Analysis of GCSE French 2024 Draft Specifications

 I am making progress towards producing an objective analysis of the GCSE French 2024 draft specifications, but this is likely to take me a further week.  I was rather ambitious to think I could do it by now.  Orchestral visits and family commitments got in the way!

Meanwhile, here's a link to a download of a comparison 'at a glance.  I'm happy to be told of any mistakes!

Pasted below:

GCSE Draft specifications comparison ‘at a glance’

 Grammar: all have the same requirements, but may choose different illustrations for some features, and different layout.

Vocabulary: all have  same constraint (85% of most frequent top 2,000 words, 30 multiword phrases + 20 cultural items)

Assessment Objectives : all the same, but have distributed weightings differently.

  

Element	AQA Link	Edexcel Link	Eduqas LInk
Themes	Theme 1: People and lifestyle Topic 1: Identity and relationships with others Topic 2: Healthy living and lifestyle Topic 3: Education and work   Theme 2: Popular culture • Topic 1: Free-time activities Topic 2: Customs, festivals and celebrations • Topic 3: Celebrity culture   Theme 3: Communication and the world around us Topic 1: Travel and tourism, including places of interest • Topic 2: Media and technology • Topic 3: The environment and where people live	1.         My personal world 2.         Lifestyle and wellbeing 3.         My neighbourhood 4.         Media and technology 5.         Studying and my future 6.         Travel and tourism   Possible subjects within any of the contexts: •family•friends•relationships•equality •physical well-being•mental well-being •food and drink •sports •places in town• shopping •transport  •the natural world  •environmental issues •social media and gaming •future opportunities (e.g. work, travel)  •school •music TV and film •accommodation  •tourist attractions	1.         Identity: for example, personal attributes, cultural background, languages spoken and learning, national, racial, gender stereotypes, family, friends, relationships 2.         Everydaylife:for example, education, school life, routines, activities, sport, being healthy/unhealthy, entertainment, social media 3.         My future :for example, future plans (work, education, aspirations),role models 4.         Exploring : for example, places and people, travel, including geography, customs and traditions, festivals, famous lives, historical stories 5.         Global matters :for example, the natural world, environment/climate change, attitudes, inequalities, poverty, prejudice, war/peace, citizenship

Listening (incl dictation)	‘Paper 1’ F: 35 mins 40 marks (32+8) NB – scaled up to 50 H: 45 mins 50 marks (40 + 10) 25% 2 mins checking time at end	‘Paper 2’ F:45 mins H: 60 minutes 50 marks 25%	‘Component 2’ F: 35 mins H: 45 mins 50 marks 25%
Speaking	‘Paper 2’ NEA - F: 7-9 mins - H: 10-12 mins - 50 marks - 25%	‘Paper 1’ NEA - F: 7-9 mins - H: 10-12 mins - 50 marks - 25%	‘Component 1’ NEA - F: 7-9 mins - H: 10-12 mins - 50 marks - 25%
Speaking Role play	F+H 10 marks, 1.5 mins	F+H: 10 marks 1-1.5 minutes	F+H: 10 marks 1-1.5 minutes
Speaking Read aloud + unseen questions	F+H 15 marks F: min 35 words, max 2.5mins H: min 50 words, max 3.5 mins 4 unseen questions	F+H 12 marks 1.5-2 minutes 2 unseen questions	F+H 15 marks Read aloud Up to 1 minute Unprepared conversation 1-1.5 minutes 3 unseen questions
Speaking – visual stimuli	F+H 2x photo cards 25 marks [ F: 3-5 mins H: 5-7 mins No compulsory questions	F+H 28 [12 + 16] 28 marks 1 photo card (choice from 2) 4.5-5.5 mins No compulsory questions	F+H 25 marks Sequence of 4 photos 4-5 minutes 4 Compulsory questions (scripted paraphrase if needed – but penalised if used too much)
Reading incl dictation	‘Paper 3’ F: 45 mins H: 1 hour   50 marks [40 + 10], 25%	‘Paper 3’ F: 45 mins H: 60 mins 50 marks (40 + 10) 25%	‘Component 3, Section A’ (Part of 2-hour paper) Section A = 50 marks (44+6), 25%
Writing (incl translation)	F: 1 hour H: 1 hour 15.  50 marks (40 + 10)25%	F:  1 hr 15 mins 50 marks H: 1 hr 20 min 50 marks 25%	‘Component 3, Section B’ (Part of 2-hour paper) Section B= 50 marks (40+10), 25%
	‘Paper 4’ F: 3 tasks + translation Photo prompt – 5 statements (10) 4 bullet point prompt – 40 words (10+ 5 = 15) 4 bullet point prompt – 90 words (choice of 2) (10 + 5 = 15) Translation (5+5 = 10) H: 2 tasks + translation 4 bullet point prompt – 90 words (choice of 2) (AO1 10 AO3 5 = 15) 2 bullet point question – 150 words (choice of 2) (20 + 5 = 25) Translation (10)	‘Paper 4’ F: 3 tasks + translation Photo prompt – 4 statements (8) 3 BP prompt – formal context - 40-50 words (choose 1 of 2) (9 + 4 = 14)4 BP prompt –informal context - 80-90 words (choice of 2) (AO1 13 + AO3 5 = 18] Translation [6+4 = 10] H: 2 tasks + translation 4 bullet point prompt – informal context  80-90 words (choice of 2) (13 + 5 = 18] 4 bullet point question – formal context - 130-150 words (choice of 2) (17 + 5 = 22] Translation (6+4=10)	‘Component 3, Section B’ F: 3 tasks + translation En word prompt – 5 sentences (8) 3 BP  - 60-80 words (12) Open ended with written French prompt (20) Translation (10) H: 2 tasks + translation Open ended with written French prompt (20) 3BP – 150-170 words (15+5 = 20) Translation (10)