Listening & Reading Exam Technique

The Listening and Reading papers together account for 50% of your GCSE French grade. These are the two "receptive" skills -- you are receiving French (through your ears or eyes) and demonstrating comprehension. While you cannot control the difficulty of the source material, you can dramatically improve your performance through disciplined exam technique. This lesson covers the structure of both papers in detail, the question types you will encounter, and the specific strategies that consistently gain marks.

---

Paper 1: Listening

Paper Structure

Feature	Foundation (8658/LF)	Higher (8658/LH)
Duration	35 minutes	45 minutes
Total marks	40	50
Percentage of GCSE	25%	25%
Number of recordings	Multiple short extracts	Multiple short extracts + longer passages
Playback	Each recording played twice	Each recording played twice
Answer language	Mix of English and French	Mix of English and French

Exam Tip: Every recording is played twice. Use the first play to get the gist and identify key information. Use the second play to confirm and refine your answers. Never leave an answer blank after the first play -- write your best guess, then check on the second play.

Question Types in Listening

Question Type	What You Do	Example
Multiple choice	Select A, B, C, or D	"Ou est-ce que Marie va ce weekend? A) au cinema B) a la piscine C) au parc D) au restaurant"
Matching	Match statements to people/pictures/categories	Match each speaker to the correct picture
Gap-fill	Complete sentences or a table in French or English	Fill in the missing word from the recording
Short answers in English	Answer comprehension questions in English	"What does Pierre think about his school? Give two details."
Short answers in French	Answer comprehension questions in French	Complete the sentence based on what you hear

Listening Strategies

Before the Recording Plays

1. Read the questions carefully during the reading time (you are given time before each section).
2. Predict the content from the question. If the question asks "What does Marie do at the weekend?", you know to listen for leisure vocabulary.
3. Underline key words in the questions to focus your listening.
4. Note the answer format -- does it ask for one detail or two? English or French?

During the First Play

1. Listen for the gist -- what is the overall topic?
2. Jot down key words you hear, even if you are not sure of the answer yet.
3. Write a provisional answer -- never leave it blank.
4. Do not panic if you miss something. The recording will play again.

During the Second Play

1. Confirm your first answer or correct it.
2. Listen for specific details you may have missed.
3. Check numbers, times, and negatives -- these are common traps.

Critical Listening Traps

Negatives

French uses several negative constructions that reverse the meaning of a sentence. Mishearing or missing a negative is one of the most common causes of lost marks.

Negative	Meaning	Example
ne...pas	not	Je ne vais pas au cinema (I am NOT going to the cinema)
ne...jamais	never	Il ne mange jamais de viande (He NEVER eats meat)
ne...plus	no longer / no more	Elle ne joué plus au tennis (She NO LONGER plays tennis)
ne...rien	nothing	Je ne fais rien (I do NOTHING)
ne...personne	nobody	Il **n'**y a personne (There is NOBODY)

Exam Tip: In spoken French, the "ne" is often dropped in informal speech. You might hear "je vais pas" instead of "je ne vais pas." Listen for "pas," "jamais," "plus," "rien," or "personne" as your negative marker -- do not rely on hearing "ne."

Distractors

AQA deliberately includes distractors -- information designed to mislead. A speaker might mention multiple options before settling on one.

Example: A recording says: "Je voulais aller au cinema, mais finalement on est alles a la piscine." The question asks where they went. The distractor is "cinema" (what they wanted to do), but the correct answer is "swimming pool" (what they actually did).

Strategy: Listen for qualifier words that signal a change of mind:

• mais (but)
• cependant (however)
• finalement (finally / in the end)
• en fait (in fact / actually)
• plutot (rather / instead)

Cognates vs Faux Amis (False Friends)

Cognates are words that look/sound similar in French and English and share the same meaning. They are your friends in the exam.

French	English	Status
telephone	telephone	True cognate
restaurant	restaurant	True cognate
confortable	comfortable	True cognate
important	important	True cognate

Faux amis are words that look/sound similar but have different meanings. These are deliberate traps.

French	Looks Like	Actually Means
actuellement	actually	currently / at the moment
assister a	assist	to attend
blesser	bless	to injure / hurt
librairie	library	bookshop
rester	rest	to stay / remain
journee	journey	day
monnaie	money	change (coins)
regarder	regard	to watch / look at
sensible	sensible	sensitive
sympathique	sympathetic	nice / friendly
attendre	attend	to wait

Exam Tip: Memorise the common faux amis listed above. AQA frequently uses them as distractors. If you hear "actuellement," it means "currently" -- not "actually."

---

Paper 3: Reading