GCSE French: Read Aloud and Respond

The reformed GCSE French speaking test, first examined in 2026, includes a task that did not exist before: the student reads a short French text aloud and then answers questions on the same topic in a short unprepared conversation. For example, in AQA's specification the text has at least 35 words at Foundation tier and 50 words at Higher tier, and the teacher-examiner then asks four compulsory questions in French. This material rehearses both halves of the task.

The oral exam works like the real task. The examiner shows you a French text and asks you to read it aloud, by voice or by typing it as you read. Then come four questions in French, one at a time, on the topic of the text: what you do at the weekend, what you did last weekend, what you are going to do, what you think and why. The first card is at Foundation level on free time; the second, at Higher level, is about the environment and where people live; two more cards, on education and work and on family relationships, are available if you want extra practice. The examiner does not interrupt or correct you during the conversation, and at the end gives short feedback in English on each answer: whether you used the time frame the question needed, which language errors to correct, and how to develop your answers.

The quiz has twelve questions on the skills the task depends on: recognising what a French question is asking (a past, present or future time frame, an opinion, a 'how long' question with depuis), switching from tu to je in your answer, choosing the best-developed answer, asking the examiner to repeat a question politely, and two read-aloud traps, the silent -ent ending of verbs and the compulsory liaison in mes amis.

The flashcards give sixteen common question forms with their meaning and the structure to answer them with, from Qu'est-ce que tu as fait… ? to Depuis quand… ?

The written work gives eight tasks: answers in French to six typical conversation questions, each with a model answer and marking points (time frame, agreement, opinion and reason), a text to annotate with pronunciation points before reading it aloud, and a description of the task with strategies for the preparation time.

The texts and questions are original practice material written in the style of the task; they are not taken from any exam paper.

• Read a short French text aloud, watching silent endings, liaisons and nasal vowels
• Understand follow-up questions in French and identify the time frame they require
• Answer in French with the right person (je, not tu) and the right tense
• Develop answers with an opinion, a reason and a detail in another time frame
• Ask the examiner to repeat a question in French

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE subject content for French, German and Spanish (September 2025 version: read aloud a short text and undertake a short unprepared conversation) and, for the task format, the AQA GCSE French (8652) specification (Paper 2, Reading aloud task).