Role-play
A conversation on a card: five prompts in Gujarati, one a question you ask and one you cannot prepare for, in the register the card asks for.
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
The role-play is the first of three speaking tasks, worth 10 of Paper 2's 70 marks: about a minute to a minute and a half at Foundation, two to two and a half at Higher. The card's instructions are in English and its five prompts in Gujarati. Each reply earns up to 2 marks, for getting the message across clearly and in the right register.
Read the two symbols
? means you ask a question. ! means the teacher asks you something you have not seen, so listen carefully and answer it. At Foundation there is one ? and one !; at Higher there are two ? and one !.
Use the tense the prompt needs
At Foundation the replies are in the present, or in a polite would where that is more natural: મને ... ગમશે. At Higher one prompt asks about the past, so be ready with forms such as હું ગયો or મેં જોયું.
Use the register on the card
An informal role-play is with a friend: તું, તારું, કેમ છે?. A formal one is with an adult such as a shop assistant or a receptionist: તમે or આપ, તમારું, and a polite નમસ્તે. The register is part of being appropriate, so it counts.
Ask a clear question
Use a question word and the right form of you: દુકાન ક્યારે ખૂલે છે? when does the shop open? ટિકિટ કેટલાની છે? how much is a ticket? A question that cannot be understood as a question earns nothing.
Use the twelve minutes' preparation well
You prepare the role-play and the picture task together, with notes on up to one side of A4, but you must not read out whole sentences. Note key words and the form of each verb you will need.
Keep each reply short and complete
One clear sentence per prompt is what scores: મને બે ટિકિટ જોઈએ છે I need two tickets. Long answers add risk without adding marks.
Role-play key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Prompt
- One of the five bullet points on the card, each needing one reply.
- Unpredictable question
- The ! prompt: a question from the teacher you only hear in the test.
- Register
- How formal your language is. The card tells you which to use.
- Transactional
- A role-play about getting something done: buying, booking, asking for help.
- Communication
- The one thing the role-play is marked for: whether your reply is clear and fits the situation.
Common mistakes in Role-play
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering the ? prompt instead of asking a question.
? means you ask. Turn the prompt into a question with a question word: ક્યારે, ક્યાં, કેટલા.
Using તું with the shop assistant in a formal role-play.
A formal card needs તમે or આપ and their verb forms: તમારી પાસે ... છે?.
Reading a whole prepared sentence from your notes.
Notes are for key words only. Glance down, then say the sentence to the teacher.