In the Leaving Certificate Spanish oral examination, speaking accounts for 25% of your total Higher Level grade. The 15-minute interview combines general conversation with an assessed role-play situation. For Role Play 5 (Avería de coche), you play the role of an Irish driver phoning an insurance company's roadside breakdown service (la asistencia en carretera) after your car fails on a Spanish motorway. To secure top marks, you must convey the full communicative message on each prompt, maintain a polite formal register (usted), use accurate past and present verb tenses, and handle spontaneous follow-up questions from the examiner.
Exam Setup and Approaching the Task
The oral examination lasts around 15 minutes. The role play usually follows the general conversation, though the order can vary depending on the examiner. The examiner gives you a card, in English, which sets out the situation and lists the things you have to say.
You are given a short time to read the card and plan before you start — treat it as about a minute. Use it to fix in your head one complete Spanish sentence per task, paying special attention to your numbers, agreements, and the car's details. When the preparation time is up, the examiner asks if you are ready (¿Preparado? for a male candidate or ¿Preparada? for a female candidate). Answer politely in a full sentence: «Sí, estoy preparado» or «Sí, estoy preparada».
In a telephone role play the examiner normally opens as the company agent (for example, «Seguros Pelayo, dígame, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?»), but always read your card carefully. If your instructions state that you are making the call, take the initiative and open with «Buenas tardes, llamo porque...».
Varied, accurate verb structures are exactly what the examiner is listening for, and they are what separates a competent answer from a very good one. The examiner will also ask a question that is not written on your card to test how well you think on your feet, so listen actively and never answer with a bare sí or no.
Managing the Turn, Asking Questions, and Survival Strategies
Because you are telephoning an insurance company, address the agent formally using usted throughout the call. Keep verb endings in the third person (¿Puede...?, ¿Podría...?) and possessives formal (su empresa, su ayuda).
If You Do Not Understand the Examiner
If the examiner speaks too quickly or you miss a phrase, manage the exchange in Spanish. Handling hesitation gracefully wins credit for communicative resourcefulness:
- «¿Perdone? ¿Puede repetir, por favor?» (Pardon? Could you repeat, please?)
- «¿Podría hablar un poco más despacio, por favor?» (Could you speak a little more slowly, please?)
- «No he entendido bien. ¿Quiere decir que la grúa va a tardar mucho?» (I didn't quite catch that. Do you mean the tow truck is going to take a long time?)
What to Do When You Forget a Technical Word
The syllabus specifically rewards communication strategies when you encounter unknown terms. Never freeze or switch to English. Talk round the word using simple relative clauses:
- «Es la pieza que está debajo del capó, la que da electricidad al coche.» ('It's the part under the bonnet, the one that gives electricity to the car' = la batería).
- «No sé cómo se dice en español, pero es el sitio donde se pone la gasolina.» (The petrol cap/tank).
- If you must ask: «¿Cómo se dice esta pieza en español?» Asking in Spanish keeps the conversation in the target language.
Asking the Agent What Happens Next
A genuine conversation moves in both directions. You may need to enquire about practical arrangements:
- «¿Cuánto tiempo tardará la grúa en llegar?» (How long will the tow truck take to arrive?)
- «¿A qué taller van a llevar el coche?» (Which garage are you going to take the car to?)
- «¿Tengo que pagar algo o está todo incluido en la póliza?» (Do I have to pay anything or is it covered by the policy?)
Confirming You Have Understood
Confirming arrangements demonstrates high-level conversational command:
- «Entonces, si le entiendo bien, la grúa llegará en media hora y me llevarán a un taller cercano, ¿verdad?» (So, if I understand correctly, the tow truck will arrive in half an hour and they'll take me to a nearby garage, right?)
The Five Essential Grammar Structures
Get these five structures right and most of the role play looks after itself.
1. Recent Actions: acabar de + infinitivo
To state that your car has just broken down, use the present tense of acabar followed by de and an infinitive:
- «Mi coche acaba de averiarse en la autopista.» (My car has just broken down on the motorway.)
2. Time Elapsed: hace, desde hace, and llevar + gerundio
Distinguish carefully between completed past time and ongoing duration:
- Completed action (time ago): Preterite + hace + time.
- «Pasé por el peaje hace media hora.» (I passed the toll booth half an hour ago.)
- Ongoing action (duration continuing now): Present tense + desde hace + time.
- «Estoy aquí parado desde hace cuarenta minutos.» (I have been waiting here stopped for forty minutes.)
- Natural native alternative: llevar + gerundio.
- «Llevo cuarenta minutos esperando aquí en el arcén.» (I've been waiting here on the hard shoulder for forty minutes.)
3. Purpose Clauses: Same Subject vs Change of Subject
Check whether the subject changes across your clauses:
- Same subject: Use para + infinitivo.
- «Necesito un coche de sustitución para recoger a mis padres.» (I need a replacement car to pick up my parents — yo need, yo pick up).
