Role Play 3: Una autocaravana/cámper

Exam Format and Structure

The oral examination lasts fifteen minutes per candidate and consists of two parts: a general conversation (where candidates may choose to discuss a prescribed literary work) followed by a role-play situation. The role play forms the second, shorter part of the exam, meaning you must be ready to adapt to the transactional setting immediately without hesitation.

When the general conversation finishes, the examiner gives you a role-play card written in English and allows a short preparation time (about a minute) to read the cues and organise your thoughts. The 30 marks are distributed across the interaction: four guided tasks (accounting for 24 marks) and one unprepared follow-up question (worth 6 marks). Each cue usually contains two or three separate communicative elements. If you omit one element, your score for that cue drops, so tick each requirement off mentally as you speak.

Read your card carefully to see who speaks first. If the first cue belongs to you, open the telephone call directly without waiting for a prompt from the examiner.

Register: The Usted Framework on the Phone

Because you are phoning a commercial vehicle rental company for the first time, you must maintain a formal register. Addressing a customer-service clerk as tú or switching between tú and usted is one of the most common register errors at Higher Level.

Always address the clerk as usted. This means every verb directed to them takes the third-person singular, and all object pronouns and possessives must match (le, su, sus).

Register Check: Self-Test Conversions

• Instead of ¿Puedes mandarme...? $\rightarrow$ Use: «¿Me podría mandar...?» (Could you send me...?)
• Instead of tu oficina $\rightarrow$ Use: «su oficina» (your office)
• Instead of Gracias, eres muy amable $\rightarrow$ Use: «Muchas gracias, es usted muy amable» (Thank you, you are very kind)

Essential Formal Openers and Telephone Formulas

• «Buenos días. ¿Podría ayudarme, por favor? Le llamo desde Irlanda.» (Good morning. Could you help me, please? I am ringing you from Ireland.)
• «¿Sería tan amable de decirme si tienen autocaravanas libres en julio?» (Would you be so kind as to tell me whether you have motorhomes available in July?)
• «¿Me podría mandar los detalles por correo electrónico?» (Could you send me the details by email?)
• «Me llamo Seán Murphy. Le deletreo el apellido: eme, u, erre, pe, hache, i griega.» (My name is Seán Murphy. I will spell the surname for you: M-U-R-P-H-Y.)
• «Mi correo electrónico es seanmurphy arroba gmail punto com.» (arroba = @, punto = .)
• «Mi número de móvil es el seis, ocho, siete... con el prefijo de Irlanda.» (el prefijo = dialling code)
• «¿Me puede confirmar la reserva por escrito?» (Can you confirm the booking in writing for me?)

Core Vocabulary: Vehicles, Pricing, and Conditions

Using precise terminology allows you to negotiate clearly. Use la autocaravana as your default term because its gender and spelling are unambiguous. The borrowed noun camper (often referring to a smaller converted van) is heard in Spain both as masculine (el cámper) and feminine (la camper, short for la furgoneta camper), so sticking to la autocaravana prevents agreement mistakes.

Communicative Functions and Itinerary Planning

A vehicle rental scenario tests five central communicative functions. Master these functions so you can apply them to any set of prompts.

1. Specifying Dates, Times, and Duration

Spanish uses del ... al ... for date spans without an article before the month: «Nos gustaría alquilarla del diez al veinticuatro de julio» (We would like to hire it from the 10th to the 24th of July). For times of day, use the 24-hour clock or standard time phrases: «Llegamos al aeropuerto a mediodía, así que podríamos pasar por su oficina sobre las dos y media de la tarde.»

2. Overcoming Rental Restrictions

Rental companies typically require drivers to be at least 25 years old. Overcome this obstacle by clarifying that an older family member will drive: «Comprendo la norma sobre la edad. Va a conducir mi madre, ya que yo todavía no tengo el carnet de conducir; me lo estoy sacando ahora y espero aprobar el examen en otoño.»

3. Reassuring the Clerk with Evidence

Prove driver competence using specific details: «No se preocupe, mi madre es una conductora muy prudente. Lleva más de veinte años conduciendo por la derecha en varios países europeos y nunca ha tenido un accidente.»

4. Contrasting Plans and Discussing Culture

Contrast past trips with this year's plan: «Otros veranos solíamos ir a la costa, pero este año queremos evitar las aglomeraciones. Queremos recorrer Castilla-La Mancha para descubrir la tierra de Don Quijote y Cervantes, y ver los famosos molinos de viento.»

