Bengali

    AQA
    GCSE

    Specification: 8638

    The AQA GCSE Bengali specification covers 47 topics with 123 learning objectives (8638). Use the topic browser below to explore subtopics, exam tips, common mistakes, and key terminology for each area of the course.

    Starting AQA GCSE Bengali this term? The whole specification is below, unit by unit.

    This subject will help you develop key knowledge and skills required for exam success.

    47

    Topics

    123

    Objectives

    0

    Exam Tips

    0

    Pitfalls

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    Key Features

    • Master key concepts
    • Develop exam technique
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    About AQA GCSE Bengali

    The AQA GCSE Bengali course is designed for students who want to develop their language skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, while gaining a deeper understanding of Bengali-speaking cultures. The specification is structured around three broad themes: Identity and Culture, Local, National, International and Global Areas of Interest, and Current and Future Study and Employment. These themes are further broken down into sub-topics such as family, technology, social issues, and travel, ensuring a rich and varied learning experience.

    Throughout the course, students build on their existing knowledge of Bengali, whether they are heritage speakers or have studied the language formally. The AQA specification emphasises practical communication and cultural awareness, preparing students for real-life use of Bengali. Assessment is linear, with all exams taken at the end of the course, and there is a strong focus on grammar and vocabulary acquisition alongside the four key skills.

    Assessment Structure

    The AQA GCSE Bengali is assessed through four terminal examinations, each worth 25% of the final grade. These are: Paper 1 (Listening), Paper 2 (Speaking), Paper 3 (Reading), and Paper 4 (Writing). The speaking exam includes a role-play, a photo card discussion, and a general conversation, while the writing exam requires responses to structured tasks and a translation. All papers are available at Foundation and Higher tiers, with grades 1-5 at Foundation and 4-9 at Higher. Total marks vary by tier, but each skill is equally weighted.

    Why Choose AQA?

    • AQA offers a clear and well-structured specification with a wide range of support materials, including past papers, mark schemes, and exemplar answers, making it easier for students to prepare effectively.
    • The AQA Bengali exams are known for their accessibility and fair assessment, with topics that are relevant and engaging for students from diverse backgrounds.
    • Many schools and colleges already use AQA for other modern foreign languages, so choosing AQA for Bengali can provide consistency in teaching approaches and resources across departments.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Specification Topics

    47 topics

    Themes

    Students are expected to understand and provide information and opinions about these themes relating to their own experiences and those of other people, including people in countries/ communities where Bengali is spoken., The specification covers three distinct themes. These themes apply to all four question papers.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Theme 1: Identity and culture - Topic 1: Me, my family and friends

    Relationships with family and friends., Marriage/partnership.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Theme 1: Identity and culture

    Theme 1: Identity and culture covers the following four topics with related sub-topics shown as bullet points.

    1 objectives

    Theme 1: Identity and culture - Topic 2: Technology in everyday life

    Social media., Mobile technology.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Theme 1: Identity and culture - Topic 3: Free-time activities

    Music., Food and eating out., Cinema and TV. +1 more

    4 objectives4 subtopics

    Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of - Topic 2: Social issues

    Healthy/unhealthy living., Charity/voluntary work.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of

    interest Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest covers the following four topics with related sub-topics shown as bullet points.

    1 objectives

    Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of - Topic 3: Global issues

    Poverty/homelessness., The environment.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

    Theme 3: Current and future study and employment covers the following four topics.

    1 objectives

    Listening: understand and respond to spoken language

    Students are expected to be able to:, follow and understand clear standard speech using familiar language across a range of specified contexts, recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended spoken text, including authentic sources, adapted and abridged as appropriate, by being able to answer questions, extract information, evaluate and draw conclusions. +3 more

    6 objectives6 subtopics

    Speaking: communicate and interact in speech

    communicate and interact effectively in speech for a variety of purposes across a range of specified contexts, make creative and more complex use of the language, as appropriate, to express and justify their own thoughts and points of view, Students are expected to be able to: +6 more

    9 objectives9 subtopics

    Reading: understand and respond to written language

    understand general and specific details within texts using high frequency familiar language across a range of contexts, understand and respond to different types of written language, recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended written text and authentic sources, including some extracts from relevant abridged or adapted literary texts +5 more

    8 objectives8 subtopics

    Writing: communicate in writing

    translate sentences and short texts from English into Bengali to convey key messages accurately and to apply grammatical knowledge of language and structures in context., manipulate the language, using and adapting a variety of structures and vocabulary with increasing accuracy and fluency for new purposes, including using appropriate style and register, write short texts, using simple sentences and familiar language accurately to convey meaning and exchange information +5 more

    8 objectives8 subtopics

    Grammar

    The grammar requirements for GCSE are set out in two tiers: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier., GCSE students will be expected to have acquired knowledge and understanding of Bengali, grammar during the course. In the exam, they will be required to apply their knowledge and understanding, appropriate to the relevant tier of entry, drawing from the following lists. The examples in brackets are indicative, not inclusive. For structures marked (R), only receptive knowledge is required. Students will be expected to develop and use their knowledge and understanding of this grammar progressively throughout their course.

