School Subjects & My Studies: 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 'Life at school' is one of the most common topics across all four exam skills - you might be asked to compare subjects, describe your school and its facilities, give opinions on school rules, or understand what others think about their education

  • 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

School subjects and my studies: listening

  • In the listening exam, there will be questions where you need to choose the correct answer from three options

  • Listen carefully to the whole extract — the speaker may mention more than one of the options, so you need to decide which one best matches what they say

Worked Example

Ania is talking about her school day.

Choose the correct answer and write the letter in the box.

School subjects and my studies
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  1. Ania's favourite subject is...
    A. Maths B. Polish C. History

  2. Ania thinks the teachers are…
    A. strict B. friendly C. boring

  3. At break time, Ania...
    A. stays in school B. goes home C. plays sport

Answers

Here are the correct answers:

  1. B - Moim ulubionym przedmiotem jest język polski

  2. B - Moi nauczyciele są zazwyczaj przyjaźni

  3. A - Na przerwie zostaję w szkole

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Watch out for distractors - Ania mentions jeżyk polski and historia as well but only język polski is her favourite

  • Always listen for the word or phrase that directly answers the question, not just any word you recognise

School subjects and my studies: speaking

  • In Part 2 (Photo card) you answer five questions about one photo

    • Three are printed on your card and two are unseen

  • The General conversation (Part 3) is on the two themes not covered by your Photo card

  • This question will help you to practise describing a photo on the topic of life at school

Worked Example

Co widzisz na fotografii?

Teacher helping secondary school pupils in uniform working on laptops in a classroom, as they type and take notes during a lesson

Answer

Here is an example answer.

Na zdjęciu znajduje się kilku uczniów i nauczycielka. Myślę, że nauczycielka jest miła, ponieważ pomaga uczniom. Są w nowoczesnej klasie i widać tam komputery oraz kilka książek. Uczniowie mają na sobie mundurek, więc sądzę, że szkoła może znajdować się w Anglii. Moim zdaniem uczniowie są pracowici i poważni, a wierzę, że ten przedmiot ich interesuje, ponieważ dużo piszą.

In the photo there are some students and a teacher. I think the teacher is nice because she is helping the students. They are in a modern classroom and there are computers and some books. The students are wearing a uniform, so I think the school might be in England. In my opinion, the students are hardworking and serious and I believe they find this subject interesting because they are writing a lot.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Use the acronym PALM to structure your photo description - People and objects, Action, Location, Mood. Look at how the PALM elements are covered in the answer above:

  • People and objects: kilku uczniów, jedna nauczycielka and kilka książek

  • Action: nauczycielka pomaga uczniom, uczniowie mają na sobie mundurki, uczniowie dużo piszą

  • Location: w nowoczesnej klasie

  • Mood: uczniowie są spokojni i poważni, wydaje się, że ten przedmiot ich interesuje

School subjects and my studies: reading

  • In the reading exam, you will need to identify different time frames and say what people do in the past, present and future

  • Look out for time phrases to help you, for example, w przeszłości (in the past / previously), w tym momencie/ teraz (at the moment), w przyszłym roku (next year)

  • You should also be able to identify time frames from the verb itself - look out for present tense verb endings, past participles with mieć or być, and zostać + infinitive or chciałbym+ infinitive to indicate the future

Worked Example

Jarek is talking about school. What does he say about each aspect?
Write P for something he did in the past.
Write N for something he does now.
Write F for something he wants to do in future.

W tym momencie uczę się bardzo dużo, ponieważ wkrótce mamy ważne egzaminy. W przyszłym roku chciałbym pójść do szkoły średniej i zrobić maturę. Kiedyś dużo uprawiałem sportu, ale teraz niestety nie mam już na to czasu. Miałem też problemy z moim nauczycielem matematyki – był bardzo surowy, a lekcje były bardzo trudne.

  • studying hard

  • doing sport

  • changing schools

  • having problems with a teacher

Answers

Here are the correct answers:

  • studying a lot - N
    w tym momencie uczę się bardzo dużo

  • doing sport - P
    kiedyś dużo uprawiałem sportu

  • changing schools - F
    w przyszłym roku chciałbym pójść do szkoły średniej i zrobić maturę.

  • having problems with a teacher - P
    miałem też problemy z moim nauczycielem matematyki

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • Here are the key time phrases and verb forms from the text that indicate each time frame:

    • Present - w tym momencie (at the moment)

    • Past - wcześniej (previously)

    • Future - w przyszłym roku (next year)

  • Notice that there are two past answers - always read the whole text carefully before writing your answers, as more than one aspect can refer to the same time frame

School subjects and my studies: writing

Foundation tier

  • In the Foundation writing paper, there will be a question where you need to describe a photograph in Polish

  • You will need to write four sentences about what you can see in the picture

Worked Example

You are looking at a photograph in a Polish youth magazine. Describe what you can see in the photograph. Write four sentences in Polish

school subjects

Answers

  1. Na zdjęciu widzę uczniów w klasie.

  2. Jedna dziewczyna czyta książkę.

  3. Chłopiec pisze w zeszycie.

  4. Uczniowie uczą się matematyki.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • describe people, objects and actions in the photograph;

  • use the present tense accurately;

  • use relevant vocabulary from the topic;

  • write four clear and complete sentences in Polish.

Higher tier

In the Higher writing paper, there will be a question where you need to write a 150-word response guided by bullet points

Worked Example

You are writing a post for your school website.

Write approximately 150 words in Polish.

Describe

  • znaczenie ciężkiej pracy w szkole

  • jak poprawisz swoje oceny w przyszłości

Answer

Here is an example response of approximately 150 words.

Moim zdaniem bardzo ważne jest, aby ciężko pracować w szkole, jeśli chce się odnieść sukces w przyszłości. Kiedy byłam młodsza, nie uczyłam się wystarczająco i moje oceny były dość słabe. Teraz jednak wiem, że praca szkolna jest ważna dla mojej przyszłości. Uważam, że można dostać lepsze oceny, jeśli się ciężko pracuje. Moi nauczyciele zawsze mówią, że trzeba być dobrze zorganizowanym — i to prawda. Język polski jest najciekawszym przedmiotem w szkole, chociaż bardzo lubię też matematykę — myślę, że oba te przedmioty są bardziej przydatne, niż ludzie sądzą.

W przyszłości będę starała się poprawić moje oceny. Na przykład fizyka jest dla mnie trudna, więc będę zadawać pytania, kiedy czegoś nie rozumiem i lepiej skoncentruję się na lekcjach. Będę też regularnie chodzić do biblioteki, żeby odrabiać pracę domową. Jeśli nadal będę ciężko pracować, jestem pewna, że zdam moje egzaminy.

In my opinion, it is very important to work hard at school if you want to be successful later. When I was younger, I did not study enough and my grades were quite bad. Now I know, however, that schoolwork is important for my future. I find that you can get better grades if you work hard. My teachers always say that you must be well organised, and that is true. Polish is the most interesting subject in school, although I also like maths a lot - I think that both subjects are more useful than people think.

In the future, I will try to improve my grades. For example, I find physics difficult, so I will ask questions when I don't understand something and concentrate better in lessons. I will also go to the library regularly to do my homework. If I continue to work hard, I am sure that I will pass my exams.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • When completing the 150-word writing task, you need to be confident using a range of tenses, as the bullet points will require different time frames

  • Tick off each bullet point as you cover it

  • Always check your work carefully at the end, especially word order

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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.