In a few short weeks your exams will be here and we wanted to give you some good tips to be prepared for them so that you can really show off your progress this year! Here it is, in a course-by-course guide (some points are valid for all of you!)
For Everyone:
Vocabulary For vocabulary practice on a wide array of topics, go to . Work here is set at various levels (beginner for S1-S3, and intermediate for S3-S6). If you have just started a new topic at beginner level, challenge yourself to try the intermediate level games too!
Grammar An excellent resource for grammar is . Focus on practising your present tense regular verbs and then work on one or two irregular verbs per session. Remember that getting really good at “avoir” and “etre” in French, “haben” and “sein” in German, and “ser”, “estar” and “haber” will help you with other tenses, like the perfect tense. Again, don’t limit yourself – go and explore and see what you can learn!
Listening Finally, to keep your listening skills up to speed, go to , , or . Alternatively, search for video clips that suit your own interests by going to . There are also the revision pages for each language, which are very useful even if you have to use the page. Or you could switch your favourite DVD or console game to another language.
Intermediate 2 and Intermediate 1:
You have your speaking behind you and will have an indication of your marks for this. Phew! One less to worry about! Now, make absolutely sure that you learn your job application writing by heart and practise writing past papers under timed conditions. If you have any problems or would like one of us to look over it for a second opinion….PLEASE ASK!
As for reading and listening, there’s no substitute for practice. The site has a wealth of practice papers, and the full marking schemes further down the page. Mark these yourself and, again, ask for help if you don’t understand a point.
Higher and Advanced Higher:
Like Int2 and Int1, you have your speaking behind you and can count those marks as being “in the bank”. For reading and listening, go to the site, which has a wealth of practice papers, and the full marking schemes further down the page. Mark these yourself and, again, ask for help if you don’t understand a point.
Unlike Int1 and Int2, your writing forms a big chunk of your mark (for Higher, it’s 25% overall – 10 in the listening paper; 15 in the directed writing). I will say it again: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PRACTICE!! Build your phrase banks for the Listening Essay, learn the set phrases for Directed Writing, and practise, practise, practise!! Aim to learn set phrases in small chunks, working on maybe one bullet point for 3 days for the Directed Writing before moving on. You can always ask us to mark them for you, and revision classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes in Miss Ritchie’s room. Use the help that’s available guys!
Good luck! Viel Gluck! Bonne Chance! Good luck!
Miss R