When Franco met Jacko

MICHAEL Jackson and the late General Franco were unlikely bedfellows on this year's higher-level Spanish paper, though the paper itself attracted fewer raised eyebrows than this unusual pairing might have done.

Ms Maire Ni Chiarba, ASTI national convenor for Spanish, an NCCA course committee representative and a teacher in Colaiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire, Co Cork, said the paper was "very challenging but fair". Ms Liz Tierney, a teacher at Ashfield College, Dublin, described the higher-level paper as "quite fair".

Ms Ni Chiarba said the first translation piece wasn't too long and that any difficult words could have been made out by the context, a view shared by Ms Tierney, while the second piece contained few difficulties in vocabulary.

In Section B the first two questions on the prescribed text, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's El coronel no tiene quien le escriba, were fine while the third, on the idea of waiting in the novel, would have provided a great opportunity for students to show their knowledge and understanding, Ms Ni Chiarba said.

The comprehension was fair, according to Ms Tierney, but in comprehension 2(b), students could have had a problem with the word asombrarme - to be surprised at. Michael Jackson popped up in question 2(d) and could have caused problems with a question on his stage dress. "Students might not have covered the clothes topic since Junior Cert," Ms Tierney said. Ms Ni Chiarba noted that questions in the first, second and fourth comprehension pieces were straightforward but the questions on the Franco extract were more testing.

Ms Tierney described the letter topic - based on a report on bullying among young people - as unusual and noted an absence of helpful vocabulary in the report which might have assisted the students in writing.

Ms Ni Chiarba said the topic was good and challenging and was one on which candidates would have had a lot of ideas.

The note exercise was straightforward and not over-demanding, according to Ms Tierney, while the sentences were fair in the grammar section, though she noted a couple of grammatical difficulties and an absence of subjunctives. Ms Ni Chiarba said the translations were always demanding and, in section D, the candidates had to be careful with the grammar, since changes of tense were required.

At ordinary level, Ms Ni Chiarba said the vocabulary was fine in both translations. Ms Tierney said the use of subjunctives in the first translation might have posed some problems for the weaker student and there were some rather difficult words in the second translation which may have caused difficulty. The letter-writing topic, which was burglary, might also have presented some difficulties for students, though the grammar and sentences were straightforward, she said.

Ms Ni Chiarba said that the second and fourth reading comprehension passages were quite testing but in each case the questions were fair.

On the aural-comprehension test, Ms Ni Chiarba said the tape was fine and very clear and the instructions and both paper and tape were also clear. The descriptive passage (part 2) was more demanding than the first, as usual, while part 6, on the arrest of a terrorist in Uruguay. was the most difficult piece.

Ordinary-level candidates might have had some problems, particularly with this piece, but the questions were less difficult, she said.