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.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification 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 Reading strategies
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Reading a range of text types for meaning
In Unit 4 learners read notices, signs, e-mails, web pages, articles, adverts and extracts from stories in French and show understanding by answering questions in Cymraeg or English, without a dictionary.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils skim a short French web page about a town for gist, then scan it for five named facts, circling cognates as they go.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a French e-mail from a penfriend and answer English questions, using word families and verb endings to work out words they have not been taught.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a French magazine article about social media and write English answers that pick out each person's opinion and the reason given, without a dictionary.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 4 Reading and Writing, Areas of content, page 19
“demonstrate understanding of the texts by responding to a range of questions in Cymraeg/English”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of strategies to make meaning from words and sentences, including:
- knowledge of phonics
- word roots
- word families
- syntax
- text organisation
- prior knowledge of context.
I can use a range of strategies for finding information, e.g. skimming for gist, scanning for detail.
I can infer ideas which are not explicitly stated, e.g. writer’s viewpoints or attitudes.
Progression step 4
I can use my knowledge of:
- word roots and families
- grammar, sentence and whole-text structure
- content and context
to make sense of words, sentences and whole texts.
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information.
Progression step 5
I can read and analyse a range of unseen, printed and digital texts with concentration and independence.
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information, extracting and commenting maturely on key ideas and themes.
I can use my knowledge of different reading strategies to make sense of unfamiliar words in new contexts and sentences in complex texts, and apply these in my own communication.
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Translating from French into English or Welsh
Unit 4 includes translating sentences from French into Cymraeg or English within a context. Learners must carry meaning, tense and tone across accurately into natural English or Welsh.
Literacy: Translanguaging, Reading strategies
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils translate five short French sentences about school into English, then compare versions in pairs and agree the most natural English wording.
- Year 8
- Pupils translate a short French paragraph about a holiday, underlining each verb and checking its tense before writing the English, so past and future meaning is not lost.
- Year 9
- Pupils translate a French text on the environment into English or Welsh in timed conditions without a dictionary, then mark it against a model for meaning, tense and word order.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 4 Reading and Writing, Areas of content, page 19
“translate sentences into Cymraeg/English within a context”
Progression step 3
I can receive information in one language and adapt it for various purposes in another language.
I can use a range of strategies to make meaning from words and sentences, including:
- knowledge of phonics
- word roots
- word families
- syntax
- text organisation
- prior knowledge of context.
Progression step 4
I can apply my translanguaging skills to support my learning in familiar and new languages.
I can use my knowledge of:
- word roots and families
- grammar, sentence and whole-text structure
- content and context
to make sense of words, sentences and whole texts.
Progression step 5
I can independently identify translanguaging opportunities to enhance my learning and communication in my languages.
I can use my knowledge of:
- word roots and families
- grammar, sentence and whole-text structure
- content and context
to make sense of words, sentences and whole texts.
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Reading and writing about a French literary work
For the Unit 2 NEA learners study a graphic novel, short story, film script or novel in French, then answer a task set in Cymraeg or English by writing in French. They are not expected to understand every word but must give their understanding, ideas and opinions, with no dictionary or reference materials.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis, Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a short French comic strip together and write three French sentences about their favourite character using 'il est' or 'elle est' and 'j'aime'.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a short graded French story over several lessons and write a French paragraph saying what happens and what they think of the ending, with a reason.
- Year 9
- Pupils study an extract from a French graphic novel or film script and answer an English-language question in French in 30 minutes, using only the vocabulary they know.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2 Reading and Writing, Areas of content, page 15
“for learners to engage with a French work and write about it in French.”
Progression step 3
I can read complex texts independently for sustained periods.
I can read to build my vocabulary and develop sentence structures, and use these in my own communication.
I can write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, showing empathy and respect.
Progression step 4
I can read, with concentration, printed and digital texts that are new to me and update, broaden and deepen my understanding of information, ideas and issues.
I can read to build my vocabulary and develop sentence structures, and use these effectively in my own communication.
I can organise and construct my writing effectively, connecting and developing my ideas for a range of different contexts.
Progression step 5
I can read closely, analysing the content, language and impact of texts to deepen my understanding.
I can write with maturity about my thoughts, feelings and opinions in increasingly challenging and contentious contexts.
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 qualifications
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.