As IB exam season rolls in, stress levels are peaking. Especially for students taking courses like IB Spanish or French. But what you might not expect, even as a native Spanish speaker, I find the IB Spanish exam overly complicated, and honestly overwhelming.
One of the biggest issues? The exam expects students to master the structure and format of around 30 different text types. That includes things like formal letters, blog posts, opinion articles, brochures, interviews, speeches, and even more. Each has its own tone, and rules. You have to remember how to open and close each type of text, what kind of language to use (formal or informal), and what sections to include—even details like headings, greetings, or sign-offs. The issue? Only three of those formats will actually be on the final exam.
“I’m studying very hard to remember the types of text, and to understand better the listenings” said senior Emma Kneez, who is taking the IB French class.
Bryan Jara, a junior said “People usually says that IB Spanish class is easy for me, as I am native speaker, but what they don’t know, is that I also struggle with some things. Like grammatical structures, too many things to memorize.”
Not only do you have to write using advanced grammar (subjunctive mood, compound tenses, idioms), but you also have to imitate the style of the text type exactly. For example, if you’re given a blog entry, it’s not enough to just share your opinion—you need to include fake comment sections, informal tone, emojis or hashtags, and a title that fits the format. If you forget these small elements, you lose points. And its not because your French or Spanish is wrong but because the format isn’t perfect.
So , we spend weeks, even months, studying structures we may never use. Even the oral exam is stressful. You’re expected to analyze a random image related to global issues and connect it to a cultural topic, And if you forget to mention enough cultural references? that’s points off, even if your pronunciation and grammar are flawless.
Now Imagine facing all that as someone who’s still learning the language. As a native Spanish speaker I struggle with some of these task. For non native speakers, it must feel like climbing a mountai n blindfolded.
