Summary
Spanish as a Leaving Cert subject aims to bring students closer to fluency in the Spanish language, as well as developing a good knowledge of literature, culture, and geography to provide a context for communication. As the second most widely spoken native language, and most widely studied language on the planet, Spanish has widespread use in international business. It also makes travel to Spain, Mexico, and most of South America more accessible.
What kind of Student would Spanish Suit?
- Anyone with an interest in Spanish culture, history, and language.
- Students interested in travelling the world.
- Students who are considering working in Spain (or other Hispanic countries) or international relations in the future.
Recommendations/Tips
Some schools require all their Leaving Certificate students to take a language. If students have the option to choose whether or not to take a language, they should consider it seriously as it may determine the choices available to them when it comes to applying for college.
For example, a third language is a requirement of a number of departments in the NUI colleges -- University College Cork (UCC), University College Dublin (UCD), NUI Galway and NUI Maynooth. The phrase, third language, refers to a language other than English and Irish, which, it is presumed, most students already study.
Departments in NUI colleges that require students to have a language include or Arts, Humanties, Law, Social Science, Commerce, Medicine and Health Sciences and some other degrees. A third language is not required for engineering or agriculture in these colleges.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the University of Limerick require students to have one language -- either Irish or a modern language, while Dublin City University (DCU) and the Institutes of Technology require students to pass Maths and English or Irish.
Subject Group: Humanities
These subjects explore the ways in which humans live and communicate in the world. Human life is examined by looking at our past, our present and into our future. These subjects help people to express themselves clearly and develop their reasoning ability.
Career Sectors
This subject builds skills and knowledge that are particularly useful for careers in the following Career Sectors:
Grades Awarded
Explore Marks Distribution for all Subjects:
Course Overview
Spanish follows a common syllabus framework for the teaching and examining of modern languages in the Leaving Certificate. The syllabus aims to develop learners’ communicative skills in Spanish, to develop their strategies for effective language learning and raise their awareness of cultural, social and political diversity.
Assessment is by means of a written examination, and an aural and oral examination at two levels, Ordinary level and Higher level.
Course Content
This syllabus aims to lead every pupil towards four basic outcomes as a result of the experience of modern language learning in the classroom:
(a) a communicative competence in the target language
(b) awareness about language and communication
(c) an understanding of how to go about learning a foreign language
(d) a level of cultural awareness
1. To foster in learners such communicative skills in the target language as will enable them to:
- take a full part in classroom activities conducted in the target language;
- participate in normal, everyday transactions and interactions, both spoken and written, both at home and abroad;
- extract information and derive enjoyment from the mass media and the more accessible literature of the target language community;
- consider as a realistic option the possibility of pursuing leisure activities, further study and/or career opportunities through the medium of the target language.
2. To give students a critical awareness of how meaning is organised and conveyed by the structures and vocabulary of the target language, and thus to contribute to their understanding of the workings of human language in general.
3. To help learners develop strategies for effective language learning.
4. To equip learners with a broad acquaintance with the cultural, social and political complexion of contexts in which the target language is a normal medium of communication and thus to help raise their awareness of cultural, social and political diversity generally.
Exam Structure
| Spanish | Higher | Ordinary |
| Written Paper | 1 Paper - 55% of Marks | 1 Paper - 55% of Marks |
| Oral | 1 Paper - 25% of Marks | 1 Paper - 20% of Marks |
| Aural | 1 Paper - 20% of Marks | 1 Paper - 25% of Marks |
Leaving Certificate Exam Tips:
(1) Oral Examination (25%): The Spanish oral exam consists of two parts, personal questions and role-plays and typically last between 12 and 15 minutes depending on the student.
Part 1: The examiner will use personal questions to assess knowledge of tenses in the following order: present, past and future and/or conditional tenses. Make sure you respond in the correct tense. If you make a grammatical mistake or mispronounce something don't just keep talking. If you realise your mistake say sorry (Lo siento) and then what you meant to say. You will less likely be penalised for mistakes.
Part 2: This comes after the personal questions when the examiner asks a student one role-play from five prepared. Have fun with this and try avoid monotony, let the examiner know that you are feeling what you are saying by using intonation in your speech and eye contact. Don't spend the whole time looking at the sheet, rather try to enjoy it and leave a positive impression.
(2) Listening Examination (20%): To do well in this, the most important thing is to be prepared. A segment on the weather forecast always appears. Make this an area you know inside out. If you know the vocabularly it's easy marks. Do the listening comprehensions of previous years, this will help you get used to the process. Learning as much vocabulary as possible is always useful to all parts of the Spanish exam.
(3) Written exam (55%): You will need a lot of vocabulary for the written exam. Make a note of the words that come up frequently and learn them off. Also, learn all the tenses and become familiar with the endings of different verbs, especially the irregular ones.
In this exam, you will be asked to look within a comprehension piece for a Spanish sentence/phrase/word that is similar to a phrase they have given you. Have a look at the phrase and the tense it is written in - the phrase you are looking for in the text will normally be in the same tense so this will narrow down your search.
Career Possibilities
In today’s increasingly multicultural, diverse, and globalised workplaces, strong language skills are more essential than ever. Career opportunities extend beyond tourism, culture, and heritage into fields such as business, law, education, public administration, politics and the EU, healthcare, and cutting-edge STEM industries.
Competence in a foreign language develops skills such as adaptability, creativity, problem solving, multitasking and teamwork. These transversal skills are highly valued by employers and open up a wide range of fascinating, dynamic and well paid careers.
Check out careers in the European Union here.
3rd Level Requirements
Required for 3rd Level?
A third language, besides English and Irish, is a requirement for entry into a number of third level courses. Click here for a list of CAO courses that require a modern language.
This subject may be essential for entry into some CAO courses. However, this can change, so it essential that you check entry requirements with college websites for any courses you are applying for. Click on the link below to view courses that may require this subject for entry.
Spanish 