- Change of subject: Use para que + subjuntivo.
- «¿Podría enviarme un taxi para que yo pueda llegar a tiempo?» (Could you send me a taxi so that I can arrive on time? — usted sends, yo arrive).
4. The Accidental Se Construction
The accidental se is how Spanish speakers normally describe something going wrong. It sounds far more natural than a word-for-word translation from English:
- «Se me ha averiado el coche.» (My car has broken down on me.)
- «Se me ha pinchado una rueda.» (I've got a flat tyre / a tyre has punctured on me.)
5. Narrating Past Events: Preterite and Imperfect
Use the imperfect (iba, hacía) to set the background scene, and the preterite (se encendió, se paró) for the sudden interruption:
- «Iba a unos cien kilómetros por hora cuando de repente se encendió una luz roja y el motor se paró.» (I was doing about 100 km/h when suddenly a red light came on and the engine stopped.)
Essential Motoring, Road, and Fault Vocabulary
Motorway breakdowns demand specific technical vocabulary. If you hesitate over the numbers or fall back on English terms, the message stops getting through.
Describing What Is Wrong with the Car
| Spanish | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| El motor se ha parado de repente | The engine stopped suddenly |
| El coche no arranca | The car won't start |
| Sale humo del capó | Smoke is coming out of the bonnet |
| Se ha recalentado el motor | The engine has overheated |
| La batería está descargada | The battery is flat |
| Se me ha pinchado una rueda | I have got a puncture |
| Me he quedado sin gasolina | I have run out of petrol |
| Hace un ruido muy raro | It is making a very strange noise |
| Se ha encendido una luz roja en el salpicadero | A red warning light has come on on the dashboard |
Road, Journey, and Emergency Equipment
| Spanish Term | English Meaning | Usage Context |
|---|---|---|
| la avería | breakdown / fault | Tengo una avería grave en el motor |
| averiarse | to break down | Pronominal verb: Mi coche se ha averiado |
| el coche de sustitución | replacement / courtesy car | Vehicle provided while yours is repaired |
| la grúa | tow truck / recovery vehicle | ¿Podría enviar una grúa? |
| el arcén | hard shoulder | Estoy parado/parada en el arcén |
| la autopista de peaje | toll motorway | The AP-6 is an autopista de peaje |
| el peaje | toll booth / toll payment | Pasé por el peaje hace veinte minutos |
| la salida | motorway exit | Veo la señal de la salida 156 |
| a lo lejos | in the distance | Locution for landmarks: Se ve a lo lejos |
| la matrícula | registration plate | La matrícula es 4620 CFK |
| la póliza de seguro | insurance policy | Mi número de póliza es... |
| el chaleco reflectante | reflective hi-vis vest | Legal safety requirement in Spain |
| los triángulos de emergencia | emergency warning triangles | Placed behind the vehicle to warn traffic |
| el 112 (ciento doce) | general emergency number | Standard European emergency phone number |
| la barrera de seguridad | crash barrier (guard rail) | Also colloquially called el quitamiedos |
Important Agreement Reminder
Everything you say about your personal state must match your own gender. A female candidate must say «Estoy parada en el arcén», «Estoy preocupada», or «Estoy sola». A male candidate says parado, preocupado, solo. The car (el coche) is always masculine: «El coche está averiado».
Full Model Dialogue: Complete Breakdown Call
Here is how a complete phone conversation runs from start to finish, incorporating every stage of the exchange:
- Agente: «Seguros Pelayo, asistencia en carretera, dígame.»
- Candidato/a: «Buenas tardes. Llamo porque mi coche acaba de averiarse en la autopista AP-6 en dirección a Lugo, y ahora estoy parado/parada en el arcén.»
- Agente: «Entendido. ¿Me puede dar su nombre y el número de póliza, por favor?»
- Candidato/a: «Sí, me llamo Aoife Kelly. Se escribe A-O-I-F-E. Mi número de póliza es el ocho, cuatro, dos, noventa y uno, eme.»
- Agente: «Muy bien. ¿Sabe en qué punto de la autopista se encuentra exactamente?»
- Candidato/a: «No sé el punto kilométrico exacto, pero pasé por el peaje hace media hora y veo la señal de la salida ciento cincuenta y seis a lo lejos.»
- Agente: «Perfecto. ¿Y qué le pasa al coche?»
- Candidato/a: «Iba conduciendo tranquilamente cuando de repente se encendió una luz roja en el salpicadero, el motor hizo un ruido raro y se paró. Ahora no arranca.»
- Agente: «De acuerdo. ¿Qué modelo de coche es?»
- Candidato/a: «Es un SEAT Ibiza rojo, matrícula cuatro, seis, dos, cero, ce, efe, ka. Lo compré de segunda mano hace dos años y nunca me ha dado problemas.»
- Agente: «Bien, podemos enviar una grúa, pero tardará unas dos horas porque hay mucho tráfico.»
