GCSE French Vocabulary: Customs, Festivals and Celebrations

The reformed GCSE French is built on a defined vocabulary list: the DfE subject content requires about 1,200 words and phrases for Foundation tier and a further 500 for Higher tier, most of them chosen for their frequency in modern French, and every reading, listening and writing task is written from that list. Each exam board publishes its own list; the words here are taken from AQA's list, the most widely taught, and most of them are high-frequency words found on other boards' lists as well. This material works on the words of one topic: customs, festivals and celebrations — birthdays and presents, weddings, Christmas, Easter and Eid, the French national holiday with its parade and fireworks, places of worship, and the verbs for inviting, celebrating, giving and congratulating.

The quiz has twelve questions. Each shows a short French sentence with one word or phrase in capitals, and you choose its English meaning from four options. The sentences give context, so you practise the skill the reading paper also tests: working out meaning from the rest of the sentence. The words tested are l'anniversaire, le cadeau, le feu d'artifice, célébrer, le défilé, le mariage, l'église, Pâques, inviter, and three Higher words: féliciter, la joie and offrir. Words marked Higher tier are on the Higher list only. The explanation of each question gives the meaning, related forms and, where useful, the word that is often confused with it.

The flashcards give eighteen words and phrases with their English meanings: la fête, l'anniversaire, le cadeau, Noël and Pâques, l'Aïd, le mariage and se marier, célébrer, inviter, le feu d'artifice, le défilé, la tradition, l'église and la mosquée, religieux, croire, le repas, plus Higher words.

The written work has eight tasks to complete on paper: translating sentences both ways, a gap-fill text about a grandmother's birthday, a short reading text about la Chandeleur with questions in English, matching words to meanings, a 50-word paragraph about a celebration in your family, working out derived words (célébration, traditionnel, joyeusement, invitation), and explaining the different meanings of la fête and l'anniversaire. Each task comes with a model answer and marking points.

All sentences and texts are original and use high-frequency vocabulary; nothing is taken from any exam paper. Use the flashcards first, then the quiz to test yourself in context, then the written tasks to use the words actively.

• Understand and use key words for festivals, celebrations and customs
• Talk about birthdays, weddings and religious festivals
• Use célébrer, inviter, offrir and féliciter correctly
• Work out the meaning of a word from its sentence context
• Recognise derived forms such as célébration and traditionnel

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE subject content for French, German and Spanish (September 2025 version: vocabulary requirements) and the AQA GCSE French (8652) vocabulary list (topic: Customs, festivals and celebrations).