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Never Listened - Languages

I never ever paid attention in lessons in Year 7 - 9. I have grown more mature and have turned to a potential A* student from C in most of my subjects by working really hard.

I am still really weak on my French and Spanish. I have GCSE's next year and I know nothing really, only basic French and Spanish, which I can probably use to get a C or even less maybe at GCSE!

Can I self-teach myself this summer and turn my fortunes around, or is it impossible?

Please help someone, I want to try and get at least A in both of these subjects, but maybe even A* if I can!

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Reply 1

Find X

Similar situation for me. I found that if you try to learn all the 'rules' for the language now it'll be the most help. Try to learn different tenses and some of the more "out-there" ones such as the pluperfect

Reply 2

KwonoBB

I have all Summer Holidays, do you think I will be able to learn the whole GCSE French syllabus in just 2 - 3 Months of solid work, a few hours a day, hard work (dedication too)?

Reply 3

Bassoonery

If you're really dedicated you can achieve a lot with languages as long as you practise a balance of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Spending a couple of weeks in the country is ideal but if you can't do that I would recommend:

Reading: Use French websites (le Monde, french wikipedia...) to get used to reading French. If confident buy a simple French book (they sell them in Borders). Read the French bits on food packets and instructions!

Writing: Possibly find a French forum to join. Writing is a bit harder to practise on your own. Buy a comprehensive French grammar book (eg Schaum's) with exercises.

Speaking: Say stuff at home in French instead of English wherever possible. It annoyed my family but it is good practise to translate everything you say and hear.

Listening: Go on youtube.fr or watch some videos on French news sites like Le Monde. Find a French singer you like and try to understand the words.

This is all a bit extreme but I've been doing it a bit to get my French up to scratch after dropping it after AS because I want to study it a bit in my free time at uni. There are some really good sites out there and I especially recommend zut.org.uk for GCSE level. All the best! The main thing about learning a language is to enjoy it and be genuinely interested in the language and culture.

Reply 4

nothingspek

Yup, it's possible. Just pratice your languages over the summer, perhaps buy a few Spanish/French grammar books and build some basis then, next academic year you'll find there's a lot of emphasis on grammar, the infinitive, the preterite and conditional tense.

Reply 5

rachxl

You can definitely do it, with time, patience and hard work. I hardly payed attention throughout my course, and only took french serious at the end of year 11 :s-smilie:

but I feel like I've secure myself a B at least.

Print the vocab sheets off the exam board websites, learn a few a day and chuck in some tenses now and again. The summer is plenty of time to get yourself up to a good standard. Good luck!

Reply 6

RedCoat1510

Find X

You won't need to use the pluperfect at GCSE level, maybe just recognise it. Same applies to the the subjunctive mood.

Reply 7

AFC14

You have the whole of next year to learn that. Just don't worry and enjoy yourself over the 6 weeks break.

Reply 8

uthred50

hmm that rosetta stone thing that comes on tv looks decent. Maybe you could check that out? :wink:

Reply 9

rainbow drops

i really wouldn't worry, the level of language needed at GCSE really isn't that complex. you definitely don't need to use the subjunctive or the pluperfect, i haven't even been taught the pluperfect yet and i've just finished AS level french. from how you've described your progress, it sounds to me like you'll be absolutely fine :smile:

Reply 10

KwonoBB

Thanks for all your fantastic help so far!

You have the whole of next year to learn that. Just don't worry and enjoy yourself over the 6 weeks break.

No way mate, if I want to get A* from nothing, I really need to start now I feel!

I go to a private school, so the pace is really fast, they are not going to go back for slow coachers and past time wasters like me :frown:

from how you've described your progress, it sounds to me like you'll be absolutely fine

I do not know much vocab at all, just basic things like Je suis jouer etc and I do not know any verbs of many tenses! I am not really fine!

Reply 11

AFC14

Oh right..I go to a grammar school and thought that was hard...unlucky mate :biggrin:

Reply 12

Liam92

I was the same as you. Year 9 i did nothing in French and at first kept getting Ds and Cs ... now i'm looking at an A*. With languages you need to do a little every so often - so the summer will be perfect for you to boost your grade. Just keep working at it and go over your vocab and grammar. I just did a page of vocabulary each night. You have more than enough time

Reply 13

Find X

RedCoat1510

You won't need to use the pluperfect at GCSE level, maybe just recognise it. Same applies to the the subjunctive mood.

Yeah, but if he's going for A* its one of those things that a marker will see and think "this guy knows what he's talking about"

Reply 14

rainbow drops

Liam92

;yes; very true, languages aren't subjects that can be crammed in the same way that others are. do a little french every so often, maybe 15/20 minutes or so on looking over vocabulary or verb tables a day. you may think that it isn't making much difference, but you'll be really improving.

http://french.about.com/library/verb/bl-verbconjugator.htm you may find this website very useful, click any verb in the dropdown list and it gives you every tense of the verb. concentrate on the basics (passe compose, present, maybe future) for now, disregard subjunctive etc, it's too advanced for you at this point.

Reply 15

rainbow drops

Find X

Yeah, but if he's going for A* its one of those things that a marker will see and think "this guy knows what he's talking about"

he's in no position to use those expressions if he doesn't have a confident grasp of the basics, and they really are not needed for GCSE at all. even things like 'je dirais que...' for GCSE will get you marked right upwards in the same way that the subjunctive does at AS/A level.

Reply 16

Resok

I was in a similar position to you, I just didnt turn up to my exam.

Reply 17

Bassoonery

KwonoBB

I do not know much vocab at all, just basic things like Je suis jouer etc and I do not know any verbs of many tenses! I am not really fine!

You mean je joue? Not wanting to knock your confidence, just keeping you on the right track... :smile:

Vocab is hard for me too. Especially learning words that seem useless or abstract. Start by learning words that you can practise in everyday situations, like food and house objects, and useful phrases using "j'aime", "je voudrais" and "je dois" etc.

Aller, Etre and Faire are vital irregular verbs to start with. Then the -er, -re and -ir verbs have rules which are relatively easy to remember. The rest of the irregular verbs can be learnt later.

Reply 18

username158564

If it is AQA, you can probably buy student guides from their online shop. Don't know your exact specification but for French try here,
and here for Spanish. Hope this helps :smile:

If it is the wrong specification, go back to the GSCE section and choose your correct one!