AQA GCSE
Chinese Speaking
Handbook
Specification at a glance
Paper 2: Speaking
What's assessed:
Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes
How it's assessed:
• Non-exam assessment
• 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time
• 60 marks
• 25% of GCSE
Questions:
Foundation Tier and Higher Tier The format is the same at Foundation Tier and
Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different
stimulus materials for the Role-play.
The timings
• Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes)
• Photo card – 15 marks (3 minutes)
• General conversation – 30 marks (5–7 minutes)
Access to dictionaries is not permitted at any time during the test or the supervised
preparation time.
Instructions for the test and all student questions are in English.
Students will be allowed to make notes, on an Additional answer sheet, during their
supervised preparation time and take them into the exam room to use during the
test. There is no restriction on the number of words/characters or the material
which the notes may contain. They must hand the notes in to the teacher-examiner
immediately before the General conversation part of the test. The notes must be
stored under secure conditions until results day, after which they must be disposed
of.
The test is conducted and audio-recorded by the teacher and marked by an AQA
examiner.
Themes:
How to do role play:
Role-play (15 marks):
Based on a stimulus card, to be prepared by the student immediately before the test
during their preparation time. Students will carry out one role-playing situation.
The Role-play card will allow students to answer questions and convey information,
using and adapting language for new purposes. Students will respond to unexpected
questions and use repair strategies to sustain communication. They will also ask a
question.
Time: 2 minutes. It is about 3 sentences for each bullet point.
In preparation time:
Students then have 12 minutes to prepare their responses to the tasks on the roleplay card and the three questions on the photo card. Students can make as many
notes as they wish during the preparation time, including writing a script if they
wish. These notes will be handed to the teacher after the photo card task has been
completed and before the general conversation starts.
Tips for Role-play:
Tenses:
Past tense: If one bullet point asks you to say a past tense, you should clearly include
了 after a verb.
A time phrase that indicates a past time will also help.
For example: 去年生日的时候，我和家人去了饭店吃饭。
Learn to say below past time phrases:
去年，去年夏天，
去年我过生日的时候
上个星期， 上个周末， 上个星
Qùnián, qùnián xiàtiān,
qùnián wǒguò shēngrì de shíhòu xīngqíliù
shàng gè xīngqí, shàng gè zhōumò, shàng gè
期六
上个月， 上个学期
shàng gè yuè, shàng gè xuéqí
我小的时候，
wǒ xiǎo de shíhòu,
以前，
yǐqián,
我五岁的时候
wǒ wǔ suì de shíhòu
Future tense: 要，会，将, 想
Four words above all indicate future tense.
“想” is “want to, wish”. It will not necessarily be happening.
For example: 中学毕业以后我要上大学。我想学习英文。
Learn to say the phrases below-they all indicate future tense:
明天，明年
下个暑假/明年暑假，下个月，
下个星期， 下个周末
将来，以后，毕业以后
Make sure you know how to ask below questions:
What
When
Where
Who
How
How about
How much
How old
What do you think
Have you ever
Do you like A or B?









谁 (shéi) – who
什么 (shén me) – what
哪里 (nǎ lǐ) – where
哪个 (nǎ ge) – which
什么时候 (shén me shí hou) – when
为什么 (wèi shén me) – why
怎么 (zěn me) – how
多少 (duō shǎo) – how many
几 (jǐ) – how many (any number under ten)
Sample questions:
1. What is your brother like?
2. What is your house like?
3. How old is your younger brother?
4. What are your hobbies?
5. What did you study last year?
6. When did you start to learn Chinese?
7. Where is your school?
8. How do you go to school every day?
9. What did you do last weekend?
10. How much is your jumper?
11. How is your relationship with your brother?
Photo card:
Describe the picture:
Step One：You can start with:
在这幅图里有一家人/很多人/一个男人
从这幅图里，我可以看到一家人/两个中学生/一个老人，
Step Two: Then you use the Present Continuous Tense to describe what is happening
when the photo was taken: 正在+verb
For example: 他们正在打足球比赛。
他们正在看表演。
他正在开会。
Step Three: Describe your feeling/judgement about the photo. Use “看起来”, “好
像”
For example: 他们看起来是一家人。
他们看起来很年轻。
他们看起来很高兴/健康/不高兴。
Step Four: Start to talk about details: using “照片的左边/中间/右边……….”
