DECEMBER 2014 Revising for Modern Languages Advanced Higher

Revising for Modern Languages Much of what we need are skills We don’t have formulae, dates and equations We do have verbs! We also have cases We have to revise for: Listening Reading Translation Writing

Listening This is very much a skill, which you get better at with practice. So: Watch films and listen to music as much as you can, preferably with sub-titles or text in the language: look at the suggestions Listen to every past paper you can, then listen again with the transcript, to train your ear to hear Use all the Scholar listening material, then listen again with the transcript revealed Look at the level of difficulty of the Scholar material: start at level 1, then move on

Listening Try taking notes in the target language sometimes as practice Use the language in the transcripts as a source of preparation for your writing Remember that at AH, one of the listenings will be two people expressing different points of view, so get used to listening to dialogues, where both points of view matter Once you have done a listening past paper, save it and revisit it

Listening apprentissage-en-fsl apprentissage-en-fsl an/useful-links/german-radio-stations/ an/useful-links/german-radio-stations/ sh/useful-links/spanish-radio-stations/ sh/useful-links/spanish-radio-stations/ -tv-and-radio-stations.html -tv-and-radio-stations.html

Reading Reading is another skill: practice again is really important. At Higher, you are only looking for nuggets of information: Advanced Higher needs longer answers, although they still come in order Think of it as a guided translation Develop your dictionary skills! Try the Scholar texts as sources of language which are at the right level for you

Reading Find newspaper articles on subjects you are covering in school or are interested in to practice reading on Take chunks of the foreign language, and try to put together a resume of what it says in your own words. Use Google translate afterwards to give you a rough translation so you can see how you have got on. Take a past paper text, and without using a dictionary, but using the questions, highlight what you think the key points are: then use an AH marking scheme to see if you are right

The inferential question at Advanced Higher the question is always a 'do you think' or 'what is the author's opinion' question. The answer you find by reading the whole text (Now take the article as a whole. How does the author view…?) start with an opinion: it is necessary for the first mark, and if you do not give one you will get no marks! look for arguments for and against your opinion: you need both

The inferential question at Advanced Higher use the language of argument: this implies: we gain the impression: the author wants us to see: although, however, on the other hand, etc refer to particular lines: in line we can see (do not quote in the language: paraphrase in English) and then explain what this means or why it has been written give as many examples as you have time for! (3 for and 3 against, if you can)

Dictionary skills It will take you around 45 seconds on average to look up a word in the dictionary: try the test posted on the discussion pages to see how long you take! That means looking up 20 words in a passage will take you 15 minutes. You only have 45 minutes to answer all the questions! Get faster at using the dictionary, practise using the one you will take into an exam Use a dictionary which is right for the task Much of the meaning in a sentence is conveyed by the verb: get used to identifying where the verbs are, by highlighting them

Translation Look at the PowerPoint on translation Take small chunks out of past papers and try putting them into English: these texts are set at the right level for you. Ask your teacher to look at your versions, or get the marking schemes from the SQA website if you use the actual translation: the last five years are available at: m m Put in subject and level

Translation Use the Scholar material as a way of practicising and being able to check your versions When in Scholar, on the left you will see ‘Resources’, and within that ‘Activities’. Click on there and scroll down till you see translation exercises. You will be led to texts which you can study, then try the translation. Compare your answer with the exemplar given.

Writing Advanced Higher directed writing is all about structure and argument Think of your writing as a discursive essay Sit and write plans for topics you have covered in class You cannot simply learn by heart some essays and hope to find one of them fits What you can do is have a lot of language ready for certain topics and be prepared to adapt them to fit the topic in question

Writing It is unpredictable! There will be a choice of topics, and you will have covered some of the areas Choose some areas you find more interesting, and have plans ready for these Some topics are almost always there Have a lot of opinion phrases ready, and be prepared to adapt them to fit the topic in question Most important is to put a structure in place: good practice is to look at a past paper, then write a plan for your essay

Discursive Writing Structure Para 1An introduction to the topic: rephrasing the question, saying what you are going to look at 40 words Para 2Argument 1Counterargument 170 words Para 3Argument 2Counterargument 270 words Para 4Argument 3Counterargument 370 words Para 5Conclusion40 words Total words

Reading Para 1An introduction to the topic: rephrasing the question, saying what you are going to look at 40 words Para 2Argument 1Counterargument 170 words Para 3Argument 2Counterargument 270 words Para 4Argument 3Counterargument 370 words Para 5Conclusion40 words Total words