2 languages at GCSE- yay or nay? 😐

Hello,
I'll keep this short, but I would just like some advice about studying both French and Spanish. I love languages with a passion and am willing to work hard, but I need to see if the decision is right or not before I commit to anything. I already study French and have been given the opportunity to study Spanish on top (long story) but it is a language that I didn't really pay attention to in primary... 😓🤤

[scrollr]Woops. 🤗[/scrollr]
Well, I said this wouldn't be a long post but perhaps I lied... Anyway any advice on whether I should take Spanish or not is much appreciated, and if anybody has any revision or study tips then I would love to hear from them.

Advantages:
Love languages (already mentioned)
Willing to work hard (already mentioned)
Looks good on CV
Want to pursue languages further and potentially have a career associated with them
Pushes me further (I am working at a good grade in French which is why I have been given this incredible chance)
Looks interesting so far.

Disadvantages:
Could mix up both languages (biggest one for me)
Time consuming so other subjects such as triple science may lack.
Have to start from scratch.
Increases exams- more stress.

Worst case scenario- I start learning Spanish, don't do it properly, procrastinate and both languages go down the toilet. Meaning that my French will say au revoir and leave me forever.


Thank you! (If anyone replies?) 😂

How many GCSEs are you doing? Could you do Russian instead of another GCSE? It's the number of good grades the counts at GCSE level, not so much the subjects and if you speak it, it would be an easy good grade to get.

Do it! In fact do three if you can, I wish I’d had the chance of doing Russian lol

If you’re interested in a career in languages it might be useful to know that a lot of jobs esp interpretation/ translation prefer you to have two languages apart from English (I researched when I was choosing my degree course)

Heyo
Based on what I've read in the thread, I think you should do both at GCSE It's in line with your future plans and you're good at French, which is why you were offered the chance to learn Spanish. If you're willing to work hard, I believe it won't be a problem
Also, you mentioned your worst case scenario, but I think it's not that bad. Maybe ask if you can try doing both for a month or two first before fully committing? Since you're going to be the only one doing both, if you found that it didn't work out for you either because of the workload or whatever, I'm sure your teachers would be fine with you just dropping Spanish because they were the ones who suggested it and it didn't work out for you. Of course, that could mean that your French suffers a bit but you've only done Spanish for a month or two then, so it should be okay
Hope that helps

Hello,
I'll keep this short, but I would just like some advice about studying both French and Spanish. I love languages with a passion and am willing to work hard, but I need to see if the decision is right or not before I commit to anything. I already study French and have been given the opportunity to study Spanish on top (long story) but it is a language that I didn't really pay attention to in primary... 😓🤤

[scrollr]Woops. 🤗[/scrollr]
Well, I said this wouldn't be a long post but perhaps I lied... Anyway any advice on whether I should take Spanish or not is much appreciated, and if anybody has any revision or study tips then I would love to hear from them.

Advantages:
Love languages (already mentioned)
Willing to work hard (already mentioned)
Looks good on CV
Want to pursue languages further and potentially have a career associated with them
Pushes me further (I am working at a good grade in French which is why I have been given this incredible chance)
Looks interesting so far.

Disadvantages:
Could mix up both languages (biggest one for me)
Time consuming so other subjects such as triple science may lack.
Have to start from scratch.
Increases exams- more stress.

Worst case scenario- I start learning Spanish, don't do it properly, procrastinate and both languages go down the toilet. Meaning that my French will say au revoir and leave me forever.


Thank you! (If anyone replies?) 😂

I wouldn't even hesitate, not for a nano second. I learnt French from the age of 4 (carried on to degree level). I also studied German to just beyond A level. This paid me dividends, as I went on to marry someone who was half German, and none of the aunts could speak English. Then several decades later my elder son wanted to study German at Oxford, so I had to up my game to teach him at home. He graduated two years ago, and got his first job based on the fact that he had a German degree.

Spanish, Italian and Russian I learnt at night school. I was absolutely fanatical about my languages and used to study several chapters ahead once I had the basics. I was so excited during the lessons I would actually sit on the edge of my seat.

Learn Spanish, and you will lose yourself in sun, sea, sombreros and a great newfound skill.

if u wanna have a career to do with languages DO IT if not then i say dont do it

Hello Oxford Mum ,
You may remember how excited I am about French (I PMed you for advice, I was MysticalUnicorn🦄 back then. I regret changing usernames...) or you may not remember. Either way, I would like to inform you that French has given me so many delights, so much to look forward to and so much happiness that I would love to relive those feelings in a brand new language. Yes, it has been difficult and yes, I have worked hard but there is not a single moment I regret taking French, or (as you did too 😄) studying ahead and going onto the subjunctive mood and conditional perfect tense while we were studying 'depuis' in class.

