AQA GCSE FRENCH / GERMANFull 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

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 LanguagesResponsible for French

Miss Gray Second in DepartmentResponsible for German

Miss Ramsay FCSE German

Ms Quevedo FCSE and GCSE Spanish

Mrs Frau GCSE Italian