GCSE French
As the U.K.’s economic and political ties with other E.U. members have become ever closer, today’s employers, seeking to compete in an international market economy, need a workforce with some language proficiency in order to be sure of exploiting business opportunities fully. With this in mind, Modern Languages have long featured prominently in the curriculum at Battle Abbey where all pupils usually study one foreign language to GCSE, many of those with special linguistic flair opting to continue their studies in French, German and/or Spanish.
The full GCSE Modern Languages course in French extends pupils’ studies in Years 7 to 9, the content defined in terms of five broad Topic Areas: Home and local area; Health and sport; Leisure and entertainment (includes online); Travel and the wider world; Education and work. In preparation for this examination, pupils follow a coursebook with accompanying audio CDs and related DVD/video and/or CD-rom material and are also provided with suitable reference books such as dictionaries and grammars. Over the two year course, and in consultation with their teachers, pupils enter for Foundation or Higher tier assessment in listening and reading during the June examination series. They may enter either for the same or different tiers in both skills. Foundation Tier assessments target grades G - C, Higher Tier assessments Grades C - A*. There is no tiered entry for assessment in speaking and writing as proficiency in these skills is differentiated by outcome. Furthermore, assessment in the latter units is very likely to be continuous.
In the listening and reading tests candidates must show that they can understand and respond to French, both spoken and written. In the Foundation level tests, the material may include instructions, dialogues, messages, discussions, internet sources, articles and brochures, students being required to identify and note main points, details and opinions. At Higher level they might well have to listen or read for gist comprehension, looking to recognise points of view, attitudes and emotions presented in a range of authentic contexts. All rubrics are in English and both tests demand non-verbal responses with short answers in English. Only the final exercise of the Higher Tier reading paper features questions in French language and non-verbal responses in the same. Candidates are not allowed access to dictionaries during the examinations but will be encouraged to use these judiciously during the course.
The speaking assessment is conducted entirely in French by the teacher. Candidates must complete two tasks and are at liberty to choose either a topic of personal interest or a topic from the five broad Topic Areas which may or may not be prescribed by the examination board. Typically, this might take the form of a narrative, short presentation or general conversation, during which candidates are expected to respond to queries and give explanations using one or more tenses for between 4-6 minutes. During a two hour supervised preparation time, candidates have access to dictionaries, internet and coursebooks to produce bullet-pointed notes to which they can refer during the test. Each task must be on a different topic and for a different purpose.
A candidate’s ability to communicate in writing is assessed in a very similar manner, candidates having to submit two tasks under controlled conditions on two different topics and for different purposes. Again, students can choose either a topic of personal interest or a topic from the five broad Topic Areas which may or may not be prescribed by the examination board. A candidate may, at a very elementary level, produce a postcard, or she/he will be expected to write simple formal or informal letters up to 350 words across the two tasks. Candidates aiming at grades C-A* would produce up to 600 words, addressing tasks that require the delivery of factual information, or narrate events. Dictionaries, internet sources and coursebooks are permitted at the controlled preparation stage during which students create bullet-pointed notes to support the subsequent 60 minute task taking.
Depending on timetabling constraints, it may be possible to undertake the GCSE Short Course, a stand-alone qualification deemed to be worth half of the corresponding Full Course. This requires work of the same calibre as the Full Course but candidates enter either “Spoken Language” which comprises the units for speaking and listening or “Written Language” which is made up of those for reading and writing. You will need to discuss this individually with Modern Languages staff.
Raw marks on each unit are converted into uniform marks, an aggregate of these determining the overall grade. Foundation level candidates can only achieve a grade C at best, whilst Higher level candidates can hope for as good as A*.
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