Vocabulary — AQA GCSE French
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Vocabulary explained
Vocabulary covers 6 specification points, including The minimum core vocabulary lists are… and The assessment tasks at Foundation Tier will….
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Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
The minimum core vocabulary lists are primarily intended as a guide for teachers to assist in the planning of schemes of work.
The minimum core vocabulary lists provided in the specification serve primarily as a foundational guide for teachers when planning their French schemes of work. These lists outline the essential words and phrases that students are expected to recognise and use. While they are a crucial tool for structuring lessons and ensuring comprehensive coverage of the syllabus, students should also use them to guide their independent revision. By systematically reviewing the core vocabulary, learners can identify gaps in their knowledge and build the linguistic foundation necessary for success. For example, a student might use the list to create flashcards, ensuring they have mastered the minimum required vocabulary before expanding further.
The assessment tasks at Foundation Tier will require students to understand and respond to common or familiar words and/or forms of words that are not on the vocabulary list.
At Foundation Tier, assessment tasks are designed to test your ability to cope with unpredictable language. You will be required to understand and respond to common or familiar words, or forms of words, that do not appear on the official vocabulary list. To succeed, you must develop strategies for deducing meaning from context. For example, if you know the verb 'laver' (to wash), you should be able to infer the meaning of 'le lavabo' (the sink) when reading a text about a bathroom. Use your knowledge of cognates, near-cognates, and word families to decode these unfamiliar items, ensuring you can respond accurately to the overall meaning of the passage.
The assessment tasks at Higher Tier will require students to understand and respond to words and/or forms of words that are not on the vocabulary list and which are less common or familiar than those used in relation to Foundation Tier assessments.
Higher Tier assessments will challenge you with vocabulary that is not on the prescribed list and is less common or familiar than the unfamiliar words used at Foundation Tier. You must understand and respond to these complex words or word forms by applying advanced deduction skills. For instance, you might encounter a less frequent noun derived from a known verb, or a complex compound word. You should look at the surrounding sentence structure, identify prefixes or suffixes, and use your broader understanding of the topic to infer meaning. This tests your resilience and ability to handle authentic, unpredictable French texts and audio.
Vocabulary listed under a particular theme should be considered transferable, as appropriate, to the other themes.
The vocabulary you learn is not restricted to the specific theme under which it is listed in the specification; it is fully transferable across all other themes where appropriate. You must be prepared to understand and respond to words learned in one context when they appear in a completely different one. For example, vocabulary related to 'technology' might appear in a text about 'global issues' or 'the environment'. When revising, actively practice applying words to various topics, ensuring you can recognise and deploy your vocabulary flexibly across identity, local area, school, and future aspirations to maximise your comprehension.
Students will be expected to be familiar with feminine forms of nouns/adjectives where these are not given.
You are expected to know and apply the rules for forming the feminine versions of nouns and adjectives, even when these specific forms are not explicitly provided in the vocabulary list. This means you must be familiar with regular patterns, such as adding an '-e' (for example, 'petit' to 'petite'), as well as common irregular changes, like '-eux' to '-euse' (for example, 'heureux' to 'heureuse') or '-eur' to '-rice' (for example, 'acteur' to 'actrice'). You must be able to recognise these feminine forms in reading and listening tasks, and produce them accurately in your speaking and writing to ensure correct gender agreement throughout your work.
The vocabulary lists reflect the spelling rules in force before the changes approved by the Académie française were introduced. Examiners will accept both versions of the spellings affected by this reform, ie old and new.
The official vocabulary lists use the traditional spelling rules that existed before the spelling reforms approved by the Académie française. However, in your exams, you are permitted to use either the traditional (old) or the reformed (new) spellings for words affected by these changes. For example, the traditional spelling 'oignon' (onion) and the reformed spelling 'ognon' are both perfectly acceptable. Similarly, changes to the circumflex accent, such as 'coût' versus 'cout', will not be penalised provided either official spelling is used correctly. You should focus on learning one consistent spelling for each word and not worry if you encounter the alternative version in reading texts, as examiners will accept both valid forms.
Your focus
- Utilise the minimum core vocabulary list to structure independent revision sessions.
- Identify personal knowledge gaps by cross-referencing known words with the core vocabulary list.
- Apply words from the core vocabulary list accurately in both written and spoken French contexts.
Show all 18 objectives
- Deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words using context.
- Identify familiar word roots within new vocabulary.
- Respond accurately to texts containing non-listed vocabulary.
- Infer the meaning of less common, unlisted words in complex texts.
- Analyse word structures such as prefixes and suffixes to determine meaning.
