A Level French Help

Hi, I studied Eduqas A Level French and came out with a high grade, so hopefully some of this will be useful! To build up your listening skills, I'd recommend listening to French podcasts, especially news channels as they cover recent topics and give a French viewpoint on a subject (which can be helpful to use in your speaking exam too). For example, there's a podcast called L'Heure du Monde which you can listen to on Spotify, and they release 20 minute episodes every day. Of course, using past papers is probably the most useful technique for improving listening skills and also getting an idea of the standard required by your exam board. What I found when I was revising is that I had already done most of the past papers for my exam board, so if you're starting revision now I'd suggest practicing by using past papers from different exam boards so you have some AQA ones left to do nearer the time of sitting your exams.

For the speaking, I also struggled with expressing myself more comprehensively and not running out of ideas, but I went through the specification and made mind maps on each topic (such as facts/figures/dates/some statistics that are specifically linked to France or other French-speaking countries) to not only feel more prepared to deal with the photo card but also to demonstrate to the examiner that I had a good understanding of the course content. As you're self studying (which is super impressive!), I'd also recommend finding a group of other A Level French students sitting their exams next year that you can practice speaking with. If you struggle with speaking confidently, arranging regular speaking sessions with a group of students at the same level as you can be a great way to work on your skills, especially if you practice with photo cards from previous exams (there are tons online).

I hope this is helpful for you! All the best with your exams

Hi,
Thank you so much for your suggestions, I’d never considered making a mind map for each topic, that seems super effective!
Also congrats on your final grade!!

Hi all
I’m currently self-studying AQA A Level French with Oxbridge. I’m fast racking the course so will sit my A Level exams in Summer 2024.
I want to build up my vocab and listening and speaking skills so that I can reach a higher grade at the end ( hopefully A/A*) so I’m looking for some advice on how to build myself up to a higher level and start to make sentences typical of a grade A student.
My reading and comprehension skills are pretty good so it’s mainly the listening part and expressing myself more comprehensively that’s the issue here.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

ik this isn't relevant but im a gcse student doing French
ive got speaking next weeks
if u had any advice on revision etc it would be really appreciated as im aiming for a nine but currently on a low 8

Hi there 🙂
My biggest piece of advice would be to write and memorise speaking questions using high level vocab ( eg bien que ce soit…, ne…ni,ni…., ne… que- I’ll post a list now.
/ parle/ joue au / étudie
depuis 3 ans I have been doing / speaking/ playing/
studying ....... for 3 years
4. Je n'ai jamais visité/ vu / fait
I have never visited/ seen/done
auparavant
before
... frightened /
thirsty /hungry / need
Using these in your speaking would be great. Also, having good speaking questions means you can. Literally copy them down in your writing questions, although in your writing you might have to tweak them a bit. Also, the first five minutes of the writing exam, write down all of your WOW phrases ( around eight should do it) and tick them off as they are used in your essay( although if you have some WOW phrases in your speaking questions that you’ve used already then you can already tick them off). The point is to use as many WOW phrases as possible but aim for 7/8.
For the photo card, try to use some of these too. There is almost always a past tense question in the five asked so knowing a simple phrase like J’ai visité le musée will get you through.
Don’t panic when asking the examiner a question just pick an opinion to ask about ( eg pensez vous que célébrer les fêtes avec la famille est vraiment important?)
For listening, maybe try watching some shows in French but perhaps English subtitles if you’re not confident with just French. Also, with the long answer questions, remember to scribble down something but not a full sentence., get the gist of it so when the character stops speaking at the end, you can write your full answer.
For reading, highlight the text and note down any key words. Tbh I can’t remember much of what happens on the reading exam. Just make sure you answer all the multiple choice questions for listening and reading. Also when responding in French you most likely won’t have to write in full sentences so keep it short and sweet so you don’t make any mistakes.
I haven’t included everything but if you have something specific let me know
All in all, I think you’ll be just fine! I think mastering speaking is key

