Paper 2 — Speaking (25% of GCSE)
Conducted face-to-face with your teacher and recorded for moderation. There is no live examiner. Lasts F: 7-9 min, H: 10-12 min (plus preparation time).
The four tasks
- Role-play (Foundation only — Higher does not have role-play). About 1 minute.
- Reading aloud + short conversation (about 3-4 minutes total).
- Photo-card discussion (about 3-4 minutes).
- General conversation on Themes 1-3 (about 3-5 minutes).
Task 1 — Role-play (Foundation)
You receive a card describing a setting (e.g. Tu téléphones à un hôtel en France). Five bullet points cue what you must say. One bullet is unpredictable — your teacher asks an unexpected question.
Tips:
- Read all bullets first.
- Use vous with your teacher.
- For "?", you must ask a question (intonation, est-ce que, or inversion).
- Don't write full sentences in prep — just key vocabulary.
Task 2 — Reading aloud + conversation
Read a 35-word (F) / 50-word (H) French passage aloud. Pronunciation is judged, but you can pause to think. Then the teacher asks 2-3 questions about the topic of the text.
Pronunciation traps:
- Silent final consonants: les enfants, trop, grand.
- Liaison: les amis with z-sound; un grand homme with t-sound.
- Nasal vowels: un, on, en, in.
- r sound in French is throat-based, not rolled.
Task 3 — Photo card
You see a photo and three questions in French printed beneath it. The teacher asks them. Sample questions:
- Qu'est-ce qui se passe sur cette photo ?
- Que penses-tu de [topic]?
- Raconte une expérience personnelle liée à ce thème.
Structure for the description:
- Sur la photo, je vois… — On the photo I can see…
- Au premier plan / à l'arrière-plan… — In the foreground / background…
- Ils ont l'air… — They look…
Task 4 — General conversation
The teacher leads a discussion on two of the three Themes. Aim to:
- Use at least three different tenses (present, past, future / conditional).
- Drop one connective per sentence (car, par contre, cependant…).
- Throw in one idiom or cultural reference.
- Voluntarily develop answers — don't just answer the question, add a reason and an example.
Marking grid (simplified)
| Criterion | F | H |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | 30 | 30 |
| Spontaneity | 10 | 10 |
| Range / quality of language | 20 | 20 |
| Pronunciation / intonation | 10 | 10 |
| Total | 70 | 70 |
Communication = how clearly you convey ideas; Spontaneity = answering unexpected questions, not parroting; Range = variety of structures; Pronunciation = clarity, not native-perfect.
Survival phrases
- Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ?
- Comment dit-on …. en français ?
- Je ne suis pas tout à fait sûr(e), mais je dirais que…
- Si je comprends bien, vous voulez dire que…
Model phrases for any topic
- Opinion: À mon avis / Selon moi / Je trouve que…
- Justification: parce que, car, puisque, étant donné que.
- Balance: D'un côté… de l'autre.
- Time markers: Hier, l'année dernière, normalement, à l'avenir.
- Range structures: Si j'avais le temps, je…; Bien que… + subjunctive.
⚠Common mistakes
- Reading from prepared notes during prep — you can use bullet points, not full sentences.
- Single-tense answers — examiners cap your range mark.
- Mumbling — speak up and clearly. Pronunciation is 10 marks.
- Translating mentally before speaking — trust prepared chunks instead.
- Saying "I don't know" repeatedly — better to give a brief opinion and develop.
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-deep-french