Spanish in one year?

TheEdgeofGlory

Hey all. I"m currently in 3rd year, and have just moved schools, transferring from a public to a private school. Still in the adjusting period, I have settled in fairly well, but one issue has arisen, and I"m quite torn. ( I would love to get a teacher"s perspective on this in particular). There were a few issues with subject choices ( I studied the typical mandatory subjects, English, Irish Maths, History, Geography, CSPE,Religion ( Don"t have the sit the exam any more as it"s not an exam subject in my new school),science, and chose the optional subjects French, Business, and music.

Business is not taught in the JC cycle in my new school, so I begrudgingly gave it up! ( It was one of my beloved subjects, as I found it a breeze having a strong interest in it outside of school). I"ve had to pick up Home Ec as it"s mandatory, but have kept up music, at the expense of having to forfeit French, as it"s timetabled at the same time. This means that I"ve had to take up Spanish in 3rd year. I started working on first year material over the summer, but didn"t get it finished, so am still working on it now, and my Spanish teacher wants me to get it finished by Mid-term, and have second year material covered by Christmas.


I have always had a flair for languages ( English, Irish, and French), and find French very enjoyable and easy. However, the pace of the Spanish class is immensely swift, and I"m expected to keep up with 3rd year work aswell. I believe that this workload is simply not manageable for 3rd year, even though it is an easier language than French in my opinion. I haven"t done Home Ec since first year, and although it is a manageable subject, I still have to catch up on theory, and complete and submit my ChildCare Project before mid-term! ( 15 % of my Home Ec grade.). I have expressed my concerns to her, but she seems to think it all comes down to "attitude", and when she saw me with French Exam Papers in my class, and when I told her about potentially dropping Spanish, she advised me to go see my academic tutor.I am a very hardworking and dedicated student, but I feel as though Spanish may compromise my other results, and to be honest I feel rather behind during the duration of the Spanish class. I am going to continue with French on my own regardless, and sit it as an extra exam, as I want to do it for my Leaving Cert.


However, she doesn"t believe I can study French on my own, despite the French teacher being very supportive in regards to offering to correct Exam Papers for me, go through things, giving me online resources etc. She believes I would manage no problem. I would feel truly confident walking into a French exam in June knowing I would have had 2 years of formal instruction behind me, and a lot of hard-work done by myself. I think I would be in a much better position than say with the Spanish exam. My parents are going to ring the Spanish teacher on Monday, but I don"t want the school thinking I can" t handle pressure. I would be looking to be allowed to study my French during Spanish. Do you think this would be unreasonable, or do you think I should do both to keep the Spanish teacher happy, and satisfy my own needs with the French?

I"m not sure if I would want to continue with Spanish for the leaving, but as I"m good with languages, it would be beneficial for points. I would love to take up either Italian or Japanese in TY, so I really am not sure. Am I being irrational about the workload?

MmmPancakes

French is the better option here. At least you have 2 years of that, compared to a month or two of Spanish.

Bazinga_N

One thing for sure is you really should have assessed the situation with subject options before moving schools.

Speak to your principal about studying French instead. A language isn't something you can learn in nine months. Especially not one to a Junior Cert Higher Level standard. It's not really your Spanish teacher's permission.

teach88

Home Economics is mandatory but Business Studies is not taught at all at Junior Cycle. Very strange set-up.