Belvedere College SJ

“El estudio de las lenguas extranjeras nos permite descubrir aquello que está más allá del perímetro de nuestro pensamiento. Nos abre las puertas a un mundo de diversidades tradicionales y filosóficas” Eddie Machín, Escritor

Spanish as a subject aims to bring students closer to fluency in the Spanish language, as well as developing a good knowledge of literature, culture, and geography to provide a context for communication. As the second most natively spoken language and studied language in the world, it has widespread use in international business and makes travel to Spain, Mexico, and most of Central and South America much more accessible.

What kind of student might Spanish suit?

1. Anyone with an interest in Spanish culture, history, and language.
2. Students interested in travelling the world.
3. Students who are considering working in Spain (or other Hispanic countries) or international relations in the future.

Spanish Department – Staff

Louise O’Sullivan
Maria Fenton
Millie Barnes
Laura Keelan (Subject Coordinator)
Susanne Murphy

Subject Overview

The aims of learning Spanish at Belvedere College are the following:

• To contribute to pupils’ awareness of language as a system of communication
• To give pupils an awareness of another culture, and thus a more objective perspective on aspects of their own culture
• To contribute to the development in pupils of the capacity to engage in fruitful transactions and interactions with others
• Through the above, to contribute to pupils’ overall personal and social development.

The general communicative aims of Spanish include:

• Enabling the pupils to cope with the normal classroom use of the target language
• Equipping pupils with a competence in the target language, which would enable them to provide themselves with basic necessities.
• Furnishing pupils with linguistic skills making it possible for them to pursue aspects of their general interests through use of the target language
• Through these aims ensuring that competence in the target language is conducive to the fulfilment of the general educational aims.

In this section

Leaving Certificate

Transition Year

Junior Certificate

Junior Cycle

Spanish Exchange

Spanish Debating

Useful Websites

Digital Dialects : The Digital Dialects website features free online games for learning languages. Language resources include games for learning phrases, numbers, useful words, spelling, verb conjugation and alphabets in a wide range of languages.

Verbguru: A verb conjugation tool for English and Spanish verbs. It includes a tester which allows users to practise verb conjugations.

Hello-World: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Indonesian for young learners. Games, activities and songs with native speaker recordings.

Zut: The Zut (OYE for Spanish) website features free online games for learning languages. Language resources include games and exercises to aid with the learning of grammar and vocabulary.

Spanish Apps