Experiences of school and college in Spanish - EdexcelReading - opinions on school life and teachers

It is important to be able to understand spoken and written texts on the topic of school and college and to be able to talk about your own experiences of what school is like.

Part ofSpanishSchool

Reading practice - opinions on school life and teachers

Children writing at desks in classroom

Here is some vocabulary connected with life at school.

divertido/afun/amusing
aburrido/aboring
el castigodetention/punishment
el concursocompetition
el comportamientobehaviour
demasiadotoo/too much
entregarto hand in/hand over
esforzarseto make an effort
hacer una preguntato ask a question*
el juegogame
levantar la manoto put one's hand up
la pizarra interactivainteractive white board
mandar deberesto set homework
la reuniónmeeting
riguroso/aharsh
simpático/anice/kind
divertido/a
fun/amusing
aburrido/a
boring
el castigo
detention/punishment
el concurso
competition
el comportamiento
behaviour
demasiado
too/too much
entregar
to hand in/hand over
esforzarse
to make an effort
hacer una pregunta
to ask a question*
el juego
game
levantar la mano
to put one's hand up
la pizarra interactiva
interactive white board
mandar deberes
to set homework
la reunión
meeting
riguroso/a
harsh
simpático/a
nice/kind

*There are a number of different ways of saying to ask in Spanish.

  • To ask a question (where the word question is included) is hacer una pregunta. He asked me a question. - Me hizo una pregunta.
  • To ask (questions) is preguntar. He asked me where I live. - Me preguntó dónde vivo.
  • Preguntar (followed by por) is also used if you are asking for a person. He asked for the head teacher. - Preguntó por el director.
  • To ask for a thing is pedir. Note that there is no word in the Spanish to translate for when using pedir. He asked me for the book. - Me pidió el libro.
  • Pedir is also used if you are asking someone to do something. I'll ask him to come tomorrow. Le pediré que venga mañana.
  • Note also the expression pedir prestado, which means 'to borrow'. He borrowed the book from me. - Me pidió prestado el libro.

Read what these students say about their teachers.

'La profesora de biología es demasiado estricta. No se puede hacer una pregunta si no levantas la mano antes.'

'La profesora de geografía es muy divertida. Hacemos muchos juegos de geografía y concursos en la pizarra interactiva. ¡Qué risa!'

'El profesor de matemáticas es muy serio. Ha pedido una reunión con los padres de uno de los chicos de mi clase porque quiere hablar con ellos sobre el comportamiento de su hijo. Dice que tiene que esforzarse más.'

'El profesor de historia es guay. Casi nunca nos manda deberes.'

'El profesor de inglés es simpático. La semana pasada olvidé entregar mis deberes, pero no me castigó.'

Question

Now answer these questions in English.

  1. Which teacher is cool and why?
  2. Which teacher is too strict?
  3. Which teacher is kind?
  4. Which teacher uses the smart board to play games?
  5. Which teacher has asked for a meeting with a student's parents because of his behaviour?