Further Links Contact Us Search Help

Syllabus | Exams | Resources | What's on? | What Next? | Dictionary

Spanish

Home > Spanish > Continuers Course > The Individual > Feelings, opinions, attitudes and preferences > Tasks and sample questions

1. How do parents react to their son/daughter bringing home their first girl/boy friend?
   Parents feel a mixture of emotions ranging from insecurity to feeling uncomfortable about not knowing what to do when faced with the new situation in their home.
   
   
2. Explain why existing family rules need to be changed.
   The rules need to change because the family needs to accommodate the new young person who is now regularly visiting their home.
   
   
3. Which aspects of this new situation do parents find most difficult to handle?
   
   • Use of the bedroom by young people
   • Being left alone at home
   • Being in a room with the door closed
   • Being fair when implementing the household rules
   
   
4. Why has one of these situations become more problematic?
   These situations have become more problematic, because nowadays the bedroom has become, or is considered to be, the young person’s personal world – a place where he/she can listen to music, watch TV or use the computer.
   
   
5. How does the language reflect how parents feel?
   This text indicates that parents, when facing their son/daughter’s first romantic relationship, have difficulties coming to terms with how to handle this new situation ¿Qué sienten los padres cuando….? They have difficulty in knowing what to do and in finding acceptable ways to behave and accommodate their son/daughter’s new friendship.
   
   This uncertainty is shown by the use of rhetorical questions such as ¿Qué nuevas reglas……? ¿Estamos siendo demasiado estrictos? ¿Han cambiado tanto……? which makes the reader think about, evaluate and even relate the situation to his/her own experience. These rhetorical questions also indicate to the reader that the parents are confused and they do not know how to act or how to handle this new situation in their lives. They communicate a sense of awkwardness.
   
   The sense of uncertainty and being lost is reinforced, not only by questioning but also by listing words which express feelings that many parents may experience in that situation such as “¿desconcierto?”, “¿incomodidad?, ¿inseguridad?
   
   The awkwardness is expressed by listing different situations which can occur in the house and that may require new rules, such as whether the young people could be left alone, the right to be in the bedroom together and if the bedroom door should be closed.
   
   Finally, the language the writer has chosen reinforces even further the sense of anxiety and uncertainty parents feel. Words such as “dilema” “reglas de comportamiento” “demasiado estrictos/liberales” “reglas ecuánimes”, “los padres se cuestionen” indicate that parents do not have a clear idea of how to handle this new situation.

Back