[anthonyfl]

In my prelim I got a 1 for listening and a 2 for reading. I find Spanish enjoyable but sometimes tricky.

I really need to get an A for it because I want to do medicine! I looked on the SQA's website and it says last year 50.1% of people got As for Higher Spanish. Is it that easy?

Thanks


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[CSM1996]

Well if 50.1% got A's i presume so... But only if you're good at it.

[hollo]

It's not too hard to get an A if you put in the effort or are generally quite intelligent. A few of the components will be completed before you sit the actual exam which helps too - one is writing a response to a film/text under test conditions in class (similar to the writing parts of standard grade as you'll have prepared it before and can just memorise if need be) and the oral exam is done with your teacher and should be fine as you'll have prepared everything together.

I'd say modern languages are a good choice if you want a relatively easy workload and you can get high marks without busting a gut, plus universities tend to like them as it's a useful skill, demonstrates communication ability etc etc. If you're doing medicine at uni knowing a language will also be good if you're wanting to do placement or work experience abroad.

[sinfonietta]

As long as you're dedicated (like I wasn't!) then you'll be fine. Grammar and the speaking exam are the most tedious parts.

[animelover123]

Can i ask people on here if they think it will be be hard Crashing Higher Spanish? I have done Higher French and think i am quite good at picking them up, as i can speak English and Chinese.

[Nfergs]

(Original post by animelover123)
Can i ask people on here if they think it will be be hard Crashing Higher Spanish? I have done Higher French and think i am quite good at picking them up, as i can speak English and Chinese.

Last year at my school around 6 people crashed Higher Spanish, and in the end 4 of them dropped down to Int 2 because they found it too difficult. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do Higher because of the layout of my timetable, so crashed Int 2 instead and found it extremely easy. I think if you have the natural skill for languages or if you put the effort in like others have said, you'll be able to crash Higher easily. However if you want to have a definite A or B, I would go for Int 2 first and then Higher.

[animelover123]

(Original post by Nfergs)
Last year at my school around 6 people crashed Higher Spanish, and in the end 4 of them dropped down to Int 2 because they found it too difficult. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do Higher because of the layout of my timetable, so crashed Int 2 instead and found it extremely easy. I think if you have the natural skill for languages or if you put the effort in like others have said, you'll be able to crash Higher easily. However if you want to have a definite A or B, I would go for Int 2 first and then Higher.

How did the other 2 find it?

[sinfonietta]

(Original post by animelover123)
Can i ask people on here if they think it will be be hard Crashing Higher Spanish? I have done Higher French and think i am quite good at picking them up, as i can speak English and Chinese.

It's possible but you would need to put in a ton of extra work. It also depends on how strict your teacher/lecturer is:

When I took Higher Spanish last year there was an Int 2 past paper on the second lesson (first class was Monday and our test was Wednesday) of the term. Anyone who failed was moved down to Int. 2 whether or not they already had a credit SG or Int 2 qualification. Anyone who hadn't studied Spanish formally before were told, prior to the class starting, that they had to self-teach themselves Spanish to an Int 2 level over the summer.

[Nfergs]

(Original post by animelover123)
How did the other 2 find it?

They found it difficult but I think they managed to scrape passes in the prelim. The people in new my class crashing Higher are all being taught from scratch at Int 1/Int 2 level, so it also depends on whether your teacher will do that with you or not.

[animelover123]

(Original post by Nfergs)
They found it difficult but I think they managed to scrape passes in the prelim. The people in new my class crashing Higher are all being taught from scratch at Int 1/Int 2 level, so it also depends on whether your teacher will do that with you or not.

I think i may try and teach myself a little Spanish during the summer, just so i don't feel like i am being thrown into the deep end. However,all this talk of crashing Higher Spanish is really dependent on my results. If i get good grades i can take the risk of crashing it and getting dropped to Int 2 if i am not good enough. If i get average grades, i wont because i just can't take the risk of failing at it, dropping it as i need my Highers for Uni.

[christielovesyou]

(Original post by animelover123)
Can i ask people on here if they think it will be be hard Crashing Higher Spanish? I have done Higher French and think i am quite good at picking them up, as i can speak English and Chinese.

I did it after getting an A in Higher French and found it a breeze. It's much easier than French (and Chinese, I imagine).

[animelover123]

(Original post by christielovesyou)
I did it after getting an A in Higher French and found it a breeze. It's much easier than French (and Chinese, I imagine).

Hey! Did you do Advanced Higher French and Crash Higher Spanish Last year? I am considering doing this combo this year. How difficult did you find it?

[CocaineSquirrel]

If you have no prior knowledge of Spanish I would advise you start teaching yourself the basics now and continue over the summer. I crashed Higher Spanish this year and would say it's do-able. I studied it at a college after school once a week but missed the first 12 weeks or so due to other commitments. I still managed to get a B in the prelim and I hope I improved for the real exam.

So if you start learning now and have a knack for languages (which it seems you do), you will be fine. I was actually surprised by how little is expected of you for Higher languages (especially the speaking) and the listening paper seems to get slower every year. Saying that, I still found it quite difficult, maybe because languages are not my strength, but it's important that you put extra work in the ensure you get a good grade.

[CocaineSquirrel]

(Original post by animelover123)
Can i ask people on here if they think it will be be hard Crashing Higher Spanish? I have done Higher French and think i am quite good at picking them up, as i can speak English and Chinese.

