Standard Grade Revision - French

The worst thing you can do is not revise or leave everything until the last minute. Give yourself a chance to build up and consolidate your knowledge. There are lots of things you can do at home to prepare for exams.

1.Learn and revise vocabulary thoroughly.
Unavoidable, but think of it as a part of your routine and not a chore. Spend around 10 minutes a day on a manageable topic/chunk of vocabulary. It is a straightforward task and can help you ‘change gear’ between two longer pieces of homework.

2.Vocab revision need not be boring
There are lots of resources where you can learn French in an interactive way and these sites are not just for younger pupils. Your teacher has a list of useful sites and some are linked to in previous posts.

You can also team up with a friend and test each other out – memory games, compete with each other. Share what works for you with others in your class.

You could use techniques such as Mind Mapping, or anything else that has worked for you in other subjects.

The key is finding the correct balance for you.

3.Don’t forget your S3 work.
Vocabulary from S3 can come up too. Locate your materials and review your work. Copies of your booklets are available online. There are TEN topic areas in all and you come across other frequently occurring vocabulary when you do past papers.

4.Listening
These papers usually contain less complicated language but words sound different to what you would expect. Try to listen to French while reading what you hear in French. This helps you get used to how the language sounds. You could use
- past papers on the SQA site (once you have done them in class). Start with the Foundation papers, read the transcripts (text versions of what you hear) while listening to the MP3 file.
- sites for French learners like BBC sites like The French Experience AND Ma France
- sites aimed at school pupils e.g. The Ashcombe School

5.Reading
Although you have a dictionary for this exam, you should ensure that you don’t waste time looking for vocabulary you should be familiar with. Revise your vocabulary!

You can also review essential grammar at home as this will help you with how to word your answers (e.g. knowing the difference between the past, the present and the future.) There are online resources to help you e.g. Languages Online (also good for vocab).