- Read through the syllabus. The vocabulary at the end is very helpful. Learn how to write sentences using various structures – use connectors (such as bien que, ainsi que, tant que, en outre, etc.). Learn the tenses – in the 28 mark question, they are very helpful; learn past tenses (both imparfait and passé composé), present tense, and future tenses (futur simple and futur proche). Knowing the conditional (conditionnel present and passé), some gérondif, and other special tenses is beneficial as using them will tell the examiner that you’re doing something beyond their expectations.
- You could use this book: Cambridge IGCSE® and International Certificate French Foreign Language, Yvette Grime and Jayn Witt. The vocabulary at the end of each chapter is gold.
- Solve the specimen papers and March 2021 papers. They reflect the requirements of the new syllabus. Y ou can then solve other past papers.
- Apart from receiving feedback from your teacher , a helpful way to understand the requirements of the question and learn how to score the top marks is to read examiner reports.
- Paper 1 Listening is a multiple choice question paper . Everything is repeated twice. T o gain at least 35 marks, do past papers while reading the transcript. Then, as you progress, try to write the transcript of only the important parts (do this for other papers, not the ones you’ve already done). Do this for four or five papers and you’ll get a hang of it. This makes you more attentive, and so you won’t miss out on any information.
- Paper 2 Reading is a comprehension paper . Just do past papers for practising for this paper . The answers are always in the text. Read how the answers are written in the mark scheme. If you write your answer such that it doesn’t make much sense, but you’ve picked out the correct information, you’re going to lose the mark. Do not lift from the text. Questions are mostly asked in third person, so you should answer in third person by conjugating the verb in third person (il or elle).
- Paper 4 Writing is divided into three sections. The first section, a 5 mark question, asks about the general things like features of a bag you lost, where did you lose it, etc. The second section, a 12 mark question, requires you to write about general topics, like hobbies, everyday life, your house and chores at home, etc. Adhere to the questions provided and do not digress. The last section, worth 28 marks, requires you to write a blog, a journal entry , an email to a friend or a letter . It is good practice to learn the structure of the forms of writing, such as for a letter , you would write the address of the recipient. Use the tenses and your writing knowledge in this section, while answering the questions provided. It is imperative to write your opinion and if you can, compare it with another character’s opinion. For example, “j’ai surtout adoré les nouilles; cependant, mon ami, Charles, m’a dit qu’ils étaient insipdes.” Write within the prescribed word limit.
Advice for French as a Foreign Language (0520)
Here are some tips to help you excel in the Cambridge IGCSE French as a Foreign Language (0520) exam.....
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