attention to phrases such as 'full details' and '2 details' to maximise marks.
Leave nothing blank
Do not leave blanks. Try to make an educated guess if the listening section is over and make sure you have fully read the question as sometimes, there can be 2 parts. You will only hear each section 3 times so make sure to stay concentrated.
Read over your work
Before handing up your paper, scan over your answers to make sure you dotted the i’s crossed the t’s and that there are no blanks.
After the exam
You will feel a wave of relief once it’s over. Make sure you don’t spend all your time dissecting all the questions with your friends afterwards. Take a deep breath and be proud of all the work you’ve done. As you walk out of the room, close the door and leave it all behind you. If it’s your last exam, make sure to go celebrate!
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Best of luck! You'll be great.
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Natasha got an H1 in her higher Leaving Cert Spanish paper.