For example: 照片的左边是爸爸，他拿着一个盒子，里面有很多书。
照片的中间有很多菜， 这可能是在学校的餐厅。
For the picture above, you can say:
在这幅图里我可以看到很多学生（Step 1）
zài zhè fú tú lǐ wǒ kě yǐ kàn dào hěn duō xué shēng
他们正在吃中饭。(Step 2)
tā mén zhèng zài chī zhōng fàn
他们看起来是小学生，他们在学校的餐厅里吃。(Step 3)
tā mén kàn qǐ lái shì xiǎo xué shēng ， tā mén zài xué xiào dí cān tīng lǐ chī 。
他们好像很喜欢他们的食物。(Step 4)
tā mén hǎo xiàng hěn xǐ huān tā mén dí shí wù
他们的盘子里有青菜，有米饭，也有肉，是健康的午餐。(Step 5)
tā mén dí pán zǐ lǐ yǒu qīng cài ， yǒu mǐ fàn ， yě yǒu ròu ， shì jiàn kāng dí wǔ cān
Notes:
(a) At least one question on each Photo card asks students to give and explain an
opinion.
(b) If you don’t understand the question, please ask in Chinese: “对不起，你再说一
遍好吗？”. If you are able to respond to the question successfully, you will be
awarded the same mark as if you had understood it originally.
General conversation:
The general conversation is based on the two themes not covered in the Photo card.
At Higher Tier, the conversation should last between five and seven minutes. It is
assessed for communication, range and accuracy of language, pronunciation,
intonation and tones and spontaneity and fluency, as specified in the criteria below.
The general conversation has two part: part one: student nominated theme, part
two: a theme that is not covered in photo card and part one conversation.
**Choose a theme in advance:**
You should choose a theme for your general conversation and inform the teacher in
advance.
The general conversation part has 30 marks.
Sample questions-please note, this is NOT a list of
questions for your REAL EXAMS.
Theme 1: Identity and culture
Topic 1 : Me , my family and friends
1. 你家有几口人？
2. 你有什么爱好？
3. 你的好朋友长得怎么样？
4. 你将来想做什么工作？为什么？
Topic 2 Technology in everyday life
1．
你一般上网做什么？
2．
你用手机做什么？
3．
上网有什么好处和坏处？
Topic 3 Free-time activities
你周末一般和家人一起做什么？
1.
2. 你喜欢什么运动/电影/电视剧？为什么？
3. 你喜欢吃中餐还是西餐？为什么？
4. 说说你最喜欢的饭馆。
Topic
4
:
Customs
countries/communities
and
festivals
in
Chinese-speaking
1．
你最喜欢什么节日？为什么？
2．
你家人一般 怎么庆祝圣诞节？
3．
中国人怎么庆祝春节？
Theme 2 : Local ,national, international and global areas of interest
Topic 1 : Home, town, neighbourhood and region
1. 你喜欢住在城市还是农村？为什么？
2. 你家附近有什么好玩的地方？
3. 你的房间里有什么？
4. 说一说你的家。
Topic 2 : Social issues
1. 你的生活健康吗?为什么？
2. 你觉得什么样的生活最健康？
3. 生病的时候应该吃什么，做什么？
Topic 3 : Global issues
1. 怎样保护环境？
2. 你的城市有什么环境问题?怎么解决这个问题？
Topic 4 : Travel and tourism
1． 你喜欢坐火车还是坐飞机？为什么？
2． 今年夏天你想去哪里度假？为什么？
3． 上个假期你去了哪里?做了什么？
Theme 3 : Current and future study and employment
Topic 1 : My studies
1. 你最喜欢的科目是什么？为什么？
2. 你这个学期学习哪几门课？
3. 你喜欢学中文吗？为什么？
Topic 2 : Life at school
1. 介绍一下你的学校。
2. 在学校你参加什么课外活动？
3. 你喜欢哪个老师？为什么？
Topic 3 : Education post-16
1. 你打算上大学吗？为什么?
2. 你明年想学什么？
3. 你毕业以后想做什么？
Topic 4 : Jobs, career choices and ambitions
1. 你将来想做什么工作？为什么？
2. 你以后想做义工吗?为什么？