Pearson Edexcel GCSE French, German and Spanish (2024) Student Speaking Support - Introduction to the Speaking exam - Preparation time

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

Guidance for Pearson Edexcel GCSE speaking exams in French, German and Spanish (2024), covering how the speaking test fits with listening, reading and writing. Explains the 14-minute preparation process, the recorded 1:1 format, and the three task types: read aloud, role play, and picture description. Provides practical advice for note-taking, pronunciation checks, handling misunderstandings, and asking for repeated questions to keep the conversation flowing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction to the Speaking exam

Preparation time

Read Aloud - Task 1

Role Play - Task 2

Picture Task - Task 3

After the Picture Description

Pearson Edexcel Student Speaking Support GCSE French, German and Spanish (2024) speaking exams Introduction to the Speaking exam This guidance is packed with clear explanations and practical tips so you will feel ready foryour speaking exams. It will help you to prepare, perform and feel proud of what you can do. • Your French, German or Spanish GCSE exam has 4 papers – listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The speaking exam comes first and is usually before your other main subject exams start. • The revision you do for speaking will help with your other papers, especially writing, as you need to produce the language in both. Effective revision will help you to feel more confident and perform well on the day. The Preparation Time • You have 14 minutes preparation time in a quiet invigilation room and then another minute in the exam room once your teacher starts recording. • You will get 3 cards during the preparation time – a read aloud card, a role play card and a picture description card. You can make notes on A4 paper for all the tasks and can write on the read aloud card. • The speaking exam will be you and your teacher in an exam room, 1:1, and the whole exam is recorded. Read Aloud –Task 1 • You will get a card from the invigilator with a short text for you to read aloud in French, German, or Spanish. • You can write on the read aloud card during the 14-minute preparation time –you can highlight, circle, or underline sounds or words you need to watch out for-but you can’tread it out loud at that point as it’s silent preparation. • You get another minute with your teacher in the exam room where you can read aloud and practise. It’s a good idea to do this, as itwill help you to feel more confident when you read it aloudfor the final, recorded exam version. • If you stumble on a word, you can correct yourself and keep going. • After reading your card, your teacher will take it away and ask you two, straight-forward questions, in the present tense, based on topics covered in the passage. • These questions will not be printed on the card – if you are not sure you can ask to have each question repeated twice, so three times in total. Ask for the repeat in French, German, or Spanish if you can, to keep the flow of the conversation going. If you ask in English by mistake, don’t worry. Role Play –Task 2 • You take part in a mini conversation with your teacher. You need to ask and answer questions. • You will have a role-play card with 5 bullet points to prepare during your 14-minute preparation time. • You are not allowed to write on this card, but you can make notes on a piece of doublesidedA4 paper and use your notes during this task. • Your teacher will start the conversation andwill have their own card for their role . • There are only 10 settings that can come up inthe role play, for example: in a café or restaurant, at a doctor’s surgery, at a train station , so there are no surprises. You can learn and practise the relevant vocabulary which is likely to come up for each setting. • For Foundation, ask one question; for Higher, ask two questions. The last bullet point is always a question. In Higher, one of the questions will be in a future time frame and this will be clear in the prompt. • Communicate the message clearly with a few words or a short phrase/sentence, oneword answers will not be enough to get full marks. • Your teacher will take away the role play card atthe end of the conversation. Picture Task-Task 3 • You will get a picture task card with two colour photos on it during your 14-minute preparation time. The photos will come from a specific thematic context, which you will choose in advance, from two options. • Choose ONE picture to describe. It’s a good idea to go with the one you think you have the widest range of vocabulary for and can say the most about. • Make notes about the picture you have chosen and use your notes during the exam. Tell y

FAQs

What is the structure of the GCSE French, German or Spanish speaking exam in 2024?

The speaking exam is the first of the four GCSE papers (listening, reading, writing and speaking) and is taken in a 1:1 format with your teacher, with the whole exam recorded.

How much preparation time do you get, and what cards are you given?

You get 14 minutes in a quiet invigilation room, then one more minute in the exam room when your teacher starts recording. You receive three cards: a read aloud card, a role play card, and a picture description card.

What happens in Task 1 (Read Aloud) after you read your card?

After reading, your teacher asks you two straightforward questions in the present tense based on the passage topics. The questions are not printed on the card, and you may ask for each question to be repeated up to three times total.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag