GCSE French
GCSE French is almost entirely a literacy qualification: learners listen to and read French, answer in English or Welsh, translate into English or Welsh, write in French about a studied work and to a stimulus, and speak for 7 to 10 minutes, with 20.5% of marks for grammar, vocabulary and sound-spelling accuracy and no dictionary in any unit. Numeracy is light and incidental: numbers 1 to 100, simple fractions, the 12 and 24 hour clock, dates, and graphs among the reading texts. The biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is secure, dictionary-free recall of core vocabulary and grammar, used every week in short translations and independent writing and speaking.
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
- Unit 1: Oracy: Non-examination assessment, speaking test 7 to 10 minutes plus 10 minutes preparation, 60 marks, 30%
- Unit 2: Reading and Writing: Non-examination assessment 1 hour, 45 marks, 15%
- Unit 3: Listening: Written examination 45 minutes including 5 minutes reading time, 45 marks, 20%
- Unit 4: Reading and Writing: Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 70 marks, 35%
Skills that use Developing vocabulary
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Listening for gist, detail and opinion
In the Unit 3 listening exam learners hear adverts, messages, podcasts, announcements, conversations and interviews in French and answer questions in Cymraeg or English. They must pick out the overall message, key points and opinions, and draw conclusions.
Literacy: Listening for meaning, Developing vocabulary, Listening to understand
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils listen to three short recorded French messages about weekend plans and note in English the day, the activity and whether the speaker likes it.
- Year 8
- Pupils listen to a French radio-style advert for a campsite in Brittany and answer five English questions, one of which asks what the speaker implies but does not say.
- Year 9
- Pupils listen to two French-speaking teenagers discussing part-time jobs, note each opinion with its reason, and write one English sentence concluding who is more positive.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3 Listening, Areas of content, page 17
“identify the overall message, key points and opinions in spoken extracts, some involving more complex language, and draw conclusions where appropriate”
Progression step 3
I can listen to, understand, infer, interpret and recall the general meaning of what I have heard.
I can listen to, identify and use key words to understand the general meaning and ideas which are implied.
I can listen to and understand information about a variety of topics, summarising the main points.
Progression step 4
I can understand and analyse general meaning and implied ideas.
I can listen to gain different people's views and ideas on various subjects, using them to arrive at my own conclusions.
Progression step 5
I can employ a range of strategies to understand, predict and evaluate meaning and implied ideas in a wide range of situations.
I can listen to a range of information and ideas from different perspectives, analysing and evaluating how different speakers present specific points of view.
Good to know
- Dictionaries are banned in every unit: "Learners are not permitted to use a dictionary in any part of the assessment." (Summary of assessment, page 5).
- Unit 1 oracy allows only the learner's own notes: "or any other reference materials excluding the learner's own notes." (Section 3.2, Unit 1, page 21). Presentation preparation is time-limited: "The preparation period for the presentation may begin two weeks prior to the first timetabled assessment." (page 22).
- Unit 2 reading and writing NEA allows no reference materials at all: "Learners are not permitted to use dictionaries in any part of the assessment, or any other reference materials." (Section 3.2, Unit 2, page 22).
- Accuracy of language is assessed directly through AO3, "Demonstrate knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and sound-spelling correspondence.", weighted 8% in Unit 1, 5% in Unit 2 and 7.5% in Unit 4, 20.5% overall (Section 3.1, page 21). There is no separate SPaG mark for English or Welsh answers.
- Productive vocabulary is tied to the Appendix B lists: "Equal but no additional credit will be given for learners who use vocabulary outside the specified list in productive tasks." (Section 2, page 10).
- Unit 3 and Unit 4 questions are answered in English or Welsh, so learners' English or Welsh must be clear enough to show understanding: "respond to a range of questions in Cymraeg/English." (Unit 3, page 17).
- Unit 3 includes reading time before listening: "Written examination: 45 minutes (including 5 minutes' reading time)" (Unit 3, page 16).
- Number knowledge is limited to a stated range: learners "are expected to know the numbers" 1 to 100 (Appendix B, Numbers, page 40). The spec sets no calculation, mentions no calculator, and states no word limits for the writing tasks or whether responses are handwritten or typed.
Links with other GCSEs
WJEC's Appendix C ticks literacy listening for Units 1 and 3, reading and writing for Units 2 and 4, and speaking for Unit 1 (page 94), and ticks only the number system strand of numeracy, for all four units (page 95).
Source: WJEC GCSE French specification, Teaching from 2025, For award from 2027, Version 3, June 2026.