Italian GCSE A/A* Booklet

Transcription

1 Italian GCSE A/A* Booklet General- Top Tips & Resources Listening/reading - Higher tips for listening/reading questions Speaking/writing - Tips for success in controlled assessment - Model paragraphs/answers A*-