New GCEs for 2008
GCE French (2650)
Important information about Part 2 Conversation
With effect from Summer 2009, the following ruling will apply to the marks which can be awarded for Interaction in the Part 2 Conversation.
The Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations state that approximately 3 minutes must be allocated to each of the three topics to be covered in Part 2. Therefore, a candidate who spends less than 2 minutes on any topic in Part 2 will have their mark for Interaction reduced by one band, eg a candidate who is judged at 8 marks would have the mark reduced to 6. A candidate judged at 9 marks would have their mark reduced to 7. This same ruling will apply to candidates who do not meet the requirement of the specification for the test to cover all four AS topics. This may occur if the teacher-examiner covers a topic in Part 2 which has already been covered in Part 1.
All teacher-examiners should be made aware of this information in advance of conducting the tests.
Introduction
Introducing AQA's new course specification for French for AS and A Level. This new redrafted specification has been designed to:
- Significantly reduce the number of topics to be studied, allowing teachers to consider the topics in the new specification in greater depth
- Introduce cultural topics, providing a wide choice of themes so that teachers can tailor their delivery of the course to meet their students' interests
- Challenge candidates to consider issues of importance in contemporary society, while at the same time allowing them to study in some depth the culture of a French speaking country.
The following information and specification outline will enable both practising Teachers and Subject Heads to be better informed and supported in the teaching of this subject, particularly if attending one of AQA's Teacher Support meetings.
Classification Codes
Every specification is assigned a national classification code indicating the subject area to which it belongs. The classification code for this specification is 5650.
Centres should be aware that candidates who enter for more than one GCE AS/A level qualification with the same classification code will have only one grade (the highest) counted for the purpose of the School and College Performance Tables.
Centres may wish to advise candidates that, if they take two specifications with the same classification code, universities and employers are very likely to take the view that they have achieved only one of the two GCE AS/A levels. The same view may be taken if candidates take two GCE AS/A level specifications that have different classification codes but have significant overlap of content. Candidates who have any doubts about their subject combinations should check with the university to which they wish to progress or company they wish to join, before embarking on their programmes.
Assessment Objectives
AO1 - Understand and respond, in speech and writing, to spoken language
AO2 - Understand and respond, in speech and writing, to written language.
AO3 - Show knowledge of and apply accurately the grammar and syntax prescribed in the specification.
A2 Knowledge of Grammar (A03)
We regret that the Unit 4 AO3 Knowledge of Grammar assessment criteria published in the printed specification (version 1.0) for French, German and Spanish and in the specimen mark schemes is incorrect. The correct criteria is below:
This is an overall assessment of the candidate's performance in both parts of the test.
| Mark | |
|---|---|
| 13 – 15 | Very good command of the language. Good use of idiom, complex structures and range of vocabulary. Highly accurate grammar and sentence structure; occasional mistakes. |
| 10 - 12 | Good command of the language. Attempts to use complex constructions and a wide range of vocabulary. Good grammar and sentence structure; generally accurate. |
| 7 - 9 | A variety of linguistic structures used, generally effectively. Limitations in the use of more complex structures and more sophisticated vocabulary. Errors generally minor but with some serious errors in more complex structures. |
| 4 - 6 | Reasonable performance. Tends to use unsophisticated constructions and vocabulary. Grammatical errors do not generally interfere with communication. |
| 0 - 3 | Generally comprehensible to a native speaker. Limited range of constructions, vocabulary and sentence patterns. Serious grammatical errors may sometimes cause difficulties for immediate comprehension. |