Download GCSE Listening – Avril 2013

Reading & Listening
10 Ways to improve your grade
Read the questions FIRST
• And use the example
• When given a choice of words to put into
gaps, cross out the ones you use as you go
• Use clues the texts give away – what gender of
noun? What’s the subject/ending on the verb?
Are there any clues of tense?
Use the 5-minutes pre-listening
• Underline question words e.g. WHO, WHAT,
WHEN, WHERE, HOW, HOW MANY…
• Underline the mark allocations (1), (2), (3)
• Anticipate what words will come up and write
them into the blank spaces on the paper. It’s
your paper.
• * the option which looks most likely if you
have to guess
Listening for numbers!
• When you hear the words, write the KEY
words on the exam paper, e.g. soixante-cinq
Silver Rule 6a
 3 or 4 PAST TENSES
j’ai voyagé
j’ai travaillé
j’ai lu
j’ai acheté
(I travelled)
(I worked)
(I read)
(I bought)
Silver Rule 6c
 3 or 4 FUTURE
TENSES
j’irai (I will go)
je travaillerai (I will work)
je visiterai (I will visit)
je lirai (I will read)
Don’t
leave
blanks!
Reading exam techniques...
Read for gist
Cross words
out you’ve
used already
Highlight key
points in the
question –
have you
answered as
directed?
What do
you know
about
France?
Answers come
in order in the
text
Look out for
negatives
Ignore
words you
don’t need
Come back
later to tricky
questions
Have you
written a
number/
letter as
requested?
What
answer
would make
sense?
What tense is
being used?
Have you
given
enough
points for
the answer?
Are there
any
cognates?
Now have a go at the question
in front of you. Which
techniques did you use?
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The Top 40 Vocab Areas
Days/months
Numbers, esp time
Abstract rooms at home
Room contents
Materials
Housework tasks
School subjects
School equipment
Meat, veg, fruit, fish!
Cutlery & crockery
Snacks, drinks
Animals and pets
Weather
Jobs
Transport
Countries / Nationalities
20 adjectives for a grade C. Add 10 for
each further grade up.
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Restaurant, café
Sports
Body parts
Family members
Clothes
Free time
Types of films / tv
Environment
Things on the street
Abstract places in town
Shops
In the country
Colours
Directions
30 verbs for a grade C. Add 10 for each
further grade up.
If you sit there and count these then
you are very sad.
Reading:
Look at the question first. What’s the topic? Which words can you
expect to come up? How could the examiner try and catch you
out?
Read the passage carefully. Identify key words, then look for those
tricky little words that can change the meaning of a sentence (see
below for a few examples!)
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)?
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
didn’t recognise.
Listening:
Build up your listening stamina! Start with one listening exercise,
then build up to three or four per revision session (see lists below
for useful listening sites).
Look at the question. What’s 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 didn’t recognise.