Paper 2 - Listening
Understanding spoken French
(20 marks)
French dictionary can't be used
Listening tests your general understanding of how the French written language is spoken. Before you hear anything, you will be given a booklet where you will see the questions in English for about a minute before the CD starts. You will write your answers in English in this booklet.
The paper is made up of two sections:
- A monologue - one person talking (8 marks)
- A dialogue – two people holding a conversation (12 marks) on a theme linked to the four contexts you will have covered in preparation for the Higher examination.
When you hear the first item (which lasts about 2 minutes) you can make notes. It will be repeated and then you can write your answers to the questions before the next item starts. Remember the whole test only lasts 30 minutes.
The questions will be in order based on each of the two items. The types of questions you might be asked will test your comprehension of the vocabulary and ideas given eg:
- What types of...?
- Give any one example of...?
- Give any two reasons why...?
- What is important about...?
- Why did something happen to someone?
- What was the aim of...?
- What does the job involve?
- Why will this 'event' be good for...?
Pay attention to the marks allocated to each question. Give as much detail as you can! One-word answers will not be enough to put your ideas down.
Watch out for words which add more information to a point eg très (very), trop (too), assez (quite), as these words do matter and do make a difference to the overall meaning of a point. For example – sports trainers might be described as very expensive, too expensive or quite expensive. The more accurate you are in your answers, the better chance you have of securing the marks!
Comparisons
In English we often add ‘er’ to the end of an adjective (eg tall and taller), however in French you need more words eg plus or moins (more or less) Eg La France est plus grande que l’Ecosse.
