The Junior Cert Spanish papers were well-received yesterday, with particular praise for the quality and clarity of the aurals.
"My students at higher and ordinary level were all quite happy with the tapes," Sheila Crimmins, a teacher at St Aloysius School in Cork, said.
"They tested what young adults would need to know if they were going to Spain, and the material was quite up-to-date."
Brenda McMahon, a teacher in the Sacred Heart School in Drogheda, Co Louth, was also impressed by the material tested and the quality of the aural tapes.
"There was a very good diversity of subject matter and a good range of vocabulary used," McMahon said.
Both teachers particularly liked the question on the Buena Vista Social Club. "It was a very topical reference, and a good choice, particularly for ordinary level," McMahon said.
The ordinary-level reading section posed "no great problems" and the written section was "predictable", Crimmins said.
Crimmins was also pleased with the quality of graphics throughout. "This was a very well-thought-out paper."
The higher-level paper was a little more demanding, Crimmins said, but again the illustrations were helpful.
"There were good, clear graphics supporting the questions and the well-prepared students should have had no problems."
The paper was "testing but appropriate", she said.
McMahon also found the higher-level paper quite fair. "The basic grammatical points were well tested," she said.