Music Cinema & TV: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE Polish): Revision Note

Exam code: 8688

Sylwia Jurczak

Written by: Sylwia Jurczak

Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett

Updated on

  • The topic of 'music, cinema and TV' can appear in any of the exams - from giving your opinion on a film or TV series to understanding information about musicians and performers

  • Use the vocabulary and grammar we have seen so far to take a closer look at some typical exam questions and how you might tackle them

Music cinema and TV: listening

  • In the listening exam, there are questions where you need to decide if the speaker's opinion is positive, negative, or positive and negative

  • To get the correct answer, you need to listen out for adjectives and opinion phrases

  • These questions will help you to practise this

Foundation tier

Worked Example

Five young people are talking about what they have recently watched, read or listened to. What is their opinion?

Write P for a positive opinion.
Write N for a negative opinion.
Write P+N for a positive and negative opinion.

Ania
00:00
/
00:00
Tomek
00:00
/
00:00
Sylwia
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/
00:00
Karol
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/
00:00
Karolina
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/
00:00

Answers

Ania: P+N

Wczoraj obejrzałam film. Aktorzy byli naprawdę świetni, ale historia była trochę nudna. Yesterday I watched a film. The actors were really great, but the story was a little boring.

Tomek: P

Posłuchałem nowej piosenki mojego ulubionego zespołu. Jest fantastyczna i słucham jej bez przerwy. I listened to my favourite band's new song. It is fantastic and I keep listening to it again and again.

Sylwia: N

Próbowałam przeczytać powieść, ale była dla mnie za trudna. Historia nie przypadła mi do gustu. I tried to read a novel, but it was too difficult for me. I didn't like the story.

Karol: P

Wczoraj wieczorem w telewizji był mój ulubiony program. Jak zawsze był bardzo ciekawy i dużo się śmiałem. My favourite programme was on TV last night. As always, it was very interesting, and I laughed a lot.

Karolina: P+N

Wczoraj obejrzałam komedię z przyjaciółmi. Film był bardzo zabawny i wszyscy dużo się śmialiśmy, chociaż zakończenie było smutne. Yesterday I watched a comedy with my friends. The film was very funny, and we all laughed a lot, although the ending was sad.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Listen carefully for adjectives and opinion phrases - these are the key to identifying whether an opinion is positive or negative

  • Watch out for words like ale (but) and chociaż (although), which signal a switch from positive to negative or vice versa, giving you a P+N answer

Higher tier

Worked Example

Four young people are talking about concerts or live events they have attended. What is their opinion?

Write P for a positive opinion.
Write N for a negative opinion.
Write P+N for a positive and negative opinion.

Wiktoria
00:00
/
00:00
Tomasz
00:00
/
00:00
Kamila
00:00
/
00:00
Wiktor
00:00
/
00:00
  • Wiktoria

  • Tomasz

  • Kamila

  • Wiktor

Answers

Wiktoria: N

W zeszłym tygodniu poszłam na koncert, ale w ogóle mi się nie podobał. Piosenkarz miał słaby głos, a atmosfera była okropna. Nigdy więcej tam nie pójdę. I went to a concert last week but I didn't like it at all. The singer had a poor voice and the atmosphere was terrible. I will never go again.

Tomasz: P+N

Festiwal był wspaniały, a atmosfera była fantastyczna. Niestety bilety były tak drogie, że ledwo było mnie stać na coś do jedzenia. The festival was wonderful and the atmosphere was fantastic. Unfortunately the tickets were so expensive that I could barely afford anything to eat.

Kamila: P

Po raz pierwszy zobaczyłam mój ulubiony zespół na scenie. Wydarzenie było świetne – wszyscy członkowie zespołu grali bardzo dobrze, a piosenki bardzo mi się podobały. I saw my favourite band on stage for the first time. The event was great - all the band members played very well and I really liked the songs.

Wiktor: P+N

Aktor dobrze odegrał swoją rolę, a przedstawienie było bardzo ekscytujące. Jednak teatr był tak pełny, że prawie nic nie mogliśmy zobaczyć. The actor portrayed his role well and the play was very exciting. However, the theatre was so full that we could hardly see anything.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • At Higher tier, the language is more complex and opinions can be expressed indirectly

  • Always listen for the overall meaning, not just individual words, and remember that conjunctions like jednak(though) and niestety (unfortunately) often signal a change of opinion

Music cinema and TV: speaking

  • In part 1 of the speaking exam, you will take part in a role-play

  • Your teacher will play the part of the other person on the card

  • You will ask and answer questions.

  • The role-play lasts approximately 2 minutes

    • You need to prepare answers to the prompts

      • There will be one unprepared task

    • You need to ask your teacher a question when you see the ? symbol

    • Each response must include a verb in order to score full marks

Foundation tier

Worked Example

You are talking to your Polish friend about entertainment. Prepare the following role-play.

  1. Say how often you watch TV.

  2. Say what your favourite programme is. (Give one detail.)

  3. Give one opinion about films.

  4. Say what type of music you like. (Give one detail.)

  5. ? Ask your friend a question about reading.

Answers

Here are some example responses:

  1. Oglądam telewizję prawie codziennie.

  2. Moim ulubionym programem jest program podróżniczy, ponieważ jest bardzo ciekawy.

  3. Uważam, że filmy komediowe są bardzo zabawne.

  4. Lubię muzykę pop.

  5. Jakie książki lubisz czytać?

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Every response must include a verb, but even a short answer like lubię muzykę pop is enough for prompt 4

  • For the question at prompt 5, make sure your question is specifically about reading, not another topic

  • A simple question like lubisz czytać? is perfectly acceptable

Higher tier

Worked Example

You are talking to your Polish friend about entertainment. Prepare the following role-play.