- Respond to authentic audio and written material containing unpredictable language.
- Apply vocabulary learned in one theme to a different thematic context.
- Recognise familiar words when used in unexpected topics.
- Construct sentences that blend vocabulary from multiple specification themes.
- Form the feminine versions of regular and irregular nouns and adjectives.
- Identify the masculine root of a word when presented with its feminine form.
- Apply correct gender agreements in written and spoken French.
- Recognise that both traditional and reformed French spellings are valid in assessments.
- Identify common words that have alternative accepted spellings due to the Académie française reforms.
- Apply a consistent approach to spelling vocabulary in written tasks without fear of penalty for using an approved alternative.
Vocabulary exam tips
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use the minimum core vocabulary list as a checklist to identify and revise any gaps in your foundational knowledge.
- 💡Create flashcards or mind maps based on the core vocabulary list to ensure you have mastered the essential terms.
- 💡Remember that while the list is a starting point, expanding your vocabulary beyond it will help you access higher marks.
- 💡Highlight familiar words in a sentence to help deduce the meaning of the unfamiliar ones.
- 💡Look for English cognates to help with comprehension, but always beware of false friends.
- 💡Practice reading short, authentic texts to build resilience against unknown vocabulary.
- 💡Break down long, unfamiliar words into their root, prefix, and suffix to deduce meaning.
- 💡Use your knowledge of grammar to work out the function of the unknown word in the sentence.
- 💡Expose yourself to authentic French media to encounter less common vocabulary naturally.
- 💡Create mind maps linking vocabulary from different themes to see how they connect.
- 💡When learning a new word, write three sentences using it in three different topic areas.
- 💡Expect crossover questions in the exam, such as discussing technology within the context of a holiday.
- 💡Memorise the common patterns for irregular feminine endings, such as changing '-f' to '-ve'.
- 💡When learning a new noun or adjective, always write down both the masculine and feminine forms.
- 💡In writing tasks, leave time to proofread specifically for noun-adjective gender agreements.
- 💡Choose one spelling convention for words affected by the reform (such as 'oignon' or 'ognon') and stick to it during your revision to avoid confusion.
- 💡Be prepared to recognise both traditional and reformed spellings in reading and listening transcripts, as either may appear in authentic texts.
- 💡Do not waste time in the exam worrying about whether a circumflex is required on an 'i' or 'u' if the word is covered by the Académie française spelling reforms.
Common Mistakes
- Misunderstanding: Assuming the core vocabulary list contains every word that might appear in the exam. Correction: The list represents the minimum core vocabulary; students may encounter and should learn additional words.
- Misunderstanding: Believing the vocabulary list is only for teachers to use. Correction: While primarily for teachers planning schemes of work, students should use the list to guide their independent revision.
- Misunderstanding: Thinking that memorising the list without understanding context is sufficient. Correction: Students must be able to recognise and use the core vocabulary accurately within various contexts.
- Giving up when seeing an unknown word instead of using the surrounding context to guess the meaning.
- Assuming every word must be translated literally rather than focusing on the overall meaning of the sentence.
- Ignoring word families and failing to look for familiar roots within unknown words.
- Panicking when encountering complex, unfamiliar vocabulary instead of applying logical deduction strategies.
- Translating word-for-word in complex sentences rather than reading the whole paragraph to grasp the gist.
- Failing to recognise different parts of speech and not using grammatical clues to determine if the unknown word is a noun, verb, or adjective.
- Memorising vocabulary strictly in isolated topic silos instead of practising using words across multiple different themes.
- Being confused when a familiar word appears in an unexpected context rather than adapting the translation to the new context.
- Limiting writing to basic topic-specific words instead of elevating the response by incorporating relevant vocabulary from other themes.
- Assuming the feminine form always just adds an '-e' instead of learning the irregular feminine endings.
- Forgetting to make adjectives agree with feminine nouns in writing by not checking the gender of the noun.
- Failing to recognise a noun because it is in its feminine form rather than identifying the masculine root.
- Misunderstanding: Thinking that missing a circumflex on words affected by the reform (like 'cout' instead of 'coût') will automatically lose marks. Correction: The reformed spelling often removes the circumflex on 'i' and 'u', so both versions are accepted by examiners.
- Misunderstanding: Believing that you must use the newer reformed spellings to access higher marks. Correction: Both the old and new spellings are treated equally; neither is considered superior or more advanced.
- Misunderstanding: Assuming that mixing old and new spellings across different words in a single piece of writing will result in a penalty. Correction: While consistency is good practice, examiners will accept any valid spelling of a word, whether old or new, without penalising a mix of conventions across the text.