… that your DC are prepped as they should be. I am not talking here about revision but exam rubric and spec.
I conduct speaking assessments for MFL and while some candidates are excellent and well-prepared, I am always surprised by how many have not filled in the form correctly, or have not checked what kind of questions I will be asking, or have not realised that they need to ask me a question or questions. This is at both KS4 and KS5. None of this information is secret – it is all right there on the exam board websites. Candidates are losing marks because they have not checked this out.
Yes, teachers should be flagging this up – but sometimes students do not listen to teachers. And of course many students will be sitting exams via HE, so may not have an exam-expert teacher or tutor to consult.
We are well into the speaking assessment windows for A level, international A level, GCSE and IGCSE now, but it may be that your DC still has their MFL speaking assessment coming up. If it’s AQA GCSE, they do not need to develop answers in the role-play, but they do for the photocard. They do need to ask the examiner a question in the general speaking. If they are taking Edexcel IGCSE MFL, the detail of the kind of questions they will be asked on the photo is online, and worth a look. If they are sitting Edexcel A level MFL, they are supposed to ask the examiner multiple questions during both elements of the conversation. And so on.
The same goes for other papers and other subjects too. In MFL AQA GCSE, there is a choice of two questions on the written paper, so please only write one piece, not both. For the 20th century text in AQA Eng lit, they only need to write answers for one of two questions. For AQA Eng lang, only four short answers are needed for the first task. There are similar details to bear in mind for all subjects – and like I say, the info is on the exam board website, under spec, or under details for specific papers. Please take a look. Better to know twice and be sure than to walk into an exam unprepared.
Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.
Secondary education
Please, as we hit exam season in earnest – take a moment to check…
clary · 16/04/2024 15:43
Jennaveeve · 16/04/2024 16:45
Do you have any specific roll play advice for IGCSE?
TheMoth · 16/04/2024 19:54
READ THE BASTARD POEMS AGAIN!!!!
It's been an eye opening couple of days.
"We've not done this poem"
Yes, we have. We really have.
"Well I don't remember it. "
Oh, that's OK. Just write that in the exam. I'm sure the examiner will be more lenient.
4 weeks to go. Just under.
MrsHamlet · 16/04/2024 20:00
Are you me?
See also:
What do you mean I have to write about Macbeth?
What do you mean I have to write about An Inspector Calls?
What do you mean I have to write about A Christmas Carol?
TheMoth · 16/04/2024 19:54
READ THE BASTARD POEMS AGAIN!!!!
It's been an eye opening couple of days.
"We've not done this poem"
Yes, we have. We really have.
"Well I don't remember it. "
Oh, that's OK. Just write that in the exam. I'm sure the examiner will be more lenient.
4 weeks to go. Just under.
Jennaveeve · 16/04/2024 18:39
Amazing, thank you! Do they need to ask a question in Cambridge IGCSE?
MrsHamlet · 16/04/2024 19:22
I've lost count of the number of GCSE lit papers where candidates have attempted all of the questions, even though there is no way they've studied all of the texts.
PickledMumion · 16/04/2024 21:53
"Miss, am I allowed a calculator for this exam that's starting in 8 minutes?"
"yes"
...
....
"Miss, can I borrow a calculator?"
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
PickledMumion · 16/04/2024 21:53
"Miss, am I allowed a calculator for this exam that's starting in 8 minutes?"
"yes"
...
....
"Miss, can I borrow a calculator?"
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
clary · 16/04/2024 21:57
Hey @Jennaveeve sorry was out...
No, no need to ask a question.
Tbh I am not a fan of the Cambridge IGCSE speaking assessment as there is very little room for discretion by the examiner (to support a weaker candidate or challenge a stronger one) and there is no candidate choice (for example of a first topic).
The key thing to remember is that for the two topic conversations, the five questions are scripted by the exam board and intended to last for 3.5 minutes each - so to gain the highest marks, a candidate must develop their answers.
So "what's your favourite subject?" "maths" - not going to score highly. "I like maths because it is interesting" - better. Best of all "I like maths because it is interesting, but I also like chemistry because it is very useful, as I hope to become a doctor. Last week we learned all about algebra in maths, it was great."
Jennaveeve · 16/04/2024 18:39
Amazing, thank you! Do they need to ask a question in Cambridge IGCSE?
TheMoth · 16/04/2024 19:54
READ THE BASTARD POEMS AGAIN!!!!
It's been an eye opening couple of days.
"We've not done this poem"
Yes, we have. We really have.
"Well I don't remember it. "
Oh, that's OK. Just write that in the exam. I'm sure the examiner will be more lenient.
4 weeks to go. Just under.
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TheMoth · 16/04/2024 19:54
READ THE BASTARD POEMS AGAIN!!!!
It's been an eye opening couple of days.
"We've not done this poem"
Yes, we have. We really have.
"Well I don't remember it. "
Oh, that's OK. Just write that in the exam. I'm sure the examiner will be more lenient.
4 weeks to go. Just under.
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