Role-play
A conversation on a card: five prompts, with a question or two of your own to ask, all set out in English so you know what to say.
Learn
Role-play, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the role-play works and is marked
With both boards the role-play is worth 10 marks: the card sets five tasks in English, the teacher plays the other person, and each task earns up to 2 marks, 2 if the message is conveyed without ambiguity and 1 if it is partly conveyed or not quite clear. AQA's opens the speaking test and lasts a minute to a minute and a half, with one question for you to ask. Edexcel's comes second, after the read aloud, and is set in an everyday place such as a shop, a hotel or a station; one task asks you to ask a question at Foundation and two do at Higher, where one task also needs an answer about the future.
Use your preparation time to plan every task
Both boards give 15 minutes of supervised preparation for the whole test, and you can take your notes in with you. Write a short answer with a verb for each task: for 'Say what you do after school', après les cours, je joue au basket. A clear, accurate sentence is all a task needs.
Give every detail the task asks for
Some tasks ask for two things, such as 'Say what you like to eat and why'. If one of them is missing, the message is only partly conveyed and the task drops to 1 mark. Tick off each part of each task on your notes as you plan it.
Ask the question the card asks for
A task that says 'Ask your friend about their favourite film' wants a real question: quel est ton film préféré ? or tu aimes les films d'horreur ? Practise qu'est-ce que, où, quand, combien and à quelle heure until this task feels routine.
Use tu or vous as the card says
The card tells you whether you are talking to a friend or to an adult such as a shop assistant or a receptionist. With a friend use tu (tu veux venir ?); with an adult use vous (vous avez une chambre libre ?). The question task is where the choice shows most.
Ask for what you want with je voudrais
In a shop, a restaurant or a hotel, je voudrais does most of the work: je voudrais deux gâteaux, je voudrais réserver une table pour quatre. It is polite, and it takes either a noun or an infinitive.
Listen to the teacher's line before you answer
The teacher's French tells you which task comes next and often which tense to use: qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier ? wants a past answer, such as je suis allé au parc avec mon frère. If you miss a line, ask tu peux répéter, s'il te plaît ?, or vous pouvez répéter, s'il vous plaît ? to an adult.
Be ready to answer something you have not prepared
Both boards' cards set out all five tasks in English, but you only hear the teacher's exact words in the room, so stay flexible. The practice cards here hold a prompt back until you need it, to build the habit: catch the question word, reuse its verb and keep it short. Où habites-tu ? gets j'habite à York.
Role-play key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Role-play
- A short conversation acted out from a card, in which the teacher plays the other person and you complete five tasks.
- Task
- One of the five things the role-play card asks you to say or ask, each worth up to 2 marks.
- Unambiguous
- Clear enough to have only one meaning. A role-play task earns its 2 marks when the message is conveyed without ambiguity.
- tu
- The informal you, for a friend or someone your age, with verbs that often end in -s: tu as, tu veux, tu vas.
- vous
- The polite you, for an adult you do not know well, such as a receptionist, with verbs that end in -ez: vous avez, vous voulez.
- Question words
- Qu'est-ce que (what), où (where), quand (when), combien (how much) and pourquoi (why) begin most questions, including the one you have to ask.
- Unexpected question
- A prompt you have not seen in advance. AQA's and Edexcel's cards both show all five tasks, but some practice cards here hold one back, to build the habit of catching its question word.
- vous pouvez répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
- Can you repeat that, please? The polite way to ask for a line again; to a friend it is tu peux répéter, s'il te plaît.
Common mistakes in Role-play
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering only half of a two-part task, such as saying what you like but not why.
A task with two parts drops to 1 mark if one part is missing. Read each task for every detail it asks for, and plan a short sentence for each one.
Saying something about yourself when the task asks you to ask a question.
The marks for that task go on the question. Prepare it word for word, with a question word and a verb, such as à quelle heure commence le film ?, and say it clearly with a rising voice.
Mixing up tu and vous, so a question to a receptionist uses tu as.
Check the card for who you are talking to before you prepare. For an adult, use vous and its -ez form: vous avez une chambre ? rather than tu as une chambre ?.
Giving a long, ambitious answer that loses its message in slips.
Role-play marks are for getting the message across, not for range. A short, clear sentence with the right verb earns the full 2 marks, so save complex language for the conversation.
Freezing when the teacher's question is worded differently from your notes.
Catch the question word and the verb, then build your answer from them: qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire ? becomes j'aime nager. If you missed it, ask the teacher to repeat it rather than saying nothing.