Top Tips for Success at GCSE French

 ‘Little and often’ is the best policy when it comes to learning French. 

How to learn vocabulary:

-        - Aim to learn 10 words per day. Use the vocabulary for each module and choose 10 words from each section.

-        - It is best to spend 10-20 minutes per day  learning/ revising them, then get a friend or family member to test you on them at the end of the day.

-         -Make a list of all the words you find most difficult to remember and return to these every couple of days.

-        -Write the words out and colour-code them (masculine nouns, feminine nouns, plural nouns, verbs, adjectives, other words). Write them on Post-It notes (French on one side, English on the other) and stick them around the house.

-        - Learn structures and idioms that you can use in your speaking and writing papers.

-         - Remember to revise how the words sounds, not just how it looks. Create a voki (voki.com) and type in each word. (You don’t need to save the voki each time.) Repeat it several times and try and write it phonetically. If you’re a visual learner, try making a mind-map for each topic area or sub-topic. Do this without your book/dictionary first, and then allow yourself 2 minutes to look at your book before adding to it.

 How to improve your listening skills:

-        - Build up your listening stamina! Start with one listening exercise, then build up to three or four per revision session.

-        -Look at the question. What is the topic? Which words can you expect to come up? How could the examiner try and catch you out?

-         -Numbers can be tricky. Listen out for ages, dates, times, and prices and note them down.

-         -Always listen to a passage at least twice before committing to an answer. Try and repeat sentences to yourself more slowly so the words sink in.

-      -  Look at the transcript (if available) and write down any vocabulary you did not recognise.

-        -Try listening to French radio for 5 minutes (increasing this with time) and make notes in English. Do this with a friend and compare what you’ve written!

How to improve your reading skills:

- Read the passage carefully. Identify key words, then look for those tricky little words that can change the meaning of a sentence (negative structures, prepositions such as "sauf" = except)

- Look at the question first. What is the topic?       Which words can you expect to come up? How could the examiner try and catch you out?

- Find the verbs. What tense are they in? Is the writer talking about the present (je mange), past (je mangeais, j’ai mangé), future (je mangerai, je vais manger,) or a possibility (je mangerais, je voudrais manger)? Are there other clues such as time phrases?

- If you’re reading a series of statements by several people, and the question asks you to write the name of one of the people, try writing a brief summary of what each person has said in English.

- Check your work thoroughly and write down any vocabulary you did not recognise.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay