IGCSE · French · listening
For Years 9–11 · Learn, try, checkSpot negatives, changes of plan and time markers through honest transcript-analysis practice.
For actual listening practice, use your teacher’s recordings or your board’s official practice materials. A transcript is useful for checking a difficult phrase after listening; it should not replace listening to the recording first.
Read the task, not just the topic heading. If it asks when, predict days, dates and time expressions. If it asks why, listen for a reason. Briefly list likely vocabulary without deciding the answer in advance.
For travel, à pied and marcher may express similar ideas; cher and coûte beaucoup can both signal cost.
Listen for negatives, contrasts and corrections. The first plan mentioned is not always the final plan. Track who says each opinion, and whether a sentence describes a routine, a completed event or a wish.
On the first hearing, note the main meaning and make a provisional answer. Between hearings, identify the one uncertain detail. On the second hearing, check that detail and its surrounding words; do not abandon a supported answer just because another keyword appears.
This is a practice strategy, not permission to replay an exam recording yourself. Follow your board’s recorded pauses and examination instructions.
Original practice · not an exam paper
Read this as a transcript, not an audio listening test. Mark the original plan, any negative and the final outcome.
French final consonants are often silent. In many regular -er verbs, infinitive -er and past participle -é sound alike, so grammar helps distinguish them. The verb forms parle and parlent also sound alike in isolation; listen for the subject and context to distinguish them.
Original practice · not an exam paper
Choose a form: Hier, j’ai (manger / mangé) au collège. Which word tells you it is a completed past event?
Hier, j’ai mangé au collège. Hier sets the past context; j’ai requires the past participle mangé here, not the infinitive manger. This written check does not assess whether you can hear the difference.
Common traps: missing a negative, confusing similar numbers, selecting the first option mentioned, writing too much and leaving an answer blank because one word was unfamiliar. Use official recordings to practise numbers such as treize / trente in context, not only in a list.
Confirm your board with your teacher. These are original learning resources, not official papers or a grade prediction.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE listening includes multiple-choice, multiple-matching, note-taking and gap-fill tasks. Recorded texts are heard twice. This is not the UK GCSE comprehension-plus-dictation structure.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE French speaking guide
Official Pearson Edexcel International GCSE French specification (PDF)For Cambridge IGCSE in 2025–2027, listening uses multiple-choice and matching questions. Each recorded text is heard twice and answers are transferred to a separate answer sheet at the end. Follow the official instructions for your exam year.
Cambridge IGCSE French speaking guide
Official Cambridge IGCSE French 2025–2027 syllabus (PDF)Cambridge exam year matters: 2025–2027 and 2028–2030 are different syllabuses. The PDF above is for 2025–2027; for a later exam, choose your year on the official Cambridge French qualification page. Pearson guidance here concerns the linear 2017 International GCSE specifications (4FR1 / 4SP1); check the precise qualification your school enters.
Move between understanding language and using it. Pick a related resource rather than starting another long checklist.
The website supports broad revision. The ScoreMySpeech app stays specialist: French and Spanish speaking practice with feedback, not full reading, listening or writing assessment.
