My Home: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE French): Revision Note
Exam code: 8652
The topic of ‘my home’ can appear in any of the exams - you might be asked to speak or write about yourself, or understand information about others. Let’s use the vocabulary, grammar and phonics we have seen so far to take a closer look at some typical exam questions and how you might tackle them.
My home: listening
In the listening exam, you will complete a dictation task where you write down exactly what you hear in French. This will include some unknown words that are from outside of the vocabulary list. This question will help you practise dictation, including unknown words.
Worked Example
Write down what you hear in French.
1. ...................................................
2. ...................................................
3. ...................................................
4. ...................................................
5. ...................................................
Answers:
This is what you heard:
J'habite dans un quartier animé.
Chez moi il y a un joli jardin.
Mon chat joue derrière la porte.
À la campagne il n'y a pas de bruit.
Voici mon armoire dans ma chambre.
You should have identified the [ch] and [gn] sounds
The unknown words were armoire (wardrobe) and animé (lively) - check your spelling carefully
My home: speaking
In part 3 of the speaking exam, you will describe two photos and then answer questions based on the theme of the photos. Here are some questions to help you practise answering questions about your home.
Worked Example
Answer these questions in French.
Où habites-tu ?
Décris ta maison.
Comment est ta chambre ?
Quel est un avantage d'habiter dans une ville ?
Answers:
Here are some example responses.
J'habite avec ma famille dans une maison dans un village.
Ma maison est assez grande et nous avons sept pièces.
Ma chambre est petite mais j'ai un grand lit.
On peut faire beaucoup de choses.
My home: reading
In the reading exam, there may be a question where you need to identify who says what. As there is only one correct person for each question, read each sentence carefully. There may be two or more people with similar information, so you have to identify the small details to reach the correct answer.
Worked Example
Three teenagers are talking about their home. Match the correct person with each of the following questions.
Write L for Luis.
Write G for Gabrielle.
Write T for Théo.
Luis: Ma maison se trouve à la campagne. Je passe beaucoup de temps dans le salon avec ma famille.
Gabrielle: On est toujours dans la cuisine ! On mange et on prépare les repas. Je joue aussi dans le jardin avec mes frères.
Théo: Nous habitons à la montagne, et ma chambre a une jolie vue par la fenêtre, surtout quand il fait beau.
Who lives in the countryside?
Who spends a lot of time in the kitchen?
Who lives in the mountains?
Who spends a lot time in the living room?
Who has a nice view?
Who has a garden?
Answers:
Here are the correct answers:
Who has pets?
L - mes chiens aiment jouer devant la fenêtre
Who spends a lot of time in the kitchen?
G - on est toujours dans la cuisine
Who lives in the mountains?
T - nous habitons à la montagne
Who spends a lot time in the living room?
L - je passe beaucoup de temps dans le salon
Who has a nice view?
T - ma chambre a une jolie vue
Who has a garden?
G - je joue aussi dans le jardin
My home: writing
In the writing paper, there will be one question where you need to write a 90-word response guided by bullet points. The same question will appear on both Foundation and Higher papers.
Worked Example
You are writing a blog post about your home.
Write approximately 90 words in French.
You must write something about each bullet point.
Mention:
what your home is like
something you have done at home recently
where you will live in future
Answer:
Here is an example response of 89 words.
J'habite avec ma famille dans un petit village historique, et ma maison est assez grande. Il y a trois chambres et nous avons un joli jardin avec beaucoup de fleurs.
Hier, j'ai écouté de la musique dans ma chambre et j'ai fait mes devoirs parce que c'est plus calme que le salon ou la cuisine. Je ne partage pas ma chambre. Dans le futur, je veux habiter dans un appartement au centre-ville car il y aurait beaucoup de choses à faire. Je voudrais habiter près des magasins et de mes amis.
I live with my family in a small historic village, and my house is quite big. There are three bedrooms, and we have a pretty garden with lots of flowers.
Yesterday, I listened to music in my room and did my homework because it is quieter than the living room or the kitchen. I don’t share my room.
In the future, I want to live in an apartment in the city centre because there would be lots of things to do. I would like to live near the shops and my friends.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This paragraph includes:
a range of tenses to match the bullet points - present, perfect, simple future and conditional
a range of adjectives with correct agreement - petit, historique, grande, joli, calme
a range of structures - plus ... que (comparative), ne ... pas (negative), je veux/voudrais (modal verbs)
Check that your answer includes a variety of language and that you have written something about each bullet point.
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