Language GCSEs – whether they be French, Spanish, or another language – are widely considered to be some of the most difficult GCSE exams out there. However, there are a few things you can do to better prepare for the GCSE and improve your chances of succeeding!
- Vocabulary
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
Vocabulary
It is absolutely essential that you practice your vocabulary every day! This doesn’t have to be a long study session – only 15 or 30 minutes is enough. You can find pre-made vocabulary sets on Quizlet, or use Anki for spaced repetition. Note down which words you find the most difficult so you can practice them!
Listening
For the listening section, it’s important to do a lot of practice papers. This can help you get used to hearing your target language being spoken. As well as this, you can listen to podcasts aimed at people who are learning your language. For Spanish, I like to listen to News in Slow Spanish and the Duolingo Spanish Podcast.
Reading
Just like for the listening section, you should also do lots of practice papers for the reading section. To practice reading things in your target language, aim to read one news article a day. Alternatively, you can read children’s books in your target language, as these usually have more simple vocabulary.
Writing
For writing, do lots of practice papers on all of the topics in your curriculum. When doing the papers, pay attention to little grammatical details and make sure to check over your work. As well as this, memorise a few complex sentence structures that you can use in many contexts to wow the examiner. Remember to use many different tenses and opinions as well to demonstrate complexity!
Speaking
Just like in the writing, try memorising some complex but versatile sentence structures to sprinkle in during your exam. When practising your speaking, record yourself and listen back to notice if you’re making any grammatical errors. You can also practice your general conversation skills with some friends who are also learning the language! Finally, if you want to memorise some responses for the general conversation, record yourself saying them and listen to the recordings in your free time (if you even have any!)