omg this is incredibly helpful ur a life saver
im going to do a 150 to give to my teacher and apply her feedback and ur advice and we'll see how it goes as writing for me is my weakest
im going to try adding in these structures to my speaking answers but I just wanted to clarify a few
Comme c'était .........+ adj ! How .......... (it was) + adjective! im not sure if im supposed to fill the gap here and if so with what sort of word
and for : Si/ tellement would I use it like " si / tellement amusant " meaning "so fun"
also lorsque vie been confused abt ive read it supposed to be when for a specific duration of time but I dont rlly get it and I dont wanna use it wrong is it possible if u could give me an example for it
sorry abt being slow im really tired rn cuz ive been doing a lot of revision so im sorry abt the follow ups

omg this is incredibly helpful ur a life saver
im going to do a 150 to give to my teacher and apply her feedback and ur advice and we'll see how it goes as writing for me is my weakest
im going to try adding in these structures to my speaking answers but I just wanted to clarify a few
Comme c'était .........+ adj ! How .......... (it was) + adjective! im not sure if im supposed to fill the gap here and if so with what sort of word
and for : Si/ tellement would I use it like " si / tellement amusant " meaning "so fun"
also lorsque vie been confused abt ive read it supposed to be when for a specific duration of time but I dont rlly get it and I dont wanna use it wrong is it possible if u could give me an example for it
sorry abt being slow im really tired rn cuz ive been doing a lot of revision so im sorry abt the follow ups

also sorry to be a pain I forget to ask
if im using tandis que (while / whereas) when would I use that
also whats the difference between proper future and not the near future

It’s great to hear it’s useful, if you do ever want to clarify sumn with me, feel free to pm.
For comment c’était…+adj you could say sumn like comment c’était difficile! ( how difficult it was) or comment c’était amusant!
Also, you’re right with the use of si/tellement ! ( elle est si belle - she is so beautiful)
Also, I have been looking around for lorsque vie, but I can’t find anything on it anywhere ( I’ve personally never heard of it before). Maybe if you mean ‘since a long time’ you could use a phrase like depuis longtemps or depuis toujours if you want since forever. Idk if that’s exactly what you need but again let me know and good luck!!
Btw what subjects are you thinking of taking for a level?

omg the lorsque vie was a typo I just ment lorsque i wanted to clarify because the duration different to quand if I can remember correctly
thank you so much for ur help its honestly so useful as I only have one to two French lessons a week and now with speaking my teachers busy
once finish adding in ur phrases if ive got any questions with the accuracy of how I formed my sentences il def be sure to ask
im thinking about taking chemistry biology and psychology or geography tbh im actually not too sure for my 3rd option at this moment but I dont want it to be too hard for me as chem and bio are already a handful, it doesn't really matter what I pick either for my 3rd as for med I just need chem and bio
id honestly love to learn French in my own time in the future cuz I actually really enjoy it in examinations I just tend to make silly mistakes apart from that I do like learning the language as it just different to how we conventionally learn other subjects

An example of Tandis que is je préfère aller au cinéma tandis que ma mère préfère regarder les films à la maison.
The simple future ( proper future/ indicative future) uses different endings and means I will…. Whatever ( eg I will eat— je mangerai) if you need the verb endings lmk
The near Future translates to I am going to… and is formed using the verb vais/vas/va/allons/allez/vont plus infinitive.
Hope that helps!!

ohhh that makes sense now thanks a lot
yhh im trying to secure good grades for my gcses so it helps with my application
what subjects are u taking rn?

ohhh thanks for the examples
so would u say it better to include both futures or just one of in my speaking/ writing

Using both in both exams is best I think. It’ll show the examiner that you have a good grasp of the tenses. Make sure to use the imperfect and any other tenses too.

that must be hard to manage, omg good luck
im just thinking that I cant be nervous this time cuz then I forget stuff so its only self sabotaging
and ur definitely capable of achieve a high grade so u dont need to worry tbh
nerves are controllable and ur French is good so im sure ur gonna do well at the end of the day

Tysm!! So true about self-sabotaging with being nervous, just relax and just by your questions youre passionate about achieving high grades, most French gcse students don’t even bother that much and it shows, you’re going to do really well, I’m sure of it