1. mardi le 8 septembre Introduction to AQA GCSE French L’objectif: To clearly understand what I will need to do during the two year French GCSE.

2. Pourquoi étudier le français?

3. Topics Lifestyle Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles and their consequences. Relationships with family and friends. Future plans regarding marriage/partnership. Social issues and equality. LLeisure Free time activities. Shopping, money, fashion and trends. Advantages and disadvantages of new technology. Holidays- plans, preferences and experiences. What to see and getting around. Home & Environment Special occasions celebrated at home. Home,town,neighbourhood & region, where it is and what it is like. Current problems facing the planet Being environmentally friendly within the home and local area. Work & Education What school/college is like. Pressures and problems. Looking for and getting a job. Advantages and disadvantages of different jobs.

4. GCSE FRENCH AT A GLANCE Listening 20% of final mark Foundation: 30 minutes + 5 mins reading time Reading 20% of final mark Foundation: 30 minutes exam. Speaking 30% of final mark Two tasks: a conversation/interv iew with teacher. Writing 30% of final mark Two pieces of coursework on different topics.

5. Listening The exam will involve listening to native French speakers Each item will be heard twice You’ll listen to announcements, short conversations, instructions, short news items and telephone messages. You’ll hear language in the past, present and future There’ll be some unknown language You’ll be expected to identify main points and extract details and points of view. We’ll practise a lot, and we will learn strategies to help us become good listeners. Listening 20% of final mark Foundation: 30 minutes + 5 mins reading time

6. Reading 20% of final mark Foundation: 30 minutes exam. You’ll be tested on short items such as instructions, public notices and advertisements together with some longer extracts from brochures, guides, letters, newspapers, magazines, books, faxes, email and web sites which will include past, present and future expressions. You will not be allowed to use dictionaries. We will practise reading techniques and we’ll look at past papers to help familiarise you with the real thing!

7. Speaking 30% of final mark Two tasks: a conversation/inte rview with teacher. There will be 2 controlled assessment tasks. Both tasks will be in the form of a dialogue e.g. An interview or conversation with your teacher. Each task will be based on a different topic. You’ll get chance to prepare for your speaking task by researching the topic area, practising speaking with your classmates and using internet resources. You’ll be given the questions and you can make notes and prepare answers, with some help from your teacher. When the time comes to complete the final version, you will have between 4-6 minutes to complete the conversation- you will be given a copy of the questions you will ne asked and there will be one question which you will not have prepared for which you must try to answer.

8. Writing 30% of final mark Two pieces of coursework on different topics. You will complete two pieces of coursework ( not at the same time!) and you’ll write this in exam conditions with access to a dictionary. Each piece of coursework will be based on a topic e.g. A day in the life of a celebrity or an account of a special holiday. You will have 60 minutes to complete each task. You will be expected to write about 175-200 words for each task. You will get plenty of practice for this task and you will have opportunity to use reference materials and internet resources when preparing.

9. Some good GCSE revision websites! http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ http://linguascope.com/ http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/french.html http://gcsemg.pbworks.com/

10. What can I do to be successful at French GCSE?

11. Be organised Plan time for revision- make a timetable Practise a little French everyday Use the internet revision sites Be independent- e.g if you don’t know a word or phrase, look it up in a dictionary! Read French comics/magazines, watch French TV