    3 objectives3 subtopics

    Nouns

    Cases: nominative, accusative (কে), genitive (র/এর), locative-instrumental (এ/কে), Plural forms for personal nouns (রা/এরা; কের)

    1 objectives

    Particles

    Numbers up to 20, plus 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90 and 100 Use of numbers with and without articles Use of েেটা বালজ, with কোো, োলড় and কপনলন, Idiomatic uses of ও (= ‘also’) and to Number, quantity, time:

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Articles

    Definite article: ordinary and diminutive; singular and plural (টা/টি; গুলিা/গুলি) Indefinite article (এেটা/এেটি) Use of জন, Use of খানা / খালন

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Adjectives

    Ordinary adjectives Demonstrative adjectives: ordinary and diminutive; singular and plural; here, there and elsewhere (এ...টা, কে...টি, ও...গুলিা, etc) Repetition of adjectives to express plurality Use of কেলে/েবলেলে; of কেলে/েবলেলে to express comparisons Interrogative adjectives (েী, কোন, েলো, কোোে etc) Indefinite adjectives (কোলনা লেছু etc), Adjectival postpositions (কোমার োমলনর কটলবিটা etc) Adjective + definite article (কছালটাটা etc) Certain feminine adjective forms (ল্রিে, েুন্দরী etc)

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Adverbs

    Special adverbs (োড়াোলড় etc) Interrogative adverbs (কেন, কেমন, কোোে etc) Adverbs of time and place (এখন, এখালন, ওখালন etc), Formation of adverbs from adjectives using েলর, ভালব etc.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Quantifiers/intensifiers

    (খুব, কবলি, এেটু, অলনে etc)

    1 objectives

    Pronouns

    Use of লেছু Reflexive pronoun (লনলজ, লনলজর etc), Demonstrative pronouns: ordinary and diminutive; singular and plural; here, there and elsewhere (এটা, ওটি, কেগুলিা etc) Personal pronouns: singular and plural, familiar and polite; nominative, accusative and genitive case Interrogative pronoun (েী, কে, োর, োরা etc), Use of very familiar pronoun েুই Indefinite pronouns (কেউ, োলরা) Relative pronouns and co-relatives such as এ…কে, ইলন…লেলন

    3 objectives3 subtopics

    Verbs

    Zero verb and negative of zero verb (নই, নে etc) Use of আলছা in present and past, for location, possession, well-being (ভালিা আলছন), states (বলে আলছ etc) Use of োো a future for আলছা Tenses: future, simple present, present continuous, simple past, perfect, past perfect, past habitual, past continuous; familiar and polite forms Use of না and লন Imperatives: present and future; use of affirmative and negative না Infinitive and verbal noun Use of পারা, পাওো, োওো, কেষ্টা েরা and other common verbs requiring an infinitive before them Participles: past (করলখ etc) and conditional (কেখলি etc) Common extended (non-causative) verbs (ঘুমালনা, পাঠালনা etc) Compound verbs (লিলর আো, রাগ েরা, কবড়ালে যাওো etc) Common impersonal constructions expressing like/dislike (িাগা), need (িাগা, েরোর) convenience/ inconvenience (েুলবধা/অেুলবধা), anger, illness etc Obligation constructions: must/have to (েরলে হলব etc); ought/should (উলেৎ) Verbal noun + যাওো construction (কেখা যাে etc), Repetition of infinitive to express a present participle (েরলে েরলে) Extended (causative) verbs in all tenses and forms Contracted extended verb participle, especially when combined with কেওো (ক্বেলি কেওো, কপনছলছ আো etc) Combining verbs with কেওো, কনওো, োো, কিিা etc Use of হওো to express the passive Use of না before a participle or infinitive, or before the verb in যলে clauses Use of past habitual tense to express hypothetical conditions Use of েো with a verbal noun to express ‘supposed to’ Use of verbal noun with েমে to express ‘while’ (যাওোর েমে etc) Genitive and locative of verbal noun (েরার/েরবার, েরালে/েলরলে etc)

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Postpositions

    Following genitive case (োলছ, উপর etc) Following nominative case (পয্যন্ত, কেলে, লেলে etc) Use of েমে to express appointments (লেনটার েমে etc), Double postpositions (লভের লেলে, োছ কেলে etc)

