Students study Spanish for a variety of reasons
- It is so prevalent- it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world now so they are likely to use it throughout their lifetime
- Many of them are already travelling to Spain every Summer
- They appreciate the opportunities learning it will give them to communicate confidently
- Find it easy to pronounce
- Relish the challenge that learning a new language brings
- Achieve excellent results in the State exams
Students studying Spanish start as beginners in first year and go right through to sixth year . The approach is always to study what’s relevant in the language so that if they go to Spain they should be able to communicate effectively, understand what they are reading and hearing and develop these skills as the years go by.
Topics
These go from the simple to the more complex :
- from Greetings, Family, Hobbies , Daily routine, looking for directions, reading menus etc ( All relevant to the Junior Cert cycle examination)
- Oral practice through projects to be presented to the class on life in Spain and /or South America (almost all of which is Spanish speaking), foods and customs and schooling typical to these countries and a comparison with Irish customs and schools ,and reading and learning about general topics (Transition Year)
- The family, poverty, the environment , society and young peoples’ role in it etc are examples of some of the topics studied in the Senior Cycle. (all relevant to the Leaving Cert cycle examination)
All students have access to the schools Language Laboratory where they can hone their skills and work on interactive computer programs which help them to progress independently while their work is still ‘tracked ‘ by their teacher, should they require assistance. They can also access this at home for more independent learning over the Summer.
Examinations
All students have state examinations in Spanish at both Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate Level.
We have many former students of Spanish who have undertaken a lot of different degree courses in University often including Spanish. They have let us know how useful they have found it when either travelling abroad or working in places such as North America where Spanish is as widely used as English and they were so happy to have studied Spanish. So ‘Don’t leave home without it’!
¡Hasta la vista!