Speaking and Writing Skills

The speaking and writing papers together typically make up 50% of your GCSE French grade. Success in these papers depends not just on vocabulary knowledge, but on exam technique, structure and range of language. This lesson covers the photo card, role play, writing tasks, impressive phrases, connectives and time expressions.

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Speaking: The photo card

The photo card task requires you to describe a photo and answer questions about a related topic.

Step-by-step technique

1. Describe what you see. Use Sur la photo, je vois… (In the photo, I see…) or Il y a… (There is/are…).
2. Give details. Describe people, actions, location, weather.
3. Give an opinion or reaction. Ça a l'air… (It looks…), Je pense que… (I think that…).
4. Be prepared for follow-up questions. These will be about the wider topic.

Useful phrases for the photo card

French	English
Sur la photo, je vois…	In the photo, I see…
Il y a un homme / une femme / des enfants.	There is a man / a woman / some children.
Ils sont dans un parc / un restaurant / une école.	They are in a park / a restaurant / a school.
Il fait beau / il pleut / il neige.	It's sunny / it's raining / it's snowing.
La personne porte un manteau rouge.	The person is wearing a red coat.
Ils ont l'air contents / fatigués.	They look happy / tired.
Ça me fait penser à…	That makes me think of…
À mon avis, ils passent un bon moment.	In my opinion, they are having a good time.

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Speaking: Role play

Role play tasks require you to handle a transactional situation in French (e.g., booking a hotel, ordering food, asking for directions).

Top tips for role play

1. Read the bullet points carefully — each one tells you exactly what to say.
2. Use vous — role plays are usually formal situations.
3. Use je voudrais — it is polite and covers many situations.
4. Prepare for the unprepared question — listen carefully, take a moment to think, and give a sensible answer.
5. Don't panic — if you don't understand, ask Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? (Can you repeat, please?).

Useful role play phrases

French	English
Je voudrais…	I would like…
Avez-vous… ?	Do you have… ?
C'est combien ?	How much is it?
Où se trouve… ?	Where is… ?
À quelle heure… ?	At what time… ?
Est-ce qu'il y a… ?	Is there… ?
Je peux avoir… ?	Can I have… ?
Il y a un problème.	There is a problem.
Pouvez-vous m'aider ?	Can you help me?

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Writing: The PALM structure

For extended writing tasks, use the PALM framework to plan your response.

Letter	Meaning	What to include
P	Past	What you did / what happened (passé composé + imperfect)
A	Attitude / Opinion	What you think / feel (opinion phrases + justification)
L	Lifestyle / Present	What you do now / what it is like (present tense)
M	More / Future	What you will / would do (future / conditional)

Example plan for "Write about your free time"

• P: Le week-end dernier, j'ai joué au football avec mes amis. C'était génial.
• A: J'adore le sport parce que c'est bon pour la santé et ça me relaxe.
• L: Normalement, le samedi, je joue au football et le dimanche, je fais de la natation.
• M: L'année prochaine, je vais m'inscrire à un club de tennis. Si je pouvais, j'aimerais aussi essayer l'escalade.

Exam tip: The PALM structure ensures you use multiple tenses (past, present, future, conditional) naturally, which is exactly what the mark scheme rewards.

flowchart TD
    Q[Writing question] --> P["P: Past<br/>passé composé + imparfait"]
    Q --> A["A: Attitude<br/>opinion + justification"]
    Q --> L["L: Lifestyle<br/>present tense"]
    Q --> M["M: More<br/>future + conditional"]
    P --> Conn["Add connectives<br/>cependant, parce que, donc"]
    A --> Conn
    L --> Conn
    M --> Conn
    Conn --> Out["Top-band answer<br/>4+ tenses, varied register"]

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Impressive phrases (Les phrases impressionnantes)

These phrases will elevate your French and demonstrate a wide range of language.

French	English	When to use
Ce qui me plaît, c'est…	What I like is…	Giving opinions
Ce que je trouve difficile, c'est…	What I find difficult is…	Giving opinions
Il faut dire que…	It must be said that…	Adding emphasis
Bien que ce soit difficile…	Although it is difficult…	Concession (subjunctive — very impressive!)
Non seulement… mais aussi…	Not only… but also…	Adding ideas
En ce qui concerne…	As far as … is concerned…	Introducing a topic
Grâce à…	Thanks to…	Explaining a positive reason
À cause de…	Because of…	Explaining a negative reason
Malgré le fait que…	Despite the fact that…	Concession
Il va sans dire que…	It goes without saying that…	Emphasis
Quant à moi…	As for me…	Personal opinion

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Connectives (Les connecteurs)

Using a range of connectives is one of the easiest ways to raise your grade.

Adding ideas

French	English
et	and
aussi	also
en plus	in addition
de plus	moreover
également	equally / also
non seulement… mais aussi	not only… but also

Contrasting ideas

French	English
mais	but
cependant	however
pourtant	yet / nevertheless
par contre	on the other hand
malgré	despite
néanmoins	nonetheless
d'un côté… d'un autre côté	on one hand… on the other hand

Explaining

French	English
parce que / car	because
puisque	since / as
à cause de	because of
grâce à	thanks to
donc	so / therefore
alors	so / then
c'est pourquoi	that's why
par conséquent	consequently

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Time expressions (Les expressions de temps)

Using time expressions helps you move between tenses naturally and adds variety to your language.

Past