Sorry, I missed the first few posts in this thread. The post above is in response to your question, although hopefully some of it may still be useful for the OP.

[animelover123]

(Original post by CocaineSquirrel)
Sorry, I missed the first few posts in this thread. The post above is in response to your question, although hopefully some of it may still be useful for the OP.

Hello, out of interest, looking at your profile, did you get rejected from Scottish uni's with 5 A's? I would think 5 A's would be more than enough, quite surprised...

Anyways, back to the thread, did you to Sg or Int 2 stuff during the holidays for Spanish.Or did you just jump into the deep end?

[christielovesyou]

(Original post by animelover123)
Hey! Did you do Advanced Higher French and Crash Higher Spanish Last year? I am considering doing this combo this year. How difficult did you find it?

I did, yeah. I found it so-so, Spanish was never a problem but there were quite a few times when I thought I was going to fail AH French. Thankfully the exam was actually really easy, so I've got my fingers crossed for an A (if the SQA are lenient about my speaking - our examiner was a total idiot and we ended up having our speaking exams put under moderation by the SQA. I'm hoping they'll see how he examined incorrectly and that will work in our favour)!

From the point of view of doing two languages, I found it really helped - by AH, you know a lot more about the ins and outs of grammar so it's easier understand in relation to Spanish. I frequently was asked to explain grammar points to the S5s who hadn't come across certain things before (e.g. "Christie, can you explain, what is the passive voice?") which I felt improved my grasp on grammar.

[animelover123]

(Original post by christielovesyou)
I did, yeah. I found it so-so, Spanish was never a problem but there were quite a few times when I thought I was going to fail AH French. Thankfully the exam was actually really easy, so I've got my fingers crossed for an A (if the SQA are lenient about my speaking - our examiner was a total idiot and we ended up having our speaking exams put under moderation by the SQA. I'm hoping they'll see how he examined incorrectly and that will work in our favour)!

From the point of view of doing two languages, I found it really helped - by AH, you know a lot more about the ins and outs of grammar so it's easier understand in relation to Spanish. I frequently was asked to explain grammar points to the S5s who hadn't come across certain things before (e.g. "Christie, can you explain, what is the passive voice?") which I felt improved my grasp on grammar.

Hey, good to hear! I want to do business and languages at Uni so two languages will definitely benefit me. Though i still need to go to school to change my subjects as ive not picked it yet(pending results).

Also, did you have a full set of teaching periods for AH French, because i was told by my held in my school that i would only get 3 max 4 periods of AH and i would be sitting in a tri level class with Int2, Higher and AH. Do you think that will be problem?

Oh, and finally, do you think it will be too late changing in August since i've missed the 2 weeks in June?

Sorry for waffling, i know its the summer holidays but i'm just looking ahead.

[CocaineSquirrel]

(Original post by animelover123)
Hello, out of interest, looking at your profile, did you get rejected from Scottish uni's with 5 A's? I would think 5 A's would be more than enough, quite surprised...

Anyways, back to the thread, did you to Sg or Int 2 stuff during the holidays for Spanish.Or did you just jump into the deep end?

Yes, that is often the case for applicants to medicine, unfortunately. The majority of applicants tend to get 5As so competition is fierce.

I hadn't done SG or Int 2 Spanish previously. I attended an adults' leisure course at university during 5th year which covered the basics. I don't think it was equivalent to SG or Int 2 though because we did very little written work. Also, because I was studying five Highers at the time, I didn't really dedicate any time to learning Spanish outside class. It did help a lot to know the basics though, which is why I recommend that you start learning now. Starting the Higher with now knowledge of the language would not be wise.

[Quick-use]

(Original post by christielovesyou)
I frequently was asked to explain grammar points to the S5s who hadn't come across certain things before (e.g. "Christie, can you explain, what is the passive voice?") which I felt improved my grasp on grammar.

What kind of school did you go to? :P A school for super-intelligent-linguists? I did Advanced Higher Spanish and I had to self-learn the passive voice a few weeks before the exam - it's still quite hard to understand

As for the topic at hand, I did Higher Spanish in S5 and Advanced Higher Spanish and Higher French in S6. I went from Int 2 Spanish and honestly I did find it quite hard. But, that was because I was plain lazy - I never really learned my tenses, verbs, general vocabulary or practiced reading/listening in my spare time. If you do, however, learn your tenses, memorise vocabulary and verbs and listen to the radio in your spare time as well as reading Spanish newspapers online (maybe) you'll definitely get a B at least if not an A. Midway my Higher Spanish course I realised that I really enjoyed it, so I did all of those things and I got the highest mark in my class with a very strong A. What I used to do was whenever I came across a new word or an interesting expression I could use in my essays, I'd write it down on the inside cover of my jotter and when there wasn't any space, I'd write on the outside - the reason being is that it'd always be there for me to see whenever I get my book/open it up thus allowing me to find it whenever or to see it again and again (to memorise it). In your spare time I honestly advise you to google: "Spanish essay phrases". And in reading/listening past papers/excercises if you find any words/expression that seems interesting, note it down for future use and make sure to use it in the future!

[christielovesyou]

(Original post by Quick-use)
What kind of school did you go to? :P A school for super-intelligent-linguists? I did Advanced Higher Spanish and I had to self-learn the passive voice a few weeks before the exam - it's still quite hard to understand

Just a bog standard state school (Well, top 10 state school but that's not my point). We just covered the passive very early on in AH French and we did loads of practice on it so I had a good grasp on it when it came to Spanish.