Junior Cert: Spanish: The quality of the tape in the Junior Certificate Spanish aural exam was excellent, with clear voices.
In the written exam at higher level, a question (page 8, question 2) about holiday flights was a prime example of topicality and accessibility.
However, as in the Leaving Cert papers, a use of unnecessarily difficult vocabulary may have caused problems for some.
For example, in an item concerning the wife of Spain's president, Ana Botella, the word funcionamiento would not have been understood by a lot of students. The word related to the organisation of a childcare centre.
The question about Antonio Banderas - appointed tourism ambassador of Andalucia - was a hit with students. Although, as in the higher paper, there was insufficient space to answer some of the comprehension questions.
Section C - which featured a question on children and pets - was very difficult because some would not have known the vocabulary - del tempio disponible (amount of time available). Tempio also means weather, so some students may have been caught out.
The final question of the higher paper was really difficult. It involved writing a letter and there were too many points to deal with in to great a variety of tenses - conditional, present, past and the future, said Ms Máire Ní Chiarba, ASTI spokeswoman. The ordinary level saw no complaints - in Ms Ní Chiarba's school anyway.