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... 😓🤤

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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?) 😂

Hiya ,
This is actually so reassuring, thank you for giving me the idea! I could perhaps trial it because I am the only person doing this but I have a feeling that if I do choose to go with Spanish (which I probably will now) I won't give up on it too easily. It took so much hard work and effort to get French where it is now, and I loved the challenge of it so much. But what my teacher told me was that it's pointless to keep me in the French class if it's not challenging me enough anymore. Don't understand what that meant but I rolled along with it.

I'm going to give it a shot. I'm going to work hard and prepare myself so that come GCSE, I'll be confident in it. You're right, it will help me so much in the long run especially if I want a language based future.

Thank you!

i took french and german and, although sometimes in lessons i’d mix them up, in the real thing everything was fine...if you’re truly passionate about the subjects you’ll put in the hours however if you do feel you might have to work 10x harder for spanish, to get it up to a decent standard, then you’re not making good use of your time

having achieved 2 level 9s, with languages you have to keep at it throughout the year with vocab learning etc so if you’re up for that then why not

My mate did 3 so(mandarin and Spanish might contrast a little more but you know)
My other friend got 9s in both French and Spanish at gcse and is now doing for at a level so yeah can be done for sure if you like languges.

(Neither were native speakers of anything originally)

Mate I done it makes no difference actually makes it a lot easier and u won’t get confused between the two . I did both and got two a stars

Aw I'm glad this helped
That's good if you won't give up on it too easily
I kind of get what your teacher is trying to do and I think they're trying to maintain your interest in languages by challenging you with another. I personally did Spanish at GCSE and I often felt that the content was too easy, which gradually led to me losing interest
Best of luck with the languages!!

It certainly did help.
I'm a tough cookie.
Awwwww. It's so sad that you lost interest, and I kinda get where he's coming from now. I mean, I don't think I can carry on in the French class because I will eventually become a little bored.

Thank you! I'm going to start with some light work today just to get into the habit.

It's just what it is Now, I just learn languages for fun, when I can be bothered enough, and it's quite nice actually cos there're no expectations to do well
Good idea

That's a good approach to take. I wish there were no expectations for me but I gotta wait for another... couple of years?
I'll tell you how it goes.

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

@syrup! That's the whole point isn't it. As we both know, anything worthwhile has to be earned through hard work. As my elder son (the one who studied German)'s teacher said to me, "you can't just walk into Oxford". She wasn't aware at that point how much work he had done at home, and apologised to me when he finally got his place.

Just another thing to add, whilst I'm at it. Modern foreign languages are one of the ten easiest subjects to get into Oxford for. German, as a language declining in popularity, particularly so.

Just out of interest- what A levels did your son take and what grades did he get in them?

Just to get down to brass tacks, he only got 3A*s for GCSEs, took about 10 or 11, but rest were As
He did 3 x A2s: German (A), English (A*) and History (A).
He was very disappointed not to get A* in German. The offer was AAA so he exceeded it anyway.
If you want to go down this route, it's a good idea to go for English A level (but not completely necessary), as over 80% of the course is literature.

@syrup! That's the whole point isn't it. As we both know, anything worthwhile has to be earned through hard work. As my elder son (the one who studied German)'s teacher said to me, "you can't just walk into Oxford". She wasn't aware at that point how much work he had done at home, and apologised to me when he finally got his place.

He should by no means be disappointed, I understand about the German but they are still incredible results. So if you want to apply for languages at Oxford the offer is AAA?

I love English Literature and as well as French, am planning it as an A level. It's the third one that troubles me, I have no clue what to do. 😣

Maybe you could do Spanish if you like that... You could do French sole (he did German sole)

Perhaps, but I'm going to have to see where Spanish takes me first. I probably sound stupid lol but what's a French sole?

French on its own

Spanish and French compliment each other really well, and you’re passsionate enough for it to not hold you back so go for it!!