french or spanish?

I'm just looking for some advice from anyone who's done them. How many tenses do you need to know for each and which one's easier? I think I'm better at French atm, but I think that's only cos I've been doing it longer and have a better teacher.

Thanks for any advice!!

Reply 1

Chewwy

for gcse?

in my experience, spanish is more useful, interesting, and fun. it's also, given the amount of holidays people spend in spain, and the buits of language they pick up, easier.

french is essentially very similar, and at gcse you really do not need a love of any of the langauges. a few set phrases and a decent knowledge of vocab will get you an a/a*.

looking into the long term, i'd reckon spanish to be more useful in university/business, given it's popularity and spread. Though of course, languages even at this level are often embraced as equal.

so, if it were me:

if you just want to go to gcse, then leave it, whatever you prefer/are better at, so in this case french.

if you plan on making a career involving foreign travel, spanish may possibly be better.

i didn't take spanish, since i would have only had 3 years to learn it, instead of 5 for french. with hindsight, i could have done it easily, but never mind...

Reply 2

kellywood_5

I can't say which one's easier as I only do French (although I want to pick up Spanish at uni) so I can only comment on French. The basic tenses you need to know are present, perfect and future. Imperfect, pluperfect and conditional are taught as well, or at least they were to me, but you only need to know them if you're aiming for an A* as they crop up at AS-level. Personally I found French really easy and never seemed to struggle with anything, but I love it and I had a brilliant teacher, which always helps. I'd say just choose the one you prefer, as if you enjoy it more, you'll be more likely to do well anyway.

Reply 3

No Future

Can you do both? I used to hate French, but I'm so glad I did French and Spanish. The courses are quite similar and I don't think one is easier than the other, it's just a matter of learning vocab. Although, Spanish is more widely spoken than French.

Reply 4

rachelrainbow32

i used to hate french until i did it at GCSE and now i really love it, it is one of my best subjects and i am doing it at A-level. i also went on a french exchange which was mega interesting and really improves your french
i dont know much about spanish cos i didnt get the chance to do it