GCE EXAMINERS' REPORTS
FRENCH
AS/Advanced
JANUARY 2012
Statistical Information
This booklet contains summary details for each unit: number entered; maximum mark
available; mean mark achieved; grade ranges. N.B. These refer to 'raw marks' used in the
initial assessment, rather than to the uniform marks reported when results are issued.
Annual Statistical Report
The annual Statistical Report (issued in the second half of the Autumn Term) gives overall
outcomes of all examinations administered by WJEC.
FRENCH
General Certificate of Education
January 2012
Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced
Principal Examiner:
Mrs Lindsey Davies, B.A. (Nottingham) PGCE
Head of Modern Foreign Languages, Cardiff High School
Unit Statistics
The following statistics include all candidates entered for the unit, whether or not they
'cashed in' for an award. The attention of centres is drawn to the fact that the statistics listed
should be viewed strictly within the context of this unit and that differences will undoubtedly
occur between one year and the next and also between subjects in the same year.
Unit
Entry
Max Mark
Mean Mark
FN2
1092
98
60.4
Grade Ranges
A
B
C
D
E
70
63
57
51
45
N.B. The marks given above are raw marks and not uniform marks.
1
FN2 - LISTENING, READING AND WRITING
General Comments
The standard in the examination was in line with past January examinations, with the A and
E borderline marks comparable to 2011. The translation question (Question 5) seemed to be
slightly less accessible than in previous years, but the overall performance on the essay
questions was again of a high standard.
Q.1
Listening
Première partie :
The question was more accessible than last year. One mark is awarded per question (the
correct box “V/F” must be ticked). In the case of the F box being ticked the mark can only be
awarded if the statement is corrected accurately. If V or F was not ticked and statement
corrected properly, a mark was still awarded. If V was ticked and statement corrected, no
mark was awarded.
Quite well done with many candidates scoring 6+. Very good attempts at correcting the false
statements, using good techniques (e.g. antonyms). There were a few attempts at negation
despite rubric.
Common errors :
 Incomplete answers - “…pour continuer à jouer”
 Spelling – “fracteurs”
 Wrong tenses – « Elles ont voyagé » - present required,
« Elle a 4 fractures » - past needed.
Q.2
Deuxième partie :
To gain marks in this exercise the blanks had to be filled in with words spelt correctly. All
spellings including all accents had to be completely correct. Generally this question was
better answered than in previous January examinations. No mis-spellings or incorrect
answers were tolerated for this question – answers needed to be entirely correct.
A number of candidates seemed to get the correct morphology but lost the mark by being
careless with accents or other basic spelling.
Although the missing words were not difficult phonetically, many candidates made simple
grammatical errors e.g.: sur (instead of sûr) and dance (sic). The 3rd person plural form of
« courir » was not known and was badly attempted even though the previous verb was
“elles contournent”, which provided a template.
2
Q.3
Reading
Q.3 (i)
This question was well answered by most and was a good lead-in to the reading tasks.
Only five true statements had to be ticked. One mark was deducted for any extra
statement ticked.
For the next two sets of questions there was some improvement on the standard achieved
last January. In many cases candidates seemed to perform well on this first text.
Answers had to be in French and in candidates’ own words. No lifting allowed
language manipulation and less “lifting”. One problem that persists is use of tenses –
looking carefully at the question to determine the tense required for the answer.
(ii)
Technique for this style of question is improving. There is more use of subtle
language manipulation and less “lifting”.
In (b) the idea of « populaire chez les jeunes Français » was required for 1 mark.
In (f) future tense needed: “le film va débuter”
(iii)
As above, but also careful reading of the question required.
In (b) “billets” was in the question, NOT “cartes”.
In (d) “nommez 3 activités… many wrote “Visiter..” 3 times, but it only counts as 1 activity.
In (e) « c’est très cher » - not enough specific detail, « il n’y a pas de vie la nuit » incorrect.
Answers had to be relevant to « les jeunes »
In (f) “C’était le centre de la Reforme” – correct, many wrote “c’est...
Also Jean Calvin and St Pierre seem to be alive and well and preaching in Geneva !!
In (g) candidates often repeated the same idea in both answers:
(i)
C’est près de la campagne
(ii)
Le paysage est à 30 minutes en bus
Q.4
This question proved to be difficult for many candidates in this paper and generally was
less well done than in the past. Once candidates started making mistakes and choosing
the wrong word this led to a number of other wrong answers.
