iGCSE French

[Ancienchateau]

Is anyone's DC sitting this Edexcel exam, or if you just know, can you answer my question please?

It's really unclear in the notes (to me) if for the Speaking part 3, do they get a choice of pictures to talk about prior to the exam and choose one (if so where do they get this from?) or do they just take in a random picture on the day and talk about that?

DS isn't being taught per se and we are abroad. Thanks.

Bump.

Can anyone tell me if you have to submit the picture to be discussed in Part 3 prior to the exam or if you can just turn up with it?

Hi Chateau,

Do you have the Edexcel Specification and Sample Assessment Material? This is covered on pages 7-8. The student selects a picture based on one of the topic areas in advance of the exam, and submits the picture in advance of the test by attaching a copy to the candidate cover sheet.

HTH

qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-international-gcses-and-edexcel-certificates/international-gcse-french-2011.html

No I didn't have any of that info, thanks very much Bagelsandlox. Can't believe how complicated it is and how little information there is for off site so to speak examinees. Thanks again.

Thanks Dreamgirls. When you say show the picture to the teacher, do you mean the examiner? DS is not doing it via his school. He's just turning up at an exam centre and sitting the whole lot in one day. Good luck to your DD.

Thanks Dreamgirls. That's clear now. I just need to work on DS having a go at a past paper over the holiday, ha ha.

Ok that's interesting thanks. Is that an oral test or a written one that your DD struggles with?

Ok thanks for tip. Better take a look at the paper!

Can anyone tell me what mark you need to get for an A* if that still exists? Have googled without success. Thanks.

I've always assumed its at least 90+. DS got 89% for 1 subject (not French) and got an A (Cambridge exam board f that makes any difference). To be sure of an A* he was told you need to be aiming for 95%+.

Oh gosh really?! I just assumed DS would get an A* as he's fluent. Looks like it's going to be rather difficult to achieve even for him. I presumed an A was 70% like it used to be but guess I'm wrong about that too and it's 80% +?

Oh gosh really?! I just assumed DS would get an A* as he's fluent. Looks like it's going to be pretty hard to achieve even for him! I also assumed that an A is 70% like it used to be, but I'm probably wrong about that too and it's 80%+ ?

Sorry for duplicate post. Must be the shock.

I've no idea what the minimum for an A is but DS was able to work out how many marks he'd dropped on a couple of subjects we're talking 4-6 in total and he thought that made him borderline for an A*.
I don't know if different exam boards have different grade boundaries I think you can look it up on their websites.

Yes I've tried searching on websites but can't find anything. We will proceed on the basis it's 80% for an A and 90% for an A and hope he has a good day! Thanks happygardening*.

Good luck to your DS.

Get him to do a couple of past papers and mark them yourself - full mark schemes are available online, or were when my daughters did it. There is a knack to saying the words that get you the marks even if you are a fluent speaker. My DD was warned she had to say the ne as well as the pas even though no native speaker would, for example (she wasn't fluent but had spent quite a lot of time in France) because the mark scheme required it. I was told this applies particularly at GCSE and that a level is slightly more flexible.

Thanks happygardening. That is really useful asilverraindrop thank you. Do you know if that applies to the use of On instead of Nous (which nobody uses in spoken French)? I bet there are tons of other things as well. I'm sure the written and listening paper will be relatively easy but the oral, which I thought was going to be a doddle for him, now sounds like it's going to be a nightmare. I'll have to tell him to drop the teenage French. I'm sure he knows how! This all seemed like a good idea a couple of months ago ...

The A% boundary for last year was 83% for Edexcel IGCSE French 4FRO.

At DS's school boys are not allowed to sit IGCSEs in their mother tongue until Y10, there is no course work it is all final exam and it is more demanding than GCSE languages. And native speakers do have lessons beforehand to stop them making the "mistakes" highlighted by asilver, they also need to understand the mark scheme and how to score marks. e.g. use some subjunctive.

Boys who sit French early are allowed to sit a "challenge language" and sit a GCSE language in a year, it is sooo much easier than IGCSE and they mostly A* it but they don't really know the language at all.

This is all really useful. Thanks everyone.

I second the suggestion of using past papers from different exam boards for extra practice - I did this with DS for iGCSE German - he also sat the exam externally.
Pass marks can be pretty high - DS had 84% for mandarin and got a B - cut off for the A was 86.