AQA GCSE FRENCH / GERMAN
Full Course
September 2009 – June 2011
This is a 2 year full course GCSE.
Our exam board is AQA.
The specification is new this year
and very different from the
previous specification.
(…in a good way we think!)
The content of the course is very
similar to the previous specification:
Leisure
(free time and the media, holidays)
Home and Environment
(home and local area, environmental
issues)
Lifestyle
(health, relationships, choices)
Work and Education
(school, college, future plans, current
and future jobs)
…but the course is now modular.
There are 4 parts:
Unit 1 Listening: 20% of total grade
This will be assessed by a short exam in January next
year.
Students can retake this exam in May next year.
Students will be entered at either Foundation Tier (30
minute exam) or Higher Tier (40 minute exam).
Unit 2 Reading: 20% of total grade
This will be assessed by a short exam in January next
year.
Students can retake this exam in May next year.
Students will be entered at either Foundation Tier (30
minute exam) or Higher Tier (50 minute exam).
• Unit 3 Speaking: 30% of total grade
This is assessed by Controlled Assessment.
Over the 2 year course students do 3 assessments
with their teacher.
Teachers mark the speaking tests and AQA
moderates teachers’ marking.
The best 2 Speaking Assessments count towards
the final GCSE grade.
• Module 4 Writing: 30% of total grade
This is assessed by Controlled Assessment.
Over the 2 year course students write 3
texts under controlled conditions.
The best 2 are submitted for assessment by AQA.
Assessment Schedule for GCSE Languages
Year 10
17th-23rd November 2009
Writing Assessment 1
4th-10th March 2010
Speaking Assessment 1
15th-29th March 2010
Writing Assessment 2
30th March-1st April 2010
Listening & Reading
Practice Exams (Y10 Exams)
Year 11
22nd Spetember-3rd October 2010
Writing Assessment 3
December 2010 (Y11 Mocks)
Listening & Reading
Practice Exams
January 2011
Listening & Reading
(real!) GCSE Exams
23rd February-6th March 2010
Speaking Assessment 2
May 2011(dates to be confirmed)
Speaking Assessment 3
June 2011
Listening & Reading
Re-take Exams
How can you help?
(www.languagesatmillthorpe.typepad.co.uk)
Electronic copies of everything in Millthorpe School
GCSE revision booklet (very useful indeed!)
GCSE past papers – speaking, reading and writing
materials for the last 5 years (legacy specification).
General Conversation podcasts – downloadable audio
files of General Conversation topics.
Transcripts of the General Conversation podcasts
Links to other useful Languages revision websites
millthorpe
banana
Helpful websites for revision - French
zut.languageskills.co.uk/index.html - Available for free before 9am and after 4pm. Lots of good exercises for revising vocabulary and
grammar.
www.languagesonline.org.uk - Loads of very effective grammar exercises, good vocabulary revision.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize - Lots of revision units specifically tailored towards the exam, separated into Foundation and Higher
tiers.
www.s-cool.co.uk – Revision activities specifically tailored towards the exams. Better for Foundation than Higher.
http://revisioncentre.co.uk/ - topics, exam skills, example presentations.
www.frenchrevision.co.uk – Past papers and example exercises from exam papers.
http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Curriculum/modlang/index_students.htm - videos, exercises, links to other websites.
http://exercices.free.fr/francais/orth/index.htm - Good exercises for practising accuracy in writing.
http://www.wildfrench.co.uk/
http://www.gcse.com/
http://www.frenchinaclick.com/ - Only free for the first 7 days, so use it wisely!
http://www.digitaldialects.com/French.htm - fun (if slightly odd) games to help you remember the basics.
http://exercices.free.fr/francais/
Helpful websites for revision - German
gut.languageskills.co.uk/index.html - Available for free before 9am and after 4pm. Lots of good exercises for revising vocabulary and
grammar.
www.languagesonline.org.uk – Loads of very effective grammar exercises, good vocabulary revision.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize - Lots of revision units specifically tailored towards the exam, separated into Foundation and Higher
tiers.
www.s-cool.co.uk – Revision activities specifically tailored towards the exams. Better for Foundation than Higher.
http://revisioncentre.co.uk/ - topics, exam skills, example presentations.
http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Curriculum/modlang/index_students.htm - videos, exercises, links to other websites.
http://www.klar.co.uk/ - free before 9am and after 4pm
http://www.gcse.com/
http://www.yjc.org.uk/
http://www.digitaldialects.com/German.htm - fun (if slightly odd) games to help you remember the basics.
How can we help you?
If you have any questions, phone us at school or write a note in
your son’s/daughter’s planner asking us to phone you.
Ms Andrle
Head of Modern Languages
Responsible for French
Miss Gray
Second in Department
Responsible for German
Miss Ramsay
FCSE German
Ms Quevedo
FCSE and GCSE Spanish
Mrs Frau
GCSE Italian