French AQA GCSE Speaking Exam Help!
I have my french speaking exam next week and I have only learnt a small part of it. Any tips on learning it or tips for during the exam? I'm also nervous for the surprise question. Thanks
Original post by jessicaharker51
I have my french speaking exam next week and I have only learnt a small part of it. Any tips on learning it or tips for during the exam? I'm also nervous for the surprise question. Thanks
Try not to panic, first off. I know something you'll get marked down hugely for, as it can impair your communication, (which was 30/60 marks for my exam board) is rushed speech or panicking and saying 'wait' or 'what' in English. I was so nervous for mine, but managed to get 60/60 (somehow???) so I really hope this can help.
So long as you've written it well enough (idioms, a range of tenses and vocab etc.) all you have to worry about is memorising it and reciting it at a steady pace. Literally all I did was read mine over and over, speak it to myself, then read it over again. Make sure your pronunciation is correct (Google translate audio can help with that) and you're not making silly errors with grammar - your teacher should've checked that over for you. I would just sit for an hour and get a few questions out the way every day.
Once you've memorised it, it's simply the recital. So long as you're calm and collected, it should be difficult to drop marks for communication. If you make a mistake though don't panic, as you can still get a great grade.
As for the unprepared questions, think logically about what they could be, and prepare yourself with some simple vocab on your topic. Mine was on holidays, and one of the unprepared questions was 'what did you eat for breakfast', after she asked about my first day on holiday. My answer was something simple like 'we ate bread and cheese - it was delicious'. That's all that was required, so don't panic about those questions. What's far more important is the learning of your actual assessment.
Good luck!
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(edited 7 years ago)
Hi there, I was absolutely terrified of my speaking exams, although it didnt really help that I took both French and Spanish meaning I had double the amount of assessments. (If you're wondering, I got 2 A*s in my French speaking and 2As in Spanish)
Anyway, I tried remembering it vocally as well as writing it down, it really helped me
Just keep remembering, but don't panic if you can't remember the exact thing you were going to say, just say it in a simpler way because thats much better than hesitating.
Keep going over pronunciation, try reading your script out loud to make sure you're pronouncing everything correctly, make sure you pause in the right places etc.
Keep eye contact with your examiner/teacher, they will try to help you, they may prompt you with questions if you get stuck so you can get back on track, they will encourage you as well
Finally, just relax and speak clearly, slow down your delivery so that your examiner understands your every word, plus if you do this, you shouldn't need to be asked loads of unprepared questions. If you make any mistakes, keep going, don't freak out because this will affect communication and you may have to re-do your assessment
I hope this helps, good luck
Anyway, I tried remembering it vocally as well as writing it down, it really helped me
Just keep remembering, but don't panic if you can't remember the exact thing you were going to say, just say it in a simpler way because thats much better than hesitating.Keep going over pronunciation, try reading your script out loud to make sure you're pronouncing everything correctly, make sure you pause in the right places etc.
Keep eye contact with your examiner/teacher, they will try to help you, they may prompt you with questions if you get stuck so you can get back on track, they will encourage you as well
Finally, just relax and speak clearly, slow down your delivery so that your examiner understands your every word, plus if you do this, you shouldn't need to be asked loads of unprepared questions. If you make any mistakes, keep going, don't freak out because this will affect communication and you may have to re-do your assessment
I hope this helps, good luck
Original post by jessicaharker51
I have my french speaking exam next week and I have only learnt a small part of it. Any tips on learning it or tips for during the exam? I'm also nervous for the surprise question. Thanks
When you are learning it, break it down into chunks. Learn one or two small paragraphs at a time and say them out loud over and over again until you have completely memorised them, then move on to the next paragraph(s).
During the exam, don't rush! You will probably be somewhat nervous and you might find you are speaking quicker than you previously rehearsed, so don't be afraid to take it slow. It's better to speak slower and with less hesitation than faster but with lots of 'um's or pauses.
You don't have to be too nervous for the surprise question. You only need one (correct) conjugated verb in your answer, so as long as you understand the question and (vaguely) answer the question, you will get the mark. You can even get away with a very short sentence like 'j'aime le tennis'!
Original post by snikerio
Try not to panic, first off. I know something you'll get marked down hugely for, as it can impair your communication, (which was 30/60 marks for my exam board) is rushed speech or panicking and saying 'wait' or 'what' in English. I was so nervous for mine, but managed to get 60/60 (somehow???) so I really hope this can help.
So long as you've written it well enough (idioms, a range of tenses and vocab etc.) all you have to worry about is memorising it and reciting it at a steady pace. Literally all I did was read mine over and over, speak it to myself, then read it over again. Make sure your pronunciation is correct (Google translate audio can help with that) and you're not making silly errors with grammar - your teacher should've checked that over for you. I would just sit for an hour and get a few questions out the way every day.
Once you've memorised it, it's simply the recital. So long as you're calm and collected, it should be difficult to drop marks for communication. If you make a mistake though don't panic, as you can still get a great grade.
As for the unprepared questions, think logically about what they could be, and prepare yourself with some simple vocab on your topic. Mine was on holidays, and one of the unprepared questions was 'what did you eat for breakfast', after she asked about my first day on holiday. My answer was something simple like 'we ate bread and cheese - it was delicious'. That's all that was required, so don't panic about those questions. What's far more important is the learning of your actual assessment.
Good luck!
Posted from TSR Mobile
So long as you've written it well enough (idioms, a range of tenses and vocab etc.) all you have to worry about is memorising it and reciting it at a steady pace. Literally all I did was read mine over and over, speak it to myself, then read it over again. Make sure your pronunciation is correct (Google translate audio can help with that) and you're not making silly errors with grammar - your teacher should've checked that over for you. I would just sit for an hour and get a few questions out the way every day.
