Tips for Leaving Cert Spanish Oral students
Quick tips before the Spanish orals begin this weekend
This article is aimed at Leaving Certificate students of Spanish
¡Hola!
By now, you will have learnt by heart the three role-plays selected by your teacher. Apart from the last question in this section of the oral, this is the only part of the exam for which you could learn ready-made answers. Therefore, in this article, we will concentrate on the general conversation section.
The usual topics to prepare are: Myself, my family, my friends, my school, where I live, my routine, my hobbies, my holidays, my weekends, the future…
Yo:
Start with your name, your age, your date of birth – nací el 10 de agosto de 2007. Describe yourself physically – tengo el pelo castaño y los ojos marrones, then your personality: some useful adjectives: majo, organizado, abierto, sociable, responsable, curioso. Mis padres dicen que soy perezoso pero es mentira. At this stage, finish this small monologue by telling the examiner what you like – make sure you mention something you are at ease talking about and that you have prepared well: el deporte and la música are popular around here.
Mi familia:
Somos 5 en casa. List the family members: ma madre, mi abuela, mi hermana, mi hermano y yo – don’t forget yourself! Then, go through each person the same way you described yourself above. You could add Me llevo bien con mis padres : siempre están allí para mí and/or Nos llevamos bien : somos muy parecidos los dos.
Mis amigos:
Who is your mejor amigo? What do you do together? What did you do together last weekend? Fuimos a ver un partido de rugby en Cork; ¡Estupendo! Who is your best friend? Describe him/her as above and say where you met or how long you know each other: nos conocimos en la escuela.
Mi instituto:
Think of someone who has never been to your school. Where it is: en el centro/ en las afueras de Portlaoise. It is big or small, number of teachers and students: unos 600 estudiantes y setenta y pico profes. How many floors are there? What rooms are on each floor? En la planta baja, hay… Arriba, hay … The subjects you study, which subject you prefer or dislike and why: es interesante, fácil, difícil, aburrido…me cuesta memorizar.
Mi casa, mi pueblo, mi condado:
Vivo en una urbanización en Portlaoise. Describe your home, your neighbourhood, then your town. You can add why me gusta, what there is for los jóvenes, and los turistas en el condado de Laois.
Mi rutina:
Go in chronological order, from Me despierto a las siete to Me acuesto a las diez. Start with your morning, then school start and end times, then your evening. Remember there are verbs for the meals: desayuno tostadas con té, almuerzo un bocadillo de jamón y queso, solemos cenar algo ligero a las seis. Moreover, to give the time in Spanish, always start with the hour (a las ocho menos cuarto – at 7.45am ; a la una y media – at 1.30pm).
Mi tiempo libre, mis pasatiempos, mis hobbies:
Suelo hacer deporte cada tarde. Which days do you play? You could talk about las ventajas de hacer deporte a menudo : ayuda con el estrés y me mantiene en buena salud. What qualities must a player have to play your sport? Para ser buen jugador de hurling, es indispensable tener mentalidad de equipo, entrenarse cada semana y comer saludable.
Mis vacaciones:
Cada verano vamos a Francia; el verano pasado fuimos a Marseille: ¡lo pasamos bomba! Sin embargo, este verano, vamos a pasar dos semanas en Vigo. Mis padres van a visitar museos, fábricas de cidra y el campo. Mis hermanos y yo quedaremos con amigos que tienen vivienda cerca del mar. Do you see that just in this paragraph, you have used four verb tenses?
Los fines de semana:
The finde starts on Fridays!!! Go chronologically, from the minute you leave school on Friday until you go to bed on Sunday night. Only mention activities you do not do every day of the week. This is not the part where you talk about your daily routine.
El futuro:
What are you going to do for Easter after this oral, then in the summer after the exam? Voy a relajar por un rato, voy a salir con los amigos, voy a ir a un festival de música céltica con los amigos, en Bretaña, en Francia… Then, go on talking about September: iré a UCD para hacer un grado de ciencias. Me quedaré en casa de mi tía en Phibsborough y trabajaré en un supermercado.
Try to add something in the past tense and in the future tense for each topic you are asked about. Think of the general, then add an experience in the past and a plan in the future.
If you still feel unprepared, do use AI (I only know ChatGPT) to get paragraphs written for you. However, make sure to mention you are “a 6th year student in an Irish Secondary School, preparing for the Spanish Leaving Certificate Oral” and that you only need 200 words or so – per topic.
If you are aiming for the higher grade brackets, you will need a few idiomatic expressions, such as no es pan comido, tengo que ponerme las pilas, me aburro como una ostra en la clase de matemáticas. Another box to tick for a higher grade is to use the subjuntivo; a few expressions ready-to-insert are quieren que lo pasemos bien allí, me alegra que pueda ir de vacaciones con mis amigos, quieren que todos logremos en nuestros estudios.
Remember to speak slowly and clearly: in Spanish, every single letter is always pronounced, and always pronounced the same! Examiners are very interested in hearing about you and what makes you stand out: help the examiner give you los puntos!
At Aurelie Languages, we have over 30 years experience preparing students for the Junior and Leaving Certs. We understand that you need the points. Let us help you!
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