Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Spanish GCSEs - Is DS for real? - Oral exam

33 replies

Buck3t · 19/04/2017 20:52

I'm not sure if my son is being untruthful, not listening when he should be (more likely) or if it's wholly true.

He doesn't appear to be practising speaking in spanish. I asked him if there isn't an oral part to the exam. He said no.

I do remember that I asked a couple of years ago about vocabulary testing - I remembered vocab books (even found my old french ones) and the teacher said they don't do it that way anymore. I thought fine, I'm 20+ years older, things change, so fair enough. However, now he's saying there's no oral element to the exam.

Now before I come across as one of those weird parents to his spanish teacher (why do I care what they think of me exactly?), I thought I'd ask here first. So tell me what do you know? Can you pass a GCSE without being able to pronounce 'Monopatin' correctly?

OP posts:
toffee1000 · 19/04/2017 21:49

ISA: investigative skills assignment, aka practical.
The oral exam for GCSE Spanish would be in Year 11. It's during usual term time not the specific exam period. Oral exams are always earlier than the written papers, because the examiners have to go round all the schools.

Original poster
Buck3t · 19/04/2017 21:45

Teen and Tween - no - I have no idea of what you are talking about. What are ISAs. I get CAs are controlled assessments (not good with acronyms sorry).
He's taken some science papers that were old exam questions. All he has said is it was to help him move sets.

We got a letter home about upcoming maths tests after Easter. Sorry I have not a clue how this all works.

So should the oral be done in year 10 or year 11.

OP posts:
Original poster
Buck3t · 19/04/2017 21:42

DS is not taking spanish this year.
His exams are next year.

OP posts:
booellesmum · 19/04/2017 21:18

To be fair I only knew about some of the Spanish assessments as DD got a bit stressed - not a fan of languages! One written assessment I only knew of the night before when she mentioned it while we were at a concert.
All of the other assessments could easily have passed me by.
One of the science ones I only knew about as she was ill on the day and she told me to ask about it being rearranged when I called to say she wouldn't be in.
She does tend to just get on with things.

TeenAndTween · 19/04/2017 21:08

Have you not spent some of the last 5 terms listening to him learning and practicing his 2 spoken CAs?
Or been aware of his 2 written CAs too for his MFL?
Are you aware he has also done Science ISAs and possibly other CAs for other subjects?

booellesmum · 19/04/2017 21:01

DD is taking Spanish gcse this year.
All the speaking and writing assessments have been done already as part of the course.
The only exams during the exam period will be listening and reading.
Wishing him luck!

choccyp1g · 19/04/2017 20:56

My DS did the speaking part as a "controlled assessment" a while ago.
it consisted of writing and learning a speech, and having prepared answers to 5 questions, only one of which they asked you at the end.

innkeeper · 19/04/2017 20:53

He has probably done a speaking assessment as part of his coursework