- Candidato/a: «¡Vaya, qué mala suerte! Es que tengo mucha prisa porque debo recoger a mis padres en el aeropuerto de Santiago a las siete. ¿No sería posible enviarme un taxi o un coche de sustitución para que yo pueda llegar a tiempo?»
- Agente: «Voy a ver qué puedo hacer. Mientras tanto, ¿lleva usted puesto el chaleco reflectante?»
- Candidato/a: «Sí, por supuesto. Ya me he puesto el chaleco y he colocado los triángulos de emergencia. Ahora espero detrás de la barrera de seguridad.»
- Agente: «Excelente. Le llamaremos en cuanto salga la grúa.»
- Candidato/a: «Muchísimas gracias por su ayuda. Espero aquí entonces. Hasta luego.»
Pronunciation Rules and Registration Details
Spanish words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s carry the natural stress on the second-last syllable (pe-a-je, sa-li-da). When a word ends in any other consonant, the natural stress falls on the final syllable (mo-tor ). Any departure from these rules requires an accent mark.
- Arcén (ar-THEN or ar-SEN): Ends in -n, so the written accent shifts stress to the final syllable. The same applies to camión and sustitución (soos-tee-too-THYON).
- Avería (ah-veh-REE-ah): The accent on the í breaks the natural diphthong, creating four distinct syllables with stress on the third.
- Grúa (GROO-ah): The accent on the ú breaks the vowel pair into two separate syllables.
- Matrícula (mah-TREE-koo-lah): The accent ensures stress stays on the third-last syllable.
- Peaje (peh-AH-heh): The Spanish j makes a clear, raspy throat sound. Never pronounce it like an English 'j'.
When reciting number plates, read digits individually (cuatro, seis, dos, cero) or in pairs (cuarenta y seis, veinte). Spell letters using Spanish letter names: C (ce), F (efe), and K (ka).
Key terms
- La avería
- A vehicle breakdown or mechanical failure.
- Averiarse
- Pronominal verb meaning to break down or develop a mechanical defect.
- El arcén
- The hard shoulder or emergency lane of a road or motorway.
- La grúa
- A recovery vehicle or tow truck dispatched to assist disabled cars.
- El coche de sustitución
- A temporary courtesy or replacement car provided while yours is repaired.
- El peaje
- A motorway toll plaza or the payment required to drive on a toll road.
- La matrícula
- A vehicle registration plate or registration number.
- Acabar de (+ inf.)
- A verbal periphrasis in the present tense meaning that an action has just taken place.
- Hace (+ time)
- An impersonal time construction translated into English as '... ago'.
- Llevar (+ gerundio)
- A verbal periphrasis expressing the duration of an action continuing into the present: 'Llevo media hora esperando'.
- Para que (+ subj.)
- A conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'in order that', triggering the subjunctive mood whenever there is a change of subject.
- El chaleco reflectante
- A mandatory high-visibility reflective safety vest worn during road emergencies.
- Los triángulos de emergencia
- Hazard warning triangles placed behind a broken-down vehicle on Spanish roads.
- Usted
- The polite, formal second-person pronoun ('you') governing third-person singular verb forms.
Check yourself
How do you say 'My car has just broken down on the motorway' using 'acabar de'?
«Mi coche acaba de averiarse en la autopista» (or «Mi coche se acaba de averiar en la autopista»).
Why is 'para + infinitive' used in 'Necesito un coche para recoger a mis padres', but 'para que + subjunctive' in '¿Podría enviarme un coche para que yo pueda ir al aeropuerto'?
When the subject remains the same across both clauses ('yo' needs, 'yo' collects), Spanish requires 'para + infinitive'. When the subject changes ('usted' sends, 'yo' go), 'para que + subjunctive' is required.
Translate into Spanish: 'I passed through the toll booth half an hour ago and I have been waiting here for forty minutes.'
«Pasé por el peaje hace media hora y llevo cuarenta minutos esperando aquí» (or «...estoy esperando aquí desde hace cuarenta minutos»).
The agent tells you the tow truck will take two hours, but you must be at the airport at seven. What can you say to explain the dilemma and ask for another solution?
«¡Vaya, qué mala suerte! Es que tengo mucha prisa porque tengo que recoger a mis padres en el aeropuerto a las siete. ¿No hay ninguna otra solución, como mandar un taxi?»
You cannot remember the Spanish word for battery ('la batería'). How can you describe it in Spanish to keep the turn moving?
«Es la pieza que está debajo del capó, la que da electricidad al coche para arrancar.»
How should a female candidate say 'I am stopped on the hard shoulder and I am very worried'?
«Estoy parada en el arcén y estoy muy preocupada.» (Female candidate uses feminine agreements: 'parada' and 'preocupada').
Spell out the registration plate '4620 CFK' in Spanish as required in the oral role play.
«Cuatro, seis, dos, cero, ce, efe, ka» (or «cuarenta y seis, veinte, ce, efe, ka»).