You are amazing to have learnt so many languages, and I hope to dear goodness that I get those chances. I am taking Spanish in September for certain, because this opportunity is going to take me further in life than any other will. It's my time to shine.


Thank you so much, Oxford Mum, for being so supportive and kind. And thank you to everyone in fact for helping me realise how much I would be missing out on if I ignored what was staring at me right in the face.

You are MysticalUnicorn! Friend of Chanel's! Of course I remember you, and I tagged you in for my book with your former user name! In other words, you are not getting my book, then! Don't know if you are thinking of Oxford for languages, but if you are, I will pm you the chapter my elder son wrote about getting in to Oxford for German.

I can remember how much you loved languages, and how good you were at them. I would, now I know who you are, really recommend you take up Spanish. I loved it, and so will you.

That's me! Oh gosh, I wish I never changed usernames lmao, I do miss being MysticalUnicorn.

No... I wanna read your book! You know- in the past I used to say that I would never get into Oxford and I probably never will, but it's good to have dreams and it's also good to keep options open. So yes, i would love to get that PM, it sounds awesome. 😄

I'm taking it in September. It means I gotta work now but if I enjoy it (which I probs will knowing me) then it won't feel like work. French never did. Thank you again, I can't stop saying it lol but seriously, you are such a big help to everybody.

Oh my goodness, thank you! That's amazing, you should be so proud of how well you did - and to beat native speakers is incredible.

Although I generally do well in them, French speaking has always deterred me a little due to pronunciation. Would you mind giving me some advice on the French 'R' sound, I'm OK with the Spanish one because Russian has the same rolling R but French I'm struggling with.

Thanks again! 😄

I always used to find random French news on YouTube or somewhere and then copy the pronunciation. They'd say a sentence, I'd pause the video, repeat what they said (as well as I could by copying the intonation and tone etc) until it was perfect and then continue on with the video and the other sentences.

Hello,
I'll keep this short, but I would just like some advice about studying both French and Spanish. I love languages with a passion and am willing to work hard, but I need to see if the decision is right or not before I commit to anything. I already study French and have been given the opportunity to study Spanish on top (long story) but it is a language that I didn't really pay attention to in primary... 😓🤤

[scrollr]Woops. 🤗[/scrollr]
Well, I said this wouldn't be a long post but perhaps I lied... Anyway any advice on whether I should take Spanish or not is much appreciated, and if anybody has any revision or study tips then I would love to hear from them.

Advantages:
Love languages (already mentioned)
Willing to work hard (already mentioned)
Looks good on CV
Want to pursue languages further and potentially have a career associated with them
Pushes me further (I am working at a good grade in French which is why I have been given this incredible chance)
Looks interesting so far.

Disadvantages:
Could mix up both languages (biggest one for me)
Time consuming so other subjects such as triple science may lack.
Have to start from scratch.
Increases exams- more stress.

Worst case scenario- I start learning Spanish, don't do it properly, procrastinate and both languages go down the toilet. Meaning that my French will say au revoir and leave me forever.


Thank you! (If anyone replies?) 😂

I always used to find random French news on YouTube or somewhere and then copy the pronunciation. They'd say a sentence, I'd pause the video, repeat what they said (as well as I could by copying the intonation and tone etc) until it was perfect and then continue on with the video and the other sentences.

Hi there, I also did French and Spanish at GCSE in summer 2018. I got 2 A*s so feel free to ask me anything! I personally didn’t like humanities subjects so did more modern languages to avoid those. For me, as the languages sound pretty different I didn’t get them confused much - but be aware that your GCSE oral exams will be roughly at the same time so you’ll have twice as many to learn. If you’re enjoying mfl and prepared to do a lot and/or considering French or Spanish for a-levels then go for it

i did both for gcse and i got both 9s so its deffo possible
as long as you work for it

Thank you! I'm going to try that out, see if the annoying 'R' sorts out. I have a French radio app on my phone so that's really helping because I can hear how natives pronounce and the accent they use. Polish up my French a little.

Orals at the same time - I guess there a few positives with that because you are working the same skill at the same time.
I'm prepared and yes I do love mfl. Thank you so much for the advice.

Imma work for it alright.