GCSE French

Course Length

Two years.

Knowledge of a second language is now generally recognised as an indispensable tool, whether for going on holiday or for work. French at IGCSE level provides students with the essentials of communication, enabling you to describe events and situations and convey your thoughts and feelings to a basic level and develop knowledge and understanding of French grammar. The course covers three broad themes relating to France, Belgium, Switzerland and other Francophone nations/regions.

The Specification

IGCSE EDEXCEL French (4FR1) – Note there are no separate levels for Foundation and Higher. All students sit the same paper for levels 9 -1.

Assessment

Paper 1 Listening
35 mins | 25%

Paper 2 Reading & Writing
1 hour 45 mins exam | 50%

Paper 3 Speaking
8-10 mins exam | 25%

Course Content

Paper 1  Listening

• This paper assesses listening skills across five topic areas: Home and abroad; Education and employment; Personal life and relationships; The world around us; Social activities, fitness and health.
• Seven questions, which are a combination of multiple-choice, multiple-matching, note-taking and gap-fill questions.

Paper 2  Reading & Writing

This paper assesses reading and writing skills in separate sections across the five topic areas:

Section A: Reading
• Five questions, which are a combination of multiple-choice, note-taking, gap-fill and short-answer questions.

Section B: Writing
• There are two open-response writing tasks (Q6 up to 75 words; Q7 up to 150 words) and a grammar task (Q8) that requires writing verbs and other words in their correct forms. Each task in this section is linked to a specific topic area.

Paper 3  Speaking
This paper assesses speaking skills across the five topic areas.

The examination is made up of three tasks (A, B and C). Students will present and answer questions on a picture they have chosen and that is related to one of the topic areas. They will also discuss two different topics, chosen at random by Pearson Edexcel. Overall, only three of the five topic areas will therefore be covered.

The assessments are conducted by teachers in one session within a prescribed assessment window. The recordings are then submitted to Pearson for external marking.

Reading List

CGP Guides; IGCSE Edexcel French Boost Learning resources. appropriate; Translation from English into French.