5. Closing the Call Politely

Do not end abruptly after the last question. Conclude with natural telephone formulas: «Estupendo, entonces quedamos así. Espero su correo electrónico esta tarde con la confirmación. Muchísimas gracias por su ayuda. Que tenga un buen día. Hasta luego.»

Essential Grammar for Higher Level Oral Performance

Higher Level marking schemes reward accurate verb tenses, sophisticated syntax, and correct prepositions:

• Expressing duration with llevar + gerund: To express an action that began in the past and continues into the present, use llevar + time period + gerund: «Lleva más de veinte años conduciendo por la derecha»* (She has been driving on the right for over twenty years). This structure is much more natural in Spanish than translating the continuous perfect literally.
• Expressing intentions with esperar + infinitive: When the subject remains the same across both actions, follow esperar directly with an infinitive: «Espero aprobar el examen» (I hope to pass the test), or «Esperamos recorrer el interior» (We hope to tour the interior). Never insert que when there is no change of subject (espero que aprobar* is incorrect).
• Prepositions of travel and driving (a vs por): Viajar a Castilla-La Mancha means travelling towards or arriving in the region. Viajar por Castilla-La Mancha or recorrer Castilla-La Mancha means travelling around or through the area. Always use por when stating which side of the road you drive on: conducir por la derecha*.
• Placement of negatives: When nunca precedes the verb, omit no: «Ella nunca ha tenido un accidente». If nunca comes after the verb, no must precede it: «No ha tenido nunca un accidente».
• Natural emphasis: Rather than constructing a clumsy double-future sentence, put the new subject at the end or use the subjunctive in a relative clause: «Va a conducir mi madre» or «Será mi madre quien conduzca» (It will be my mother who drives).

Conversational Repair, Unknown Words, and Emergencies

If you do not hear or understand the examiner, ask for clarification in Spanish. Requesting repetition demonstrates communicative competence and is not penalised:

• «Perdone, ¿podría repetir, por favor?» (Excuse me, could you repeat that, please?)
• «¿Podría hablar un poco más despacio?» (Could you speak a little more slowly?)
• Use conversational fillers like «Bueno, pues...» or «A ver...» to buy thinking time.

Circumlocution Strategies

If you forget a specific word, never switch to English. Paraphrase what you mean using descriptive words:

• «No sé cómo se dice en español, pero es una especie de...» (I don't know how to say it in Spanish, but it's a sort of...)
• «Es el aparato que sirve para...» (It's the device used for...)
• For example, if you forget el toldo (awning): «¿La autocaravana lleva esa especie de techo de tela que se saca por fuera para sentarse a la sombra?»

Negotiating Difficulties and Emergencies

If the clerk states that no vehicles are available or the price is too high, negotiate:

• «Vaya, qué lástima. ¿Y no tendría nada disponible la semana siguiente?» (What a pity. And would you have nothing available the following week?)
• «¿Y si la recogiéramos en otra oficina, saldría más barato?» (And if we collected it from another branch, would it work out cheaper?)

If the prompt introduces a vehicle problem or breakdown, report the facts clearly:

• «Se nos ha averiado la autocaravana en la autovía.» (The motorhome has broken down on the dual carriageway.)
• «No arranca el motor y tenemos una rueda pinchada. ¿Podría enviarnos una grúa?» (The engine won't start and we have a flat tyre. Could you send us a tow truck?)

Key terms

Autocaravana

A motorhome or recreational vehicle equipped with beds, cooking facilities, and living space; the preferred unambiguous term in Leaving Certificate Spanish.

Usted

The formal second-person pronoun required when addressing an employee or clerk in transactional oral tasks, requiring third-person singular verb forms and object pronouns (le, su).

Alquilar / El alquiler

To hire or rent / The rental fee or transaction.

Carnet de conducir

Driving licence (also spelled 'carné de conducir' in Spain).

Conducir por la derecha

To drive on the right-hand side of the road, requiring the preposition 'por'.

Prudente

Careful, cautious, or sensible behind the wheel (invariable for masculine and feminine: un conductor prudente, una conductora prudente).

Llevar + gerundio

A grammatical structure indicating an ongoing action that started in the past and continues into the present (e.g. 'lleva veinte años conduciendo').

Seguro a todo riesgo

Fully comprehensive vehicle insurance cover.

Fianza

A refundable security deposit paid when hiring a vehicle or property.

Kilometraje ilimitado

Unlimited mileage on a vehicle rental agreement.

Averiarse

To break down (referring to a machine, motor, or vehicle).

Recorrer

To travel through, tour, or cover a distance across a region or country.