Course overview Themes and topics
Theme 1 ( Identity and Culture)
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
Topic 1: Me, my family and friends
- Relationships with family and friends
- Marriage/partnership
Topic 2: Technology in everyday life
- Social media
- Mobile technology
Topic 3: Free-time activities
- Music
- Cinema and TV
- Food and eating out
- Sport
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
- Charity/voluntary work
- Healthy/unhealthy living
Topic 3: Global issues
- The environment
- Poverty/homelessness
Theme 3 (Current and future study and employment)
Theme 2 ( Local, National and Global areas of interest)
Theme 3 (Current and future study and employment)
Topic 1: My studies
Topic 2: Life at school/college
Topic 3: Education post-16
Topic 4: Jobs, career choices and ambitions
Assessment
Paper 1 Listening
Paper 1 Listening
Paper 1 Listening
What's assessed
Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language
How it's assessed
- Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier)
- 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier)
- 25% of GCSE
(Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.)
Questions
Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
- Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
- Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally.
Paper 2 Speaking
Paper 1 Listening
Paper 1 Listening
What's assessed
Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes
How it's assessed
- Non-exam assessment
- 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time
- 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time
- 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)
- 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 are different too:
- Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier)
- Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier)
- General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier)
Paper 3 Reading
Paper 3 Reading
Paper 3 Reading
What's assessed
Understanding and responding to different types of written language
How it's assessed
- Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier)
- 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)
- 25% of GCSE
Questions
Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
- Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
- Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally
- Section C – translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier)
Paper 4 Writing
Paper 3 Reading
Paper 3 Reading
What's assessed
Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes
How it's assessed
- Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier)
- 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier
- 25% of GCSE
Questions
Foundation Tier
- Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks
- Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks
- Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks
- Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks
Higher Tier
- Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks
- Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks
- Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks
Specification
AQA GCSE French Specification
We work towards the AQA GCSE French qualification. Click below to download you copy.