someone very bossy that can threaten me some essay questions for FRENCH GCSE

bunced

une matière = subject
un prof = teacher
une lycée = sixth form
un collège = high school
une école = school
passer un examen = to sit an exam
réussir un examen = to pass an exam
fêter = to celebrate

Also learn any words you have to look up.

Cough. Cough. Un lycée. :p:

Chezua: here's an idea, go post in the société française in this forum for a while. :wink:

Look up any words you don't know and so on...

Reply 5

Fred Basset

generalebriety

Cough. Cough. Un lycée. :p:

Reply 6

deutschsweetie

ahh the days of gcse .. yeah i had this problem last year they were like oh yeah yeah ull get an A. WHAT DID I GET!!!!! see sig!! and thats only predicted!

Reply 7

Chezua

OP

12

aww too bad, i've already sent the letter and i'd put 'UNE'. silly 'bunced'! :mad:

J/K =P hope i get a good mark atleast :frown:

sure, i'll have a look at the society :wink:

Reply 8

felixlechat

generalebriety

Cough. Cough. Un lycée. :p:

Good God. So it is. Well that was wasted time learning the ending of words which are typically masculine/feminine.

Reply 9

dont worry- i did spanish gcse without any lessons and got a letter from AQA telling me i got one of the top 5 results in the country! i was hoping for a B/A

in the GCSE french quality of language thread (GCSE) i posted a list of 12 things to include that pretty much guarantee you an A* (my examples have mistakes in them tho- which other people correct)

and other people in that thread pretty much cover everything you need to do

seriously dont worry about it- i was crap at spanish and im not amasing at italian- ive dont them both in less than a year- not working hard at all- and ive A* level easily.

NO WORRIES!!! languages are easy and formulaic at GCSE

for listening/reading if you havent had it: just learn the vocab- that simple

Reply 10

felixlechat

Good God. So it is. Well that was wasted time learning the ending of words which are typically masculine/feminine.

Heh, I've made the mistake myself before, don't worry. :wink:

Reply 11

butterfly_girl_5

NO WORRIES!!! languages are easy and formulaic at GCSE

You seem to be posting this a lot and not really saying anything more specific. While I agree with you, it seems to me that there are still tens of thousands of people getting Cs and lower every year. Who knows, maybe there really is some secret easy and formulaic approach that no one knows about; or maybe we're just good at languages. Either way, care to expand on this "formula" for getting an A* in a language GCSE, for the uninitiated? If it turns out to work for other people, you'll have hundreds of people thanking you on results day... if not, maybe you should give up and accept the fact that you're good at languages. :smile:

Reply 12

generalebriety

You seem to be posting this a lot and not really saying anything more specific. While I agree with you, it seems to me that there are still tens of thousands of people getting Cs and lower every year. Who knows, maybe there really is some secret easy and formulaic approach that no one knows about; or maybe we're just good at languages. Either way, care to expand on this "formula" for getting an A* in a language GCSE, for the uninitiated? If it turns out to work for other people, you'll have hundreds of people thanking you on results day... if not, maybe you should give up and accept the fact that you're good at languages. :smile:

well i just say it because the general concensus is that they are easy. the exam itself is possibly the least demanding of any GCSE subject ive ever come across and the revision is very straight forward. I think the people who get Cs either havent done enough effective revision (not because theyre lazy)

Yes- its easy for me especially because im good at languages (although obviously not good at accuracy as you well know :p:

) but yes- there is a formula:

1. learn all the vocab on the syllubus (or near)
2. be familiar with all the grammar
3. include the 12 language features I mentioned with set phrases that are prelearnt and checked by a teacher to make sure theyre correct
(4 tenses, adverb, time phrase, opinion +justification w 'because', pronoun, 'good vocab'- where 'boring and interesting are considered as 'good', using words like 'moreover', possibly a prelearnt subjunctive phrase)
4. obviously- in writing exams- answer all the bullet points- which i didnt do in my italian mock and still got an A
5. plenty of practise papers to learn the un-sly ways they try to catch you out and get used to the exam format

thats my formula for getting an A* at GCSE- always works for me. Ill go into more detail for language specific advice if you want

