THERE were mixed feelings among Leaving Cert students about the higher-level Spanish paper.
Ms Ann Harrow, president of the Spanish Teachers Association, said that there was some apprehension as it was a new format but, overall, it was a "nice paper". The better students found it fair and manageable but some students found it long and difficult, she said.
One mother contacted Exam Times to say that all of the students in her daughter's class were in tears as the paper was "impossible".
Ms Harrow said that the journalistic text on the higher-level paper was relatively easy to read but the questions which had to be answered in Spanish were "tough enough". Some students had difficulties with the phrasing of question 2(b), on page 6, but the text itself was fine, she said.
Section B was reasonable, though some students reported difficulties with question 1, Ms Harrow said. There were no problems with questions 2 to 5. Question 6, which was connected with the comprehension, was in fact the first of the three written pieces, she added.
Some students said that they did not fully understand the title "El modo de vivir tradicional favorecia una mayor calidad de vida". If they did understand it, it offered them plenty of scope, she noted.
The final section, the written pieces, were quite straightforward, Ms Harrow said.
Mr Barry Collins, a teacher at Colaiste Mhuire, Cobb, Co Cork, said that both ordinary- and higher-level papers were well designed and attractive. At higher level the emphasis has changed; it is now based on the comprehension of journalistic texts, he noted.
However, he said it was a shame that the novel El Camina is on the course - adolescents would find it as difficult to relate to as Peig, he said. However, the questions about the novel were fine.
Question 6, section B, was quite demanding, he added.
Section C - the dialogue, letter, diary and note was very accessible, he said. The absence of the old-style translation-type question made it debatable if this type of paper assesses the linguistic abilities of the students to a satisfactory level, Mr Collins said.
At ordinary level, the written paper was nicely presented and the content should not have caused students many problems. Ms Harrow agreed that the ordinary-level paper was reasonable, but the first comprehension was quite demanding.
Both ordinary and higher-level students listen to the same tape for the aural and no problems were reported.