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Conjunctions

    আর, এবং, লেন্তু, যলে (but not express hypothetical conditions), েলব, োহলি etc., Pairs of conjunctions such as যখন...েখন, যলো...েলো, এখালন...কেখালন etc Use of যলে...েলব/োহলি to express hypothetical conditions Use of যলেও...েবু to express ‘although’

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Higher Tier

    All grammar and structures listed for Foundation Tier plus:

    1 objectives

    Number, quantity, dates and time

    Remaining numbers Ordinal numbers up to ‘tenth’ Time in minutes using কবলজ and বাজলে Dates (English and Bengali months, year)

    1 objectives

    Note on spelling

    Students should be made aware of variations in Bengali spelling, particularly in the use of কÝা. In general, words employing difficult conjuncts will not be used at Foundation Tier. At Higher Tier, recognition (though not necessarily active use) of most conjuncts will be expected.

    1 objectives

    Communication strategies

    For this reason, the student will need to develop communication strategies that can be used to cope successfully with unknown words., There are two main types of strategy: those that relate to understanding (reading and listening) and those that relate to production (speaking and writing)., Whist it is useful for students to concentrate on a core of key language for any given topic, it is impossible to predict all the linguistic elements they might meet when reading and listening to authentic Bengali, or which they themselves might need to use.

    3 objectives3 subtopics

    Ignoring words which are not needed

    Many texts contain words which are not essential for an understanding of the main points of the text. Furthermore, what is important in the text is often presented more than once, in different ways: the student may not understand a point in one form of words and understand it fully in another.

    1 objectives

    Using a word which refers to a similar item

    Using a word which refers to a similar item to the one the speaker/writer wishes to refer to, but for which he has forgotten the word eg লজলনেটা for ঘলড় or িিটা for আনারে. This strategy is not always effective and its use would be assessed according to its effectiveness in a particular context.

    1 objectives

    Description of physical properties

    This can be used to refer to something of which the name has been forgotten eg কটলবলির উপর যা আলছ ঐ কগিালে যা আলছ The physical properties refer to colour, size, material, position and shape. The use of this strategy in an exam would be assessed according to its communicative effectiveness.

    1 objectives

    Requests for help

    The teacher should avoid taking over from the student and carrying out the tasks set., These can include requests for translation eg এটা বাংিাে েী? বাংিাে এটা েী বলি? এটার মালন েী? It is clearly preferable to use such requests for help than for communication to collapse and their use will be assessed according to the context. When requests for help with specific problems occur, the teacher should maintain the role of a sympathetic native speaker and help accordingly.

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Simplification

    This is when a student avoids the use of a form of which he/she is unsure eg কে কেলি ঘুলর কবড়াল্ছে । he/she says only this কে কেলি কঘালর A systematic use of simplified forms may reduce error, facilitate communication and increase fluency, but if overused, this strategy may result in students failing to make full use of their capabilities.

    1 objectives

    Paraphrase

    This is where the student uses words and messages in acceptable Bengali, avoiding the use of words which he/she has forgotten. For example, when he/she cannot remember the word েৃি্য and instead says কেখার লজলনে or when he/she cannot recollect the word পঞ্চম and says পাছে নম্বর When used well, this strategy communicates the message effectively to a sympathetic native speaker and such use would be assessed accordingly in an exam.

    1 objectives

    Reference to specific features

    Reference to specific features eg যালে রান্না েরা হে for েুিা or ্রিধান নারী েলরত্র for নালেো is often quite effective and its use would be assessed accordingly in an exam.

    1 objectives

    Reference to the function of an object

    The development of such strategies cannot be seen as encouragement not to develop linguistic knowledge. Strategic competence is not a substitute for vocabulary learning, but a useful supplement. Indeed, all language users make use of communication strategies, even in their first language, and really successful strategies usually pass unnoticed. It is an important part of the teaching and learning process., Reference to the function of an object and the actions that can be performed with it is a commonly used strategy which is usually effective in communicative terms., Another strategy sometimes used by language students is word coinage, the creation of words based either on English or Bengali words. This strategy usually produces words which do not exist in Bengali or, if they do exist, have a different meaning from the one intended. The use of this strategy is rarely effective in promoting communication and students would be well advised to use it only if all other strategies fail. +2 more

    5 objectives5 subtopics

    Using the visual and verbal context

    অন্যলেলে লিলঙ কননো, পানলে কননো, োম্পান ইে্যালে মাি বহলনর জন্য ব্যবহৃে হে। or we can deduce from স্বপন আমার ্রিালির বন্ধু that স্বপন is a name., The skilled reader can find many clues about the purpose and content of a text from a study of the layout, the title, the length, the typeface and any related pictures., বাঙালি লিক্ষালবেরা কযেব বাংিা পাঠিািা ্রিেিন েলরলছলিন, োলে ভাষা লিক্ষা, ভূলগাি, কজ্যালেলব্যজ্ঞান, গলিে – েবই পড়ার ব্যবস্থা েলরলছলিন। or that োম্পান is a means of transport in a sentence like: +1 more

    4 objectives4 subtopics

    Making use of grammatical markers and categories

    For instance, the verb form at the end of a sentence suggests what the subject is even if the subject has been omitted:, Students will be helped to master all these strategies if, when reading and listening, they learn to use such clues as the plural forms of nouns and verbs, the ways verbs change to form tenses, word order and other such features to help them to recognise to which category (verb, noun, adjective etc) an unknown word belongs. This can be a considerable help in making intelligent guesses about the meaning of the word., অলন্ধর মলো োছলে অনুেরি েরলে িাগিাম। কবাোর মলো েো বিলছা কেন?

    3 objectives3 subtopics

    Making use of the social and cultural context

    Another aid to the drawing of correct inferences is for the students to bear in mind that there are regularities in the real world which make it possible to anticipate what people may say or write about it. The ability to predict occurrences in the real world makes it possible sometimes to anticipate words and their meaning, in a given context. This is one reason why it is important for a Bengali course to develop awareness and understanding of countries and communities where Bengali is spoken.

    1 objectives

    Using common patterns with Bengali

    Knowledge of the following patterns of word formation in Bengali will be assumed., 1. non-finite verb forms:, অ: লিলক্ষে > অলিলক্ষে; লনেম > অলনেম অন: উপযুক্ত > অনুপযুক্ত; আের > অনাের লন: োরুি > লনোরুি; বারি > লনবারি লনর্: কোষ > লনলে্যাষ; কভজাি > লনলভ্যজাি লব: কেি > লবলেি; িুপ্ত > লবিুপ্ত +2 more

    5 objectives5 subtopics

    Strategies specifically for reading and understanding

    কবােি bottle করলʅারাছ restaurant For Bengali students growing up in a British environment, there are quite a few more English words which are in common use and which are often quite difficult to read because the sequence of letters is unusual for Bengali words. These words should be prepared and practised in class., েলমউলনটি কেন্টার েলম্পউটার টুে কপস্ট এোরলপাট্য টিউব কস্টিন লজলেএেই A useful strategy for dealing with this kind of problem would be to present students with a list of words which cause such a difficulty., There are many English words which have been accepted in Bengali and which are frequently used in written Bengali. Students will be expected to understand and say these words with the correct pronunciation. For example, hospital is written in Bengali as হাসপাতাল and is pronounced differently. There are many other English words which fall into a similar category. A few of these are listed below: +2 more

    5 objectives5 subtopics

    Strategies specifically for listening and understanding

    making use of the social and cultural context, It is expected that strategies such as those outlined above will generally be more easily applied in reading than in listening, as reading offers more opportunities to slow down, to look at unknown items at some leisure and to study the context., using common patterns within Bengali. +4 more

    7 objectives7 subtopics

    Strategies for production

    Individual students may fail to learn – or forget – language items required by some test items, or they may wish to attempt to go beyond the demands of the specification in completing the task set., Research and experience show that people who communicate effectively in a foreign language tend to make good use of systematic efficient verbal and non-verbal strategies to get meaning across, in spite of their imperfect command of the language., In these circumstances, the following strategies can prove useful. They fall into two main categories: non-verbal and verbal.

    3 objectives3 subtopics

    Pointing and demonstration

    This may be accompanied by some appropriate language eg এটা; েী এটা?; লজলনেটা; ঐ কয;, ঐ কিাে; ও, ওগুলিা; এগুলিা; জালন না, ঐ লেলে; ওলেলে

    1 objectives

    Expression and gesture

    This may be accompanied, where appropriate, with sounds (eg ‘Oh!’ which, with appropriate intonation, facial expression and gestures, can convey such attitudes and functions as pain, surprise, anger, fear, pleasure and admiration)., হাে; কর; েূর; লছ, কগাছ, হুছ; বাহ্; ও মা; বাবা

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Mime

    This strategy has obvious limitations in a speaking test which is recorded and assessed on the basis of the recording., Mime, which again can be accompanied by appropriate sounds and language, can sometimes help communication to be maintained when it might otherwise break down eg েী আবার? েী বিলে পালর? েী েরলে পালর? or with a suitable mime if one has forgotten words such as েমে্যা and োহায্য .

    2 objectives2 subtopics

    Drawing

    This can be an efficient strategy with some tasks (especially written) and can convey both attitude and information (eg a diagram showing how to get from one point, such as a station, to another, for instance home).

    1 objectives

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