Once you've memorised it, it's simply the recital. So long as you're calm and collected, it should be difficult to drop marks for communication. If you make a mistake though don't panic, as you can still get a great grade.
As for the unprepared questions, think logically about what they could be, and prepare yourself with some simple vocab on your topic. Mine was on holidays, and one of the unprepared questions was 'what did you eat for breakfast', after she asked about my first day on holiday. My answer was something simple like 'we ate bread and cheese - it was delicious'. That's all that was required, so don't panic about those questions. What's far more important is the learning of your actual assessment.
Good luck!
Posted from TSR Mobile
Thankyou so much! My questions are do you go to the leisure centre, what sport do you do, what type of to programmes and films do you like, can you tell me about a film you have seen recently, what fashion is important to you and what do you use modern technology for. The task title is hobbies. Do you have any idea what my question could be?
Original post by pixiefuller
When you are learning it, break it down into chunks. Learn one or two small paragraphs at a time and say them out loud over and over again until you have completely memorised them, then move on to the next paragraph(s).
During the exam, don't rush! You will probably be somewhat nervous and you might find you are speaking quicker than you previously rehearsed, so don't be afraid to take it slow. It's better to speak slower and with less hesitation than faster but with lots of 'um's or pauses.
You don't have to be too nervous for the surprise question. You only need one (correct) conjugated verb in your answer, so as long as you understand the question and (vaguely) answer the question, you will get the mark. You can even get away with a very short sentence like 'j'aime le tennis'!
During the exam, don't rush! You will probably be somewhat nervous and you might find you are speaking quicker than you previously rehearsed, so don't be afraid to take it slow. It's better to speak slower and with less hesitation than faster but with lots of 'um's or pauses.
You don't have to be too nervous for the surprise question. You only need one (correct) conjugated verb in your answer, so as long as you understand the question and (vaguely) answer the question, you will get the mark. You can even get away with a very short sentence like 'j'aime le tennis'!
Thankyou very much! So if my task title was hobbies, what type of question should I expect?
Original post by jessicaharker51
Thankyou so much! My questions are do you go to the leisure centre, what sport do you do, what type of to programmes and films do you like, can you tell me about a film you have seen recently, what fashion is important to you and what do you use modern technology for. The task title is hobbies. Do you have any idea what my question could be?
Wow that's a very broad range of questions ha. It'll most likely be either something very vague (i.e. what other hobbies do you have) or very specific - maybe to do with the film you're describing like 'whats the main character called?' Just make sure you have some amount of vocabulary on hobbies and, so long as you're not first in the exam, you could ask others in your class what questions they were asked, and do some quick preparation on the day. It's not something to worry about though - good luck again!
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The unknown question at the end doesn't actually matter, you don't have to say a lot, as you don't get any marks for that question. I got 2 A*s in my French speaking and my unknowns were horrific both times, I don't think I said any correct French.
You've still got loads of time to revise, so don't panic. You get marks for a lot of things, so even if you think it's gone horrifically, it might not have done. And even if everything does go wrong, you can always resit - I did 5 speakings in total and the 2 A*s were sent off to the exam board. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get things right.
20/30 of the marks are for your use of language (10 for content and 10 for range of language, I think), so make sure you do learn what you've written. You won't lose many marks if you pause for a short time once or twice, so don't worry about that.
Bonne chance
You've still got loads of time to revise, so don't panic. You get marks for a lot of things, so even if you think it's gone horrifically, it might not have done. And even if everything does go wrong, you can always resit - I did 5 speakings in total and the 2 A*s were sent off to the exam board. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get things right.
20/30 of the marks are for your use of language (10 for content and 10 for range of language, I think), so make sure you do learn what you've written. You won't lose many marks if you pause for a short time once or twice, so don't worry about that.
Bonne chance
Original post by lostintrnslation
The unknown question at the end doesn't actually matter, you don't have to say a lot, as you don't get any marks for that question. I got 2 A*s in my French speaking and my unknowns were horrific both times, I don't think I said any correct French.
You've still got loads of time to revise, so don't panic. You get marks for a lot of things, so even if you think it's gone horrifically, it might not have done. And even if everything does go wrong, you can always resit - I did 5 speakings in total and the 2 A*s were sent off to the exam board. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get things right.
20/30 of the marks are for your use of language (10 for content and 10 for range of language, I think), so make sure you do learn what you've written. You won't lose many marks if you pause for a short time once or twice, so don't worry about that.
Bonne chance
You've still got loads of time to revise, so don't panic. You get marks for a lot of things, so even if you think it's gone horrifically, it might not have done. And even if everything does go wrong, you can always resit - I did 5 speakings in total and the 2 A*s were sent off to the exam board. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get things right.
20/30 of the marks are for your use of language (10 for content and 10 for range of language, I think), so make sure you do learn what you've written. You won't lose many marks if you pause for a short time once or twice, so don't worry about that.
Bonne chance
Thankyou! Feel much better about it now
Original post by jessicaharker51
Thankyou very much! So if my task title was hobbies, what type of question should I expect?
It's hard to tell, it could be anything really.
Think about other aspects of the topic that you haven't been asked about already e.g. I had a speaking exam on Health and I talked about smoking and diet and then my surprise question was on alcohol i.e. what did I think about alcohol.
Tbh you can probably ask your friends what question they had if they are going before you
I did 4 and got full marks in all of them and mainly I just repeated it out loud sentence at a time until I knew it. I also made sure I memorised what it was in English incase I forgot then I would be able to say it off the top of my head. I highlighted words I didn't know and used them as my 40 words prompt. Also the night before record yourself and listen as you fall asleep.
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