Im sure 90% of students doing GCSE languages arent aware of this- and if they were and cared enough then a lot more people would get As and A*s. Im just convinced it works because its a) in letts revision guide- which i always found most helpful b) it helped me get an 98% on my spanish GCSE when i certainly didnt deserve it (in terms of how good my spanish is). c) my french teacher taught french GCSE to me like this and everyone in her classes always got A*s. i think its near fool proof because it ticks enough boxes to get pretty much full marks on quality of language and- if you prelearn most of the phrases- near full marks on accuracy. like you said in the other post- that isnt the way to go about learning a language well, but its a fast track way to an A* at GCSE level. also- in AS french i always get 8/9 for grammar in all my essays even tho they contain loads of mistakes.

but even if it doesnt work- its worth trying- id bet money anyone who gets B or higher on average in all their subjects could fail to get an A* with this approach

Reply 13

felixlechat

butterfly_girl_5

well i just say it because the general concensus is that they are easy. the exam itself is possibly the least demanding of any GCSE subject ive ever come across and the revision is very straight forward. I think the people who get Cs either havent done enough effective revision (not because theyre lazy)

Yes- its easy for me especially because im good at languages (although obviously not good at accuracy as you well know :p:

) but yes- there is a formula:

1. learn all the vocab on the syllubus (or near)
2. be familiar with all the grammar
3. include the 12 language features I mentioned with set phrases that are prelearnt and checked by a teacher to make sure theyre correct
(4 tenses, adverb, time phrase, opinion +justification w 'because', pronoun, 'good vocab'- where 'boring and interesting are considered as 'good', using words like 'moreover', possibly a prelearnt subjunctive phrase)
4. obviously- in writing exams- answer all the bullet points- which i didnt do in my italian mock and still got an A
5. plenty of practise papers to learn the un-sly ways they try to catch you out and get used to the exam format

thats my formula for getting an A* at GCSE- always works for me. Ill go into more detail for language specific advice if you want

Im sure 90% of students doing GCSE languages arent aware of this- and if they were and cared enough then a lot more people would get As and A*s. Im just convinced it works because its a) in letts revision guide- which i always found most helpful b) it helped me get an 98% on my spanish GCSE when i certainly didnt deserve it (in terms of how good my spanish is). c) my french teacher taught french GCSE to me like this and everyone in her classes always got A*s. i think its near fool proof because it ticks enough boxes to get pretty much full marks on quality of language and- if you prelearn most of the phrases- near full marks on accuracy. like you said in the other post- that isnt the way to go about learning a language well, but its a fast track way to an A* at GCSE level. also- in AS french i always get 8/9 for grammar in all my essays even tho they contain loads of mistakes.

but even if it doesnt work- its worth trying- id bet money anyone who gets B or higher on average in all their subjects could fail to get an A* with this approach

I think you're being a bit thoughtless. If it was so easy to get As and A*s in foreign languages at GCSE, don't you think every hardworking person who took said GCSEs would get these grades? Plenty of perfectly intelligent people who know "effective revision" techniques, as you put it, don't come out with As and A*s. You can't make flippant comments about people failing their foreign language GCSEs because they don't know how to study or whatever you've been misled to believe. Some people, horrendously unfair as it is, simply have a knack for languages. Doesn't the fact that you get top grammar marks in your essays say enough? I think you need make your peace with this and stop assuming that it's so straightforward.

Reply 14

felixlechat

I think you're being a bit thoughtless. If it was so easy to get As and A*s in foreign languages at GCSE, don't you think every hardworking person who took said GCSEs would get these grades? Plenty of perfectly intelligent people who know "effective revision" techniques, as you put it, don't come out with As and A*s. You can't make flippant comments about people failing their foreign language GCSEs because they don't know how to study or whatever you've been misled to believe. Some people, horrendously unfair as it is, simply have a knack for languages. Doesn't the fact that you get top grammar marks in your essays say enough? I think you need make your peace with this and stop assuming that it's so straightforward.

