6 min read
Feb 25, 2026
Top tips from an Examiner for Spanish Oral exam
Your Spanish oral is not about being perfect — it’s about showing what you can say, not what you can’t. The examiner is there to give you marks. You are always going to leave the room with more marks than when you entered. ¡Buena suerte tú puedes!
Things to remember:
The examiner is there to give you marks.
They want you to do well.
Learn your topics well and you direct the conversation.
The more you are talking the better, but make it sound natural, don’t sound like you are reciting it.
Use lots of eye contact and hand gestures to help with this.
Learn your roleplays.
Structure of the exam
The oral is split into two parts. First you have the ten minutes general conversation and then you move onto the roleplay for about five minutes. So in total the exam will last about 15 minutes.
The general conversation is worth 70/100 marks. (70%)
Yourself
Your family
Where you live
Your house
Your school
Your hobbies
Your plans for the future
A past holiday
A future holiday
What you did last weekend
Start off nice and easy with introducing yourself and describing yourself physically and personality. This will guide the conversation then as to what topics you want to get onto next. For example if you describe yourself as being sporty well then the examiner is probably going to ask you about sport so get ready.
If you play sports and you can talk about it make sure you expand on it. If it is football for example, talk about the team, are they good/bad? Do you win games? When do you train? Etc.
If you say you like to hang out with your friends on the weekend, be able to expand here too. Where do you go? What do you do? How do you get there? Why do you like spending time with them or doing what you do? Etc
Use a range of tenses. You are going to be examined on your use of grammar and vocabulary. Be able to talk in the present tense, past tense, and future.
Prepare your plans for the future in relation to next weekend/next summer (6th year holiday)/next September (are you going to go to University or get a job?)
Expand on these too. For example next summer if it is a holiday talk about the activities that you plan to do and talk about the place you are going to etc)
For university, talk about the course and why you want to do it and the entry requirements, points etc.
Be able to talk about the past, e.g. last summer – again expand on this talk about where you went/what you did? Where did you stay?
Never give a one word answer, always expand in detail on each topic.
Don’t panic if you make a mistake, just correct yourself and move on. Examiners like when you correct yourself.
If you don’t understand the examiner, ask them to repeat the question. “¿Puede repetir por favor?”
The roleplay is worth 30/100 marks. (30%)
LEARN! – There is nothing more frustrating for an examiner than a student not having learned the roleplay.
You have to learn three.
Practice saying them out loud, record yourself, listen to them, write them out, use timers. Do whatever it takes but please make sure you know these.
If you know your roleplay you can walk in knowing you have 30 marks in your pocket, imagine how at ease you would feel. This is something you can have full control over.