The best GCSE language resources
Around 272,500 students take a GCSE language in the UK, with French in the majority at 124,655 and Spanish entries at 109,655. Here are the best resources for a GCSE language exam if your child is currently studying for their mocks or summer exams.
GCSE languages have been declining in the UK for several years, so from 2024, students will study reformed language GCSEs to make the subjects more accessible and boost uptake. Until then, the following resources can help improve your child's results.
Quizlet
Pros: It's one of the best apps for languages.
Cons: Users need to be self-motivated; the app won't remind you to use it.
One of the best apps for languages has to be Quizlet GCSE French, as it has one of the most extensive catalogues of French vocabulary. In a nutshell, it is a web and mobile app that boosts students learning through several study tools, including flashcards and game-based quizzes.
Quizlet also provides a test utility to challenge you. Your child can also create interactive flashcards focused on specific language terms and invite peers to work on them in groups.
The app is divided into areas with flashcards delivered in different modes:
1. Learn: Answer questions that get progressively harder.
2. Write: Students answer questions through writing.
3. Spell: Students type the words and definitions they hear.
4. Test: Students answer different types of questions to challenge what they have learnt.
Duolingo
Pros: It's free, and the app will send notifications and reminders if not accessed.
Cons: It's too gamified for some students.
Duolingo has about 120 million users worldwide, and all its courses are free of charge. It's simple to use and works by a student choosing "beginner" (starts with basics) and "Not a beginner "(there's a test which evaluates the language level) modes.
Users create a profile and set weekly goals: and timings per day. They then activate more lessons by finishing all the modules and taking a test to see what's been learned.
If your child loses motivation very quickly, then Duolingo's game-like app teaches languages in a fun and challenging way with visual and audio effects, which help them remember what has been learned.
Memrise
Pros: High-quality video and audio with customisable learning.
Cons: Not much writing and speaking practice.
Memrise helps users to "memorise" things using what's known as spaced repetition. Spaced repetition software (SRS) is based on flashcards, and users enter what needs to be memorised. These are then converted into "decks" that appear on-screen in a pattern.
Decks appear once to reveal the question or front of the generated card. The algorithm then spaces out the cards at timed intervals. Cards with "easy" ratings will appear later than cards with "hard" ratings, allowing users to study the complex cards more often.
The tough cards also repeat more often until mastered, giving a student a chance to learn them more efficiently than other learning styles. This means that Memrise keeps track of what you have trouble remembering and makes you review them more often in order to learn them.
News in Slow Podcast
Pros: Great for listening skills
Cons: It can take a while to grasp what's being said, depending on your child's level.
A variety of revision resources is always better than exposure to just one type. In other words, students should base their learning on something different than the revision guide. The News in Slow podcast is offered in French, Italian and Spanish and is helpful for students of all levels.
The delivery is perfectly timed, and users will know what's being discussed as the content is about current news. Plus, listening to the news in a foreign language is excellent for increasing your vocabulary on current topics and for the listening parts of the GCSE segments.
Spanish Obsessed with Rob and Liz and Talk in French Podcasts
Pros: Both offer a wide and varied look at French and Spanish to help with listening practice.
Cons: It takes effort and motivation to listen
Spanish Obsessed will give you a natural and relaxed Spanish conversation to listen to anywhere. It's ideal for all levels of Spanish knowledge and even offers transcripts on the website to help users take their revision further.
Talk in French talks about all things French and has vocabulary and expressions on the website to complement each episode and aid your learning.
Both are excellent podcasts to listen to and aid revision.
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