These were my initial thoughts, but I do think her post is mostly valid. I do have one or two small bits of criticism of my own to make...

butterfly_girl_5

1. learn all the vocab on the syllubus (or near)
2. be familiar with all the grammar
...
5. plenty of practise papers to learn the un-sly ways they try to catch you out and get used to the exam format

Now I remember you posting in another thread that you found maths difficult. So what would you think if I said "it's easy to get an A in maths A-level - just learn all the techniques, and all the formulas, and do practice papers so you know where to apply them"? All you've said here really is "make sure you know everything on the syllabus and can apply it" - which might work very well for you, but for someone who's not so good at languages, it won't. People come up with some bloody funny bits of grammar, you know; my teacher once went on to our A2 set about how her entire GCSE group was getting mixed up on simple verbs, producing weird constructions like j'ai allé, je me suis allé, je m'ai levé, je se lever, je me suis joué au foot and so on. Clearly the grammar has mostly been learnt there; whether it's been applied correctly or not, I'll let you decide.

butterfly_girl_5

set phrases that are prelearnt

Do you not think you run a risk of learning too much as set phrases? I knew people who, when doing GCSE French, answered "what did you do last weekend?" with "next weekend I will go to the cinema and blah blah blah...", which was a perfectly worded and pre-learnt answer, but which will barely have got any marks, because instead of picking up on the tense, they picked up on a rising tone indicating a question, a "tu", some part of "faire" and "le week-end", and recited pre-learnt material.

I know I've criticised most of your post there, but I do admit it's good advice. Sadly, I agree also with felixlechat - I think you have to realise the border between your own intelligence/ability for languages and how much of it is exam technique. I conducted my own experiment to see whether I could learn Spanish up to GCSE level in six weeks from scratch, and I did it; how much of that was me being naturally good at languages (already speaking French to a level higher than GCSE, having been interested in languages since I was 4) and how much of it was exam technique (prepared for by going through 16 listening tests the night before :biggrin:

) I don't know, but I'd be inclined to think it was more the former, since there are still people who simply cannot grasp grammar no matter how much they try, and who try desperately to learn vocab but fail.

Interesting-ish anecdote. Someone in my A2 German class used to be amazing at learning vocab - he used to walk into the class knowing every single word out of the page of maybe 150 words we'd been asked to learn. We'd say a word in English and (normally instantly) he'd reply with the German. As soon as that test was put onto paper, though, he forgot absolutely everything, and ended up with about 2/25 every single time. Then after the test my teacher would read out a word from the test that he'd got wrong, and he'd answer straight away. But he'd never be able to put it down onto paper. Just goes to show, people's minds work in many weird and wonderful ways.

Reply 15

generalebriety

Now I remember you posting in another thread that you found maths difficult. So what would you think if I said "it's easy to get an A in maths A-level - just learn all the techniques, and all the formulas, and do practice papers so you know where to apply them"? All you've said here really is "make sure you know everything on the syllabus and can apply it" - which might work very well for you, but for someone who's not so good at languages, it won't. People come up with some bloody funny bits of grammar, you know; my teacher once went on to our A2 set about how her entire GCSE group was getting mixed up on simple verbs, producing weird constructions like j'ai allé, je me suis allé, je m'ai levé, je se lever, je me suis joué au foot and so on. Clearly the grammar has mostly been learnt there; whether it's been applied correctly or not, I'll let you decide.

your right here- it depends on beng able to apply it. I wouldnt say the same thing for maths a-level because a-levels arent formulaic. Also- even at GCSE the people in my class and the teacher all made mistakes and found things hard, whereas the only thing intellectually challenging about languages at GCSE is being able to know which words and simple phrases correspond.

generalebriety

Do you not think you run a risk of learning too much as set phrases? I knew people who, when doing GCSE French, answered "what did you do last weekend?" with "next weekend I will go to the cinema and blah blah blah...", which was a perfectly worded and pre-learnt answer, but which will barely have got any marks, because instead of picking up on the tense, they picked up on a rising tone indicating a question, a "tu", some part of "faire" and "le week-end", and recited pre-learnt material.