This question is a test of grammatical and syntactical application and comprehension. Not
all the words were needed and every word could only be used once. The spelling had to
be correct and accents had to be right and in the right place. This is a test of the correct
application of grammar.
Some very basic errors were seen here showing some poor grammatical awareness by
candidates – verb endings, adjectival agreements and prepositions still need attention.
Where two adjectives are given, as with « grand/grande », « gratuits/gratuites »
candidates were unable to select correctly.
3
Q.5
Translation
This question was not as well answered as it has been in previous years even though the
phrases selected were accessible in their content.
Every sentence was divided into sections according to the marks awarded.
Candidates coped well with straightforward transfer of meaning but some idiomatic
language was lost on them.
Q.6
(i)
“dont” – very few translated this as “whose”
Good translation of passive – « will be launched »
(ii)
“emmène” – not known, “branché” – cool, trendy, not “branched”
(iii)
“les Suisses” translated as “Swedes”, even in one case as “Germans”. “Passage
piéton” as “pavement”
(iv)
“Francophones” not acceptable – “French speakers” needed, here “petit accent” is
slight accent, not “little”
(v)
“c’est” wrongly translated as it’s or it is
(vi)
“Charme particulier” translated incorrectly as a particular charm, and not a
CERTAIN or INDIVIDUAL or DISTINCTIVE charm. Basic words not known “ gîte” –
site, “fermes” – firms, and “chambre d’hôte” provided a plethora of mis-translations
(the idea of “bed and breakfast” was known by some, but the most way out was
“chamber of horrors!!”
Essays
20 marks were awarded for Quality of Response,
10 marks for Accuracy,
5 marks for Range and Idiom.
All essays were attempted with c) and d) being the most popular.
a)
«Les bonnes carrières et les meilleurs métiers sont toujours pour les
hommes, et pas pour les femmes » - Êtes-vous d’accord ?
Discutez et justifiez vos opinions.
This “égalité au travail” title saw some very good discursive and argumentative
essays with well-drawn conclusions and relevant vocabulary.
b) « Les jeunes d’aujourd’hui sont trop influencés par la mode » – Qu’en
pensez-vous ? Discutez et justifiez vos opinions. »
“La mode”, this title produced some interesting responses on fashions and trends,
often thoughtful and well-considered. Some still take the “blanket-bomb” approach
and try and cover everything they know about the topic, and some candidates are
still trying to “turn” the question into their own preferred title, in this case involving
long tracts about “tabagisme”, alcool” and “drogues” being the latest fashion.
4
c) « Manger sain – c’est très important pour les jeunes » – Quelle en est votre
opinion ? Discutez et justifiez votre réponse.
A very popular choice; many candidates felt comfortable with the topic and addressed
the question well, presenting a balanced and focused argument relevant to the title.
However, some candidates at the lower end of the mark range produced lists of
unconnected statements with little or no attempt to address the title set.
d) « Les activités passives jouent un trop grand rôle dans la vie des jeunes
d’aujourd’hui » – Êtes-vous d’accord ? Discutez et justifiez votre réponse.
Again, some very good, well-constructed essays referring closely to the title. Although
some reference to sport as a comparison is valid, candidates should be reminded that
this is NOT in the title!! The essay often then falls into digression and loss of thread.
Candidates should avoid long, pre-learnt generic preambles which last up to 40 words
and are therefore irrelevant to the question set.
General comments.

The wide range of topic coverage provided ample opportunity for candidates of all
abilities to attempt all the questions – there were very few blanks.

Technique in answering questions is continuing to improve – language manipulation to
answer questions 3ii and 3iii is now much more in evidence and there is much less
evidence of lifting (i.e. copying directly) from the texts in the folder.

There are still a lot of low marks being scored on the discrete grammar questions (2
and 4) where absolute accuracy is required.

Translations (transfer of meaning) are obviously being given more attention in centres
as the marks have seen an improvement. However there is evidence from the lower
marks gained on this paper that idiomatic language still poses a problem for some
candidates.

Essays – The technique is still improving in this question, and essays are mostly of an
appropriate length (200-250 words). There were very few vastly overlength essays in
this series. Candidates are still losing too many marks for careless and basic errors –
genders, adjectival agreement, and incorrect verb endings.
GCE French Examiners Report - January 2012/
30.3.12
5
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