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Original poster

Is Spanish A useful subject to be studying at GCSE level?

32 replies

paulkal · 16/01/2015 07:55

My brother has a daughter who has chosen to do Spanish at GCSE level because it is compulsory at the school she goes to. She now beginning to question whether it's worth it, despite both my brother and I reassuring her that t is a language spoken y many people around the world and may be useful for holidays in the future, if nothing else. Has anyone had a similar experience with a ds or dd, and if so, what did you say?

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Eastpoint · 30/01/2015 07:10

See if you can borrow/buy some Spanish films for her to watch, I think it is really helpful to watch things (with subtitles) in the language you are learning.

ChlorinePerfume · 30/01/2015 06:58

I have a GCSE Spanish. It was the only Spanish course our local adult education centre had on offer. So went with a friend. It was good fun, especially the drinks after the course. It took abt 6 months to complete. I found it easy ( fluent in French so maybe that helped.) Achieved an A* but can not really say I mastered the language to a functional level. One day....

muminhants · 27/01/2015 15:32

Languages are always useful.

Actually, no learning is wasted.

Original poster
paulkal · 27/01/2015 07:38

Thanks for that, opalfire. A very good suggestion which I will pass on.

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opalfire · 22/01/2015 09:27

Paulkal. When I was trying to learn Spanish years ago we had access to online TV shows that were specially selected according to difficulty. They also had the option to slow everything down. The only one I can find now is Yabla but that costs $10 a month and I don't think I had to pay for it. Might be worth discussing with the teacher as to whether there is a free equivalent as it made the learning much more fun (and hopefully less pointless!).

Original poster
paulkal · 21/01/2015 08:12

Thanks for the link. I will pass it on.

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Original poster
paulkal · 20/01/2015 08:01

We're trying to find out from my niece whether it's just the language or the teacher she is having difficulty with. Once we found that out, we can discuss it further.

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Original poster
paulkal · 20/01/2015 07:58

Good point and it's depends sometimes on whether dc likes a particular language and relates to the learning of it.

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Original poster
paulkal · 20/01/2015 07:56

Good point. We have mentioned this to my niece and she is thinking a bit more positively about it.

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SanityClause · 19/01/2015 08:13

Spanish is the second or third most widely spoken language in the world, after Mandarin, and possibly English.

Incidentally, German is widely spoken by other Eastern Europeans (including Russians) as a second language, so is more useful as a business language than might be immediately obvious.

Original poster
paulkal · 19/01/2015 08:13

I will find out if she has the choice of another foreign language. Good point.

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Original poster
paulkal · 19/01/2015 08:11

I agree because, for me , it was straightforward but for my brother's dd it seema to present some learning challenges.

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Original poster
paulkal · 19/01/2015 08:10

Tahnk you for your advice. I will pass it on to my brother.

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Original poster
paulkal · 19/01/2015 08:09

I think that my brother's ds is struggling with learning the language and seems to think that it is not well taught.

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EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 16/01/2015 17:22

Vivienne, I did French GCSE and I still speak it. It comes from spending a lot of time in French speaking countries so I never lost it. I love languages and My GCSE was a real asset.

fedupbutfine · 16/01/2015 17:07

See the following:

www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/

Viviennemary · 16/01/2015 17:06

I don't think learning a language to GCSE level is very useful. You might remember the odd few words in years to come but IMHO it's pretty useless. Though it doesn't seem quite right to say this. But it's what I've found.

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 16/01/2015 17:04

Of course it's useful. It may not lead to a career but it's definitely useful.

eatyourveg · 16/01/2015 17:02

TheFirstOfHerName you missed off DT resistant materials and drama - do they come in at number 6? Wink

I would always encourage any dc to take a language - saying that though ds1 did French and Spanish, hated Spanish and gave it up at Xmas in Y11. I didn't mind at all seeing as he was also doing French, I think I may have thought differently however if it had been his only MFL

lljkk · 16/01/2015 16:43

It's pointless if she hates it but otherwise extremely useful in general. I've used my Spanish skills in every job I've ever had.

Muskey · 16/01/2015 15:51

In year 7 at dds school they teach Spanish and French one year and then the following year they do French and German. Dd will be doing French and German so I will be getting her private lessons in Spanish as I consider German a bit of a waste of time learning it as a language unless you are planning to live there. Given the size of the population of Latin America and the fact that it has a huge economy I think Spanish is one of the most useful languages you can learn along with Mandarin Chinese

NetballHoop · 16/01/2015 15:45

Of course it's a useful subject. It opens up Latin America, will help you with Italian and French, it delays the onset of Altzheimers and more importantly it allows you to pronounce chorizo correctly.

piggychops · 16/01/2015 15:41

Yes! Ours don't have the opportunity to learn Spanish but it's spoken in so many countries, I personally think it should have the same priority as French and German. The world is a far smaller place now.

TheFirstOfHerName · 16/01/2015 15:36

GCSE subject hierarchy according to Mumsnet, with examples (in descending order):

  1. English, Maths
  1. Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology
  1. History, Geography, French, German, Spanish, Latin
  1. RS, Music, Art
  1. PE, Food Technology
BikeRunSki · 16/01/2015 15:31

I did Spanish O Level (old gimmer, but I was the last year of O levels). I am now a civil engineer. Apart from a holiday in Spain, I have never specifically needed Spanish, but I did need a language to get into university. As languages go, it's a pretty easy one to learn.