GCSE Languages With Tarandeep

Another happy client 🎉

and I have some excellent discussions in French on topics that range from the importance of a multicultural society to who the most marginalised people in society are.

SWEET FREEDOM

Why learn a language?

Because there's a whole world beyond your own. Because Spanish & French let you communicate on most continents. Because Chinese, Urdu & Swahili create exciting new perspectives. Because whatever else you're interested in, a language makes you better.

🎯Take a few mins to plan your answer, even in English, this will lead to greater clarity and make your answer more coherent.

🎯Before going into the exam, have a set of higher phrases up your sleeve that can be applied to question, an easy way to ensure you get your subjunctives in 😎

🎯 Practice proofreading to train yourself to spot repetition, lack of tense variety, irrelevant material.

🎯DO NOT FORGET TO ADD OPINIONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS- without these, you cannot score highly.

🎯 The translation into target language will require you to know grammar inside out, so make sure you can identify time markers, tense shifts, changes of subject pronouns negatives, infinitive structures etc!

🔖Make the most of the reading time at the beginning of the paper, try and predict and make a note of any vocabulary on the side that might be useful as you read through the questions.

💡Don’t rely on your comprehension of individual words but try and get a gist for the entire sentence means, this means you’ll avoid nasty traps set by distractors (only, never, expect etc).

🎶 Pay attention to the intonation to help you decipher what is being conveyed.

😰Don’t panic if you see words you don’t understand! This will always be the case, even if you are extremely prepared. Instead, focus on the words you do know and use that to help you work out the rest.

🧐Watch out for distractors, pesky, sneaky words that alter the meaning of the sentence e.g. not (yet), neither, only, except, or… keep a look for a post on these soon!

🔦For the translation into English, remember to check that the English makes sense, often we translate literally and forget to make sure it sounds natural in English.

Like you could forget right!?
Here are my top tips for the speaking exam:
📕 The Roleplay
👁️‍🗨️ Read the instructions to make sure you address the examiner accordingly.
💬 This is the part of the exam to simply communicate a message effectively and succinctly.
👀 Pay attention to how many marks the question gives you and answer accordingly, 2 details means 2 marks.
⁉️ When you see a question mark ?, ask a question. Use your prep time to work out what ! could be asking you.
📕Picture card
💡Use the acronym PALM to help you give enough detail about the picture, describe People, any Actions, the Location and Mood, this allows you to cover all bases.
❇️ Answer the questions in the correct tense, you can assume that all three time frames will be tested past, present and future so be on the look out and decide during your prep time which tense you will use.
📕General Questions
👂Practice listening to the question so you get comfortable identifying what you’re being asked.

Not sure there is any better motivation than receiving such kind feedback from clients and their parents.

It’s nearly a year since I started Languages with Tarandeep and there’s no looking back 🙏🏽

Looking for a Tutor to work with clients online. Must have experience teaching in a school with QTS and a PGCE (at least 2 year experience). Must be a Spanish/ German specialist with a degree in the relevant language. Must have CRB clearance. Candidates must be passionate about their subject. Must be IT literate and have experience using Zoom. Experience working/living in a country where the language is spoken would desirable but is not essential. Outside teaching work experience would also be desirable.

Yesterday was European Day of Languages! 🇪🇺

Why learn a language? Is it to make the most of a holiday, enjoy books & films you couldn't understand otherwise, meet new people, learn more about your own language, make a home abroad or just because there's a whole lot of humanity to discover?