  1. Say what you did last weekend for entertainment. (Give two details.)

  2. Say what you think about celebrities and why. (Give one opinion and one reason.)

  3. Describe your favourite singer. (Give two details.)

  4. Give one disadvantage of watching a lot of television.

  5. ? Ask your friend a question about going to the cinema.

Answers

Here are some example responses:

  1. W zeszły weekend obejrzałem / obejrzałam film z rodziną i słuchałem / słuchałam muzyki wieczorem.

  2. Moim zdaniem celebryci są interesujący, ponieważ inspirują wiele osób.

  3. Mój ulubiony piosenkarz ma świetny głos i śpiewa muzykę pop.

  4. Oglądanie telewizji przez długi czas jest niezdrowe dla oczu.

  5. Jak często chodzisz do kina?

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Always read each prompt carefully and note how many details are required

  • If a prompt says 'give two details', you must include two - giving only one will cost you marks, even if what you say is correct

Music cinema and TV: reading

  • In the reading exam, you need to translate view Polish sentences into English

  • There are nine marks in total

  • This question will help you to practise translating into English

Here are some tips:

  • Translate meaning, but don't translate word-for-word

  • Check tenses carefully

  • Look out for false friends

  • Check if nouns are singular or plural

Foundation tier

Worked Example

Translate these sentences into English.

  1. Czytam gazetę codziennie.

  2. Mój ulubiony program zaczyna się o ósmej.

  3. Często słuchamy muzyki i oglądamy telewizję.

  4. Uważam, że thrillery są wciągające, ale seriale są nudne.

  5. W zeszłą sobotę poszedłem / poszłam do kina z przyjaciółmi.

Answer

  1. I read a newspaper every day.

  2. My favourite programme starts at eight o'clock.

  3. We often listen to music and we watch TV.

  4. I find thrillers gripping but tv series are boring.

  5. Last Saturday I went to the cinema with my friends.

Higher tier

Worked Example

Translate this passage into English.

W zeszłym tygodniu poszłam do kina z przyjaciółmi, chociaż bilety były bardzo drogie. Uważam, że film był świetny, ponieważ aktorzy grali bardzo dobrze. Zazwyczaj wolę oglądać filmy w domu, ale w przyszłości chciałabym częściej chodzić do kina. Gdybym miała więcej pieniędzy, kupiłabym bilety na koncert mojego ulubionego zespołu.

Answer

Last week I went to the cinema with my friends, although the tickets were very expensive. I think the film was great because the actors performed very well. I usually prefer watching films at home, but in the future I would like to go to the cinema more often. If I had more money, I would buy tickets for my favourite band's concert

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Translate the whole sentence, not just individual words. Focus on the overall meaning

  • Watch out for different tenses. Make sure you translate past, present, future and conditional forms correctly

  • Pay attention to word order. Polish sentence structure can be different from English

Music cinema and TV: writing

  • In the writing exam, you will need to write a short text in Polish

  • You should aim to write approximately 90 words

  • You must cover all four bullet points

  • This task will help you practise writing about music, cinema and television in Polish

Foundation Tier

Worked Example

You are writing a post for a Polish website about music, cinema and television.

Write approximately 90 words in Polish. You must write something about each bullet point:

  • Jaką muzykę, filmy lub programy telewizyjne lubisz i dlaczego?

  • Czego słuchałeś/słuchałaś lub co oglądałeś/oglądałaś w zeszły weekend?

  • Czego zamierzasz słuchać lub co zamierzasz oglądać w przyszły weekend?

  • Jaka jest twoja opinia na temat muzyki, kina lub telewizji i dlaczego?

Answer

Najbardziej lubię muzykę pop, ponieważ jest energiczna i poprawia mi humor. Często słucham jej w domu, kiedy odrabiam lekcje. Lubię również oglądać filmy komediowe, ponieważ pomagają mi się zrelaksować. W zeszły weekend poszedłem z przyjaciółmi do kina i obejrzeliśmy bardzo ciekawy film. Świetnie się bawiliśmy, chociaż film był trochę za długi. W przyszły weekend zamierzam oglądać nowy serial w telewizji. Mam nadzieję, że będzie interesujący. Moim zdaniem muzyka i filmy są bardzo ważne, ponieważ pozwalają mi odpocząć po ciężkim dniu.

I like pop music the most because it is energetic and improves my mood. I often listen to it at home when I do my homework. I also like watching comedy films because they help me relax. Last weekend, I went to the cinema with my friends and we watched a very interesting film. We had a great time, although the film was a little too long. Next weekend, I am going to watch a new TV series. I hope it will be interesting. In my opinion, music and films are very important because they allow me to relax after a hard day.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Cover all four bullet points. Make sure you include information about the present, past and future

  • Use simple, accurate Polish. It is better to write correct sentences than to use difficult grammar incorrectly

  • Give opinions and reasons, for example: Lubię… ponieważ… or Moim zdaniem…

  • Use connectives to link your ideas: i, ale, ponieważ, chociaż

  • Check your verb endings and gender in the past tense: poszedłem / poszłam, oglądałem / oglądałam

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Sylwia Jurczak

Author: Sylwia Jurczak

Expertise: Content Writer

Sylwia Jurczak is a Content Writer at Save My Exams and an experienced Polish teacher with over 12 years of teaching experience. She specialises in GCSE and A-level Polish and has experience as an AQA examiner for the GCSE Polish Writing component.

Bridgette Barrett

Reviewer: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Development Editor

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 30 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.