well thats where being familiar with the grammar comes in I guess- you have to be able to recognise tenses for all the exams. and what I mean is- writing things youve written before which you know are correct, but with a limited space of time it does help learn phrases- more for things like the subjunctive, and its easier to write accurately when you dont just try and say what you would in english. but I dont like doing it unless I have to- at GCSE I just wanted to get A*s (cambridge hopeful) but now Im more interested in learning the language and actually getting good at it.

generalebriety

I know I've criticised most of your post there, but I do admit it's good advice. Sadly, I agree also with felixlechat - I think you have to realise the border between your own intelligence/ability for languages and how much of it is exam technique. I conducted my own experiment to see whether I could learn Spanish up to GCSE level in six weeks from scratch, and I did it; how much of that was me being naturally good at languages (already speaking French to a level higher than GCSE, having been interested in languages since I was 4) and how much of it was exam technique (prepared for by going through 16 listening tests the night before :biggrin:

) I don't know, but I'd be inclined to think it was more the former, since there are still people who simply cannot grasp grammar no matter how much they try, and who try desperately to learn vocab but fail.

I agree with you here- i guess what I mean is that for a GCSE languages are 'easy' because the exams (apart from the oral maybe) are much less demanding and much more formulaic, and since people are having to work in a foreign language, the intellectual level aside from that isnt as demending as it is in history, geography ect. but certainly- there are some people that just wont get A*s in any subject. also- we know everyones capable of learning a language- we all speak english,and people with very low intellect can be bilingual- but you cant say 'everyone can be a-grade standard in maths'
but for me- the bottom line is, better to have the technique than not. and even people who find languages really difficult would probably find it helpful to know what theyre aiming to do.

as for the argument about how 'if it was that easy, everyone would do it.' well not more than 5 people have viewed the posts where Ive said it so I seriously doubt one person in tsr is going to have an effect on national results. but Ive found the same thing in lots of areas- simple things that you find out if your lucky enough to have good teachers. I found grade 5 theory as impossible as maths but a good teacher taught me 'the method' and I got 92%- but her other students didnt because they didnt revise. even with english- I understand how to write an A grade essay- doesnt mean i will automatically do it- but the fact that I know how makes it much more straight forward and possible

anyway- Im sure youre both right about how some people just find it too difficult, I just think the best way to try for an A*in a GCSE modern language is to use that method- it defiantely helps. its true- even in languages where I wasnt good i still found learning them easy. I just find it easier to have a clear method- makes it easier for me to motivate myself and work so basically it doesnt guarantee and A* but its definately worth using worth using.

sorry- thats so long- when i take short cuts I dont tend to present a very good argument

Reply 16

felixlechat

Plenty of perfectly intelligent people who know "effective revision" techniques, as you put it, don't come out with As and A*s. You can't make flippant comments about people failing their foreign language GCSEs because they don't know how to study or whatever you've been misled to believe. I think you need make your peace with this and stop assuming that it's so straightforward.

surely if people dont get As/A*s then their revision technique isnt effective? and isnt it just as bad to assume its difficult. if you follow the steps I wrote in a piece of writing and it gets less than a strong A id be very suprised.

Reply 17

felixlechat

butterfly_girl_5

surely if people dont get As/A*s then their revision technique isnt effective?.

Bad exam day? Coming across vocabulary that you just haven't learned? Stupid mistakes? I scraped an A in GCSE French; I also got 284 UMS points using the same revision techniques at AS. There are dozens of reasons why someone who revises well enough wouldn't get top grades at GCSE.

butterfly_girl_5

and isnt it just as bad to assume its difficult.

..No? Is it so hard to comprehend that as you seem to find maths difficult, others find foreign languages difficult?

butterfly_girl_5

if you follow the steps I wrote in a piece of writing and it gets less than a strong A id be very suprised.

Don't you think you're coming off as arrogant? To be quite frank, your so called fool-proof method is just common sense. Of course learning the vocabulary and consolidating grammar is going to get you to top marks, but only if you've got the intellectual capacity to partner a conscientious attitude. My point is that revising thoroughly and being hard working isn't enough sometimes, it takes a certain flair for a subject to get much higher marks.

Reply 18