Switching to AQA: from Pearson Edexcel

Foundation paper 1 – Listening

Foundation Paper 1 – Listening

Written exam

Written exam

35 minutes (including 5 minutes of reading time and 2 minutes of checking time at the end of the paper)

35 minutes (including 5 minutes of reading time)

40 marks (scaled to 50) (25% of GCSE)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

Section A – 32 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 8 marks:

Dictation with four short sentences to transcribe in the target language

Section A – 40 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 10 marks:

Questions and answers in the target language or non-verbal

Higher Paper 1 – Listening

Higher Paper 1 – Listening

Written exam

Written exam

45 minutes (including 5 minutes reading time and 2 minutes checking time at the end of the paper)

45 minutes (including 5 minutes reading time)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

Section A – 40 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 10 marks:

Dictation with five short sentences to transcribe in the target language

Section A – 40 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 10 marks:

Questions and answers in the target language or non-verbal

• Part 1: Role-play
  Recommended timing: 1–1.5 minutes (10 marks)
• Part 2: Reading aloud task and a short conversation
  Recommended timing: 2–2.5 minutes (15 marks)
• Part 3: Photo card discussion
  Recommended timing: 4–5 minutes (25 marks)

• Role-play: 1–1.5 minutes (10 marks)
• Photo card: 2.5–3 minutes (24 marks)
• Conversation: 3–5 minutes (36 marks)

Higher paper 2 – Speaking

Higher paper 2 – Speaking

10–12 minutes (plus 15 minutes preparation time)

10–12 minutes (plus 12 minutes preparation time)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

70 marks (25% of GCSE)

• Part 1: Role-play
  Recommended timings: 1–1.5 minutes (10 marks)
• Part 2: Reading aloud task and a short conversation
  Recommended timings: 3–3.5 minutes (15 marks)
• Part 3: Photo card discussion
  Recommended timings: 6–7 minutes (25 marks)

• Role-play: 2-2.5 minutes (10 marks)
• Photo card discussion: 3-3.5 minutes (24 marks)
• Conversation: 5–6 minutes (36 marks)

Foundation paper 3 – Reading

Foundation paper 3 – Reading

45 minutes

45 minutes

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

Section A – 40 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal.

Section B – 10 marks:

Translation of short sentences from target language into English (minimum 35 words).

Section A – 28 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 15 marks:

Questions and answers in the target language or non-verbal

Section C – 7 marks:

Translation into English

Higher paper 3 – Reading

Higher paper 3 – Reading

1 hour

1 hour

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

Section A – 40 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal.

Section B – 10 marks:

Translation of short sentences from target language into English (minimum 50 words).

Section A – 28 marks:

Questions and answers in English or non-verbal

Section B – 15 marks:

Questions and answers in the target language or non-verbal

Section C – 7 marks:

Translation into English

Foundation paper 4 – Writing

Foundation paper 4 – Writing

1 hour 10 minutes

1 hour 15 minutes

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

60 marks (25% of GCSE)

Question 1: Write five sentences to describe a photo (10 marks)

Question 2: Write 50 words approx. in response to five short compulsory bullet points (10 marks)

Question 3: Multiple choice grammar gap-fill task (5 marks)

Question 4: Translation of sentences of a minimum of 35 words from English into the target language (10 marks)

Question 5: Write approximately 90 words in response to three compulsory bullet points with a choice of two questions (15 marks)

Question 1: Write 20–30 words to describe a photo (12 marks)

Question 2: write 40–50 words in response to three compulsory bullet points (16 marks)

Question 3: write 80–90 words in response to four compulsory bullet points with a choice of two questions (20 marks)

Question 4: translation of sentences of a minimum of 35 words from English into the target language (12 marks)

Higher paper 4 – Writing

Higher paper 4 – Writing

1 hour 15 minutes

1 hour 20 minutes

50 marks (25% of GCSE)

60 marks (25% of GCSE)

Question 1: Translation of sentences from English into the target language, minimum of 50 words (10 marks)

Question 2: Write approximately 90 words in response to three compulsory bullet points with a choice of two questions (15 marks)

Question 3: Write 150 words approximately in response to two compulsory bullet points with a choice of two questions (25 marks)

Question 1: write 80-90 words in response to four compulsory bullet points with a choice of two questions (20 marks)

Question 2: write 130-150 words in response to four compulsory bullet points, with a choice of two questions (28 marks)

Question 3: translation of a short passage of a minimum of 50 words into the target language (12 marks)

Theme 1: People and lifestyle

• Identity and relationships with others
• Healthy living and lifestyle
• Education and work

Theme 2: Popular culture

• Free time activities
• Customs, festivals and celebrations
• Celebrity culture

Theme 3: Communication and the world around us

• Travel and tourism, including places of interest
• Media and technology
• The environment and where people live

Identity and culture

• Who am I?
• Daily life
• Cultural life

Local area, holiday and travel

• Holidays
• Travel and tourist transactions
• Town, region and country

School

• What school is like
• School activities

Future aspirations, study and work

• Using languages beyond the classroom
• Ambitions
• Work

International and global dimension

• Bringing the world together
• Environmental issues