French Revision For The Unenthusiastic
French Revision For The Unenthusiastic
Unenthusiastic
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OR
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Listening:
Strategies or How to Get More Marks Than I Deserve
Pairs of words which mean the same, or groups which are linked
Speaking:
Tips or Ways of Cheating Legally
Rôle Plays
Conversation
Simple, Basic Phrases which will save your skin
Words and Phrases to Worm into the Conversation
Reading:
Strategies or How to Get More Marks Than I Deserve
Pairs of words which mean the same, or groups which are linked
Coursework:
The French Teacher’s Commandments
Starting Sentences in an Interesting but Not Terribly Difficult Way
Linking Sentences in an Interesting but Really Incredibly Easy Way
Stylish, but Simple, Alternatives to Boring Words
Vocabulary
or All the French Words You Learned… But Forgot
Grammar
or What You Never Really Understood, And It’s Too Late Now (Or is it?)
Speaking Exam (Oral)
Speaking Exams normally come in two parts: Role Play and Conversation.
Your exam will be recorded on cassette to be sent away and marked by an external
examiner. It is therefore really important that you speak clearly and make every word
count.
Role Play
They say that the Role Play part of the speaking exam should last around 5 minutes,
but it won’t.
Either a) You’ll rattle through it because you’ve prepared thoroughly and you’ll know
all the answers. Or b) if you’ve been gaming, listening to your MP3 player or cleaning
out your ears in French for two years, you won’t know the answers at all, and it’ll be
even shorter. Or c) most probably it’ll be somewhere in between.
You will have to complete two role plays with your teacher. For the Foundation
level, you will do Role Play A and Role Play B. For the Higher level you
will do Role Play B and Role Play C.
Most people will do the Higher, not because we think everybody is a genius, but
because we have looked at the marks and done some very clever calculations and
realised that you are more likely to get a good grade if you do the Higher level. Be
aware that we won’t advise you to do the Higher Level if we think you’ll completely
mess it up. If we do advise you do the Higher it’ll be because we think you will get
more marks. We like you to get more marks. It makes us look better...
One thing to remember in role plays is KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid! Don’t try
and give LOADS of French when it’s your turn. You won’t get any more marks for it
and you may well make unnecessary mistakes.
Role Play A
These will be simple scenarios set in shops, banks, post offices or at the home of a
pen-friend. You will need to be able to:
Remember your vocab for shops (all shops, not only food) but also for
HANDY HINT: In answer to “De quelle couleur?” if asked for a colour – don’t
say “bleu” because it can easily sound too much like the English “blue”, and the
examiners will not give you a mark if they think you’re speaking English. Say
“rouge”, “jaune”, “vert” or anything else where confusion is less likely to arise.
Remember that you are being asked for VERY SIMPLE ANSWERS. Don’t try
and be too clever, or you might risk making yourself less easily understood.
Make sure you have this well rehearsed as this is a good place to score marks and feel
confident for the rest of the exam!
Role Play B
These will be slightly more complicated conversations, set in shops, your pen-friend’s
house, hospitals, post offices, train stations, hotels or other places where you might
find yourself speaking French.
if you are buying a ticket for a train, or staying in a hotel, you might be
asked how long (combien de temps) you are staying , or what nationality
you are.
If you’re talking about work, you might be asked what time you start or
finish. In fact time crops up a lot. Make sure you recognise the question à
quelle heure?
If you’re buying a gift, who’s it for “C’est pour qui?”
If you’re at the doctor’s when did it start? is “Ça a commencé quand?”
You will also have to ask a question yourself at the end of the Role Play B. Again, the
range of these is limited.
Où? Where? Où est la caisse (till) /le téléphone/ la sortie (way out)
Role Play C
In the C role play you’ll be given a task with bullet
points and more information to get across. You’re not
expected to give more complicated language than the B
Role Play, but it’s a little freer, and you are left to decide
YOURSELF how to phrase what you want to say.
The main thing is that it’s very important to understand
the way the role play card is constructed.
À quelle heure part le train? What time does the train leave?
Un kilo de a kilo of
Un pot de a jar of
In a restaurant
A t the hotel
At the bank
Un dépliant A brochure
Quand est-ce que le musée est ouvert ? When is the museum open ?
Problems
Lost property
Il contient It contains
Conversation
Most GCSE speaking exams include a conversation which can last from around 5 to
15 minutes.
The
You may have to speak to your teacher, to an examiner or onto a cassette.
conversation is an opportunity for you to show off
your speaking skills! No, we’re not being funny – if you prepare, you
will find you have a lot of speaking skills to show off.
There are two conversations: the first topic is chose by YOU. Find one topic, learn it
THOROUGHLY, and then take the initiative and show me and the examiners how
well you can do. Remember – the more you say off your own back, the fewer
questions you might be asked, and the less chance that you don’t understand what the
examiner is saying.
The second topic is given on the role play B which you have to do (a random order
prescribed in the Teacher’s Leaflet). Make sure you have answers prepared for each
topic, again as long as possible so that you don’t find yourself looking like a guppy
out of water when you don’t understand a question. Make notes below. Merge
answers together to avoid having to answer more and more questions. Remember the
LINKING WORDS and express OPINIONS.
Listening Exam
Your listening exam may last for around 45 mins to 1 hour. You'll be asked to listen
to a cassette or CD in French and you will have to answer questions in English or
French.
This is really important… In fact, let’s say that more loudly: This
is really
important: If the question is in English, answer in English; if it
is in French, answer in French. If you answer in the wrong
language, you won’t get the mark. Did you get that? You won’t
get the mark.
You will be allowed to study the questions before the recording plays. You will hear
each extract twice.
You don’t have to answer in full sentences, but make sure that you include all the
details you have been asked for. There will be a number by each question to show
how many marks are available. Use this as a guide to how much to answer.
Now there are certain things to remember about a Listening exam, which may seem
obvious, but which are ever so easy to forget.
Once you’ve got the hang of this, you will find it very, very, VERY helpful.
Se relaxer - se détendre
Il pleut - pluvieux
Déjeuner - midi
Dîner - soir
Your reading exam may last for around 45 mins to 1 hour. You'll be asked to read
information in French and you may have to answer questions in both English or
French.
This is really important… In fact, let’s say that more loudly: This
is really
important: If the question is in English, answer in English; if it
is in French, answer in French. If you answer in the wrong
language, you won’t get the mark. Did you get that? You won’t
get the mark.
To answer some questions, you will be asked to:
You don’t have to answer in full sentences, but make sure that you include all the
details you have been asked for. There will be a number by each question to show
how many marks are available. Use this as a guide to how much to answer.
A couple of pointers:
1. It’s a Reading exam so (and you know what we’re going to say here,
don’t you?) it’s a good idea to read the text. Yes, we know that you’re not going to
understand every word, but we hope that you’ll have learned in class to pick
out
important words. Don’t look at a big block of text and go Aaarghh! You
might not need more than one or two words to be able to understand what you need to
understand in order to get the marks. If you don’t get it the first time, read it again.
The important stuff is there and you can find it. Honest, guv, you can.
2. And again – the gap thing we mentioned about the listening exam. Don’t!
Coursework
Over the two years of your GCSE studies, you will be asked to
write several pieces of coursework, which should be 150-200
words on a particular topic. Don’t write more than 200 words
because you might make more mistakes than you need to. Don’t
write less than 150 words because you won’t get as many marks
as you could.
Your teacher will have to submit the best two UNCONTROLLED pieces of
coursework which you have completed over Year 10 and 11, and the best
CONTROLLED work.
Logically speaking, since you will know what you’re writing about, the key to a great
piece if controlled coursework is PREPARATION. Don’t go into the exam thinking
that everything will come flooding into your head when you read the courseork
stimulus, even though you’ve not given it a moment’s thought. It won’t. That’s a
CAST-IRON GUARANTEE. The only thing which will guarantee you success is
having a broad-brusgh (or even better, detailed) PLAN of what you’re going to write,
which you can then ADAPT to fit the detail of the stimulus.
UNCONTROLLED work is done in, well, uncontrolled conditions. You may use
your notes, textbooks and whatever other resources you have. Do not copy great
chunks from these resources because that’s called ‘cheating’, and don’t use any of
those online translators, because you will end up writing fluent garbage. They’re great
for individual words as long as it’s clear what the meaning is (how can it tell which
meaning of ‘play’ you’re looking for, for instance?), but string a few together and,
trust us, they get confused and spit any old stuff at you.
1. Thou shalt not write fewer than 180 words, nor more than
about 210 words.
a. Too few – you can’t get a C.
b. Too many - you have more room to make mistakes.
9. Thou shalt make sure that thy adjectives agree with thy
nouns.
Check:
Content:
180- 200 words. Not too little, but not too much either. The more you
write, the more mistakes you can make, and you won’t get extra points.
If you write 150 or less, you can’t get a C.
Don’t try to be too complex, but vary the structures and vocab.
Link sentences and phrases logically: et, mais, ou, parce-
que…
Grammar :
verb tenses. Look at the verb tables in your textbook, AND
YOUR NOTES!
spellings & accents – look at the vocab sections of each unit,
and check in the Vocabulaire at the back of Métro 4.
nouns & genders – when in doubt, check it out! LOOK IT UP!
adjectives – order: before noun (petit, grand, joli, beau, bon) or
after noun. Use BOTH. agreements: masculine/feminine/plural.
We’ve seen, year after year, people who didn’t bother and who are disappointed when
they get a D for their coursework, when if they’d done this last bit, they’d have got
the B they were expecting. Don’t be one of them.
Questions
Qui… Who
Qu’est-ce que… What
Quand… When
Où… Where
Pourquoi… Why
Comment … How
Combien… How much
L’heure Time
Il est une heure It’s one o’clock
à une heure at one o’clock
Il est deux heures It’s two o’clock
Il est onze heures It’s eleven o’clock
Il est midi It’s midday
Il est dix-huit heures It’s six in the evening (24 hour clock)
Il est minuit It’s midnight
In order to say ‘at’ a particular time, write or say ‘à’ instead of ‘il est’.
And Finally….
Stalling Elegantly or How to look as if you Haven’t
Forgotten Every Word of French you Ever Knew
Eh bien….. Well…
Alors…. So…
Bien, voyons… Let’s see…
Bof… Well, you know…
Bon… Mmmm…
Basically these are all interchangeable phrases to use while you’re THINKING. On
their own… well, let’s say, you won’t get that C.
Grammar
Or
How to know enough to be able to
change sentences a bit.
There are three main types of tenses: present (now), past (what’s gone before) and
future (what’s going to happen). There are different rules for each, depending on how
they're used. If this seems difficult, it might be some consolation to know that there
are loads more tenses in English than in French. So just think how difficult it is for
French students of English!
lavish use of
Anyway, tenses are important, So important, in fact, that
loads of different tenses gets you oodles of marks
in oral exams and in coursework. So use them! Métro 4 has a very good
section on tenses – pages 201-207 cover the main ones.
When checking your verbs in coursework or your oral presentation, use verb
tables on Métro 4 p221.
Plural words usually need an –s added Eg: ils sont grands – they are tall
et and
mais but
si if
ou or
puis then
donc so/therefore
et… et… both… and…
parce que because
car because
ne…ni…ni… neither… nor
ensuite next
ou bien or else
puis then
comme as
quand when
que that
Prepositions
à to, at, in
à côté de next to, beside
après after
au sujet de about, on the subject of
avant before
avec with
chez at the home/office of, among
contre against
dans in
d'après according to
de from, of, about
depuis since, for
derrière in back of, behind
devant in front of
durant during, while
en in, on, to
en dehors de outside of
en face de facing, across from
entre between
envers toward
environ approximately
hors de outside of
jusque until, up to, even
loin de far from
malgré despite
par by, through
parmi among
pendant during
pour for
près de near
quant à as for, regarding
sans without
selon according to
sous under
suivant according to
sur on
vers toward
Right!
That’s it!
You now have two choices.