Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

GCSE MFL revision tips

I did my GCSEs last year, got an 8 in my French and am now doing it for A level, so please ask any questions about how to revise for GCSE languages or even specific questions about French. :smile:

Reply 1

Da1zie

hi i’m doing gcses this year and thinking about taking french at a level but really scared that i won’t be able to do it and be overwhelmed by having to speak and understand french all the time. could you tell me what it’s like studying it at a level and how different it is compared to gcses

Reply 2

username4214464

I'm doing GCSE french how do you revise for the listening

Reply 3

IsMo987

Original post by redmeercat

I did my GCSEs last year, got an 8 in my French and am now doing it for A level, so please ask any questions about how to revise for GCSE languages or even specific questions about French. :smile:

Hiiii how did u revise

Reply 4

redmeercat

Original post by IsMo987

Hiiii how did u revise

Vocab every day and each day in tutor time I'd do one of the activities in my CGP book and then mark it. For listening I watched Extra French on youtube and for speaking spent a lot of time sitting talking to myself describing various pictures on my camera role.

Bonne chance!

Reply 5

redmeercat

I watched extra French on youtube, but if I were to go back and do it again I'd also listen to French music (try celine dion, Zaz and Joyce Jonathan) and perhaps podcasts such as The News in Slow French... it doesn't matter if you don't understand it much at first, by trying to listen for 5 minutes once a day you'll almost tune your brain into the French language so that its easier to pick up the words that you do know.

Original post by taranmistry

I'm doing GCSE french how do you revise for the listening

Reply 6

IsMo987

Hiii thank you do you have any of your french notes

Original post by redmeercat

Reply 7

redmeercat

French A level is my favourite subject by far... it's not easy and it can be a little intimidating when you're in a class with others who are native speakers or have been raised hearing French, but honestly, everyone understands that it is difficult and the teachers are so supportive. The classes are usually a lot smaller, of course, so I think they often become fairly tight-knit owing to the fact that there is no other option but to talk to one another... it'll depend on the school structure, of course, but that has certainly been my experience and the experience of a few people I know taking it at other schools!

In terms of academic difficulty, there is no way that you can expect to go in from GCSE and expect to get top grades straight away. As someone who did fairly well in all my GCSEs, that was a bit difficult at first, and I did really question my own abilities after I'd got a couple of pieces of prep back that were all graded at D, C or at best B. However, the crucial thing to understand about French is that it's not just a school subject, it's a way of teaching your brain to think differently, so of course it's going to take time to adapt and pick up the skills, even if you're working really hard. Progress is always going to be a gradual curve rather than a changeable grade based on an end of topic recally test, and so if you're getting Ds in the first term, then great, you can be at a C the next term and a B the one after... you have to be in it for the long-haul! But what other subjects are there where you can revise by watching a film or listening to music or reading a novel? It's amazing to see your own progress through the year- you go in having only every written 150 words on the environment and 3 weeks later you're debating with your class about gender politics... in French.

A level French, I think, is probably more like GCSE English that GCSE French, if you think about the skills- we study a book and a film and write essays on them (again, not as intimidating as it sounds) and do an independant research project to present to the class like the English speech test, if you did it. That being said, it is, of course, still French rather than English, and GCSE provides a great base for it- you even study some of the same topics such as relationships and charity work, just in more depth. As I said, I really love French so studying the Francophone (French-speaking) world is just another plus of the course, as it allows you to understand how the language is used in real life, rather than just in specific scenarios.

Basically, if you're predicted to do well at GCSE and like French as a language, then go for it. It's hard, but so interesting and enjoyable at the same time. I can't recommend it enough! Feel free to message me if you have any other quesitons about it :smile:

Bonne chance!

Original post by Da1zie

Reply 8

redmeercat

Original post by IsMo987

Hiii thank you do you have any of your french notes

I think I still have my GCSE tenses sheets, if they'd be helpful... what do you need?

Reply 9

IsMo987

Original post by redmeercat

I think I still have my GCSE tenses sheets, if they'd be helpful... what do you need?

Basically everything you have pleaseeee thank youuuu so much

Reply 10

IsMo987

Hiiiii how can I ensure only losing 2 or 3 marks in reading

Reply 11

redmeercat

If you don't know a word, make a logical guess. E.g. if it were to say 'il faute que je vous dise l'impact' but you didn't know what 'dise' meant, you could write out 'It's necessary that I --- you the impact' and fill in the blank, which of course is 'tell' or similar. AFter that, make sure that you read the options carefully if you have multiple choice questions, as one word might make the difference between true an false. e.g. if the text said that primary schools and infant schools could do something, one box might say that 'only' primary schools were allowed, so making that option false.

Original post by IsMo987

Hiiiii how can I ensure only losing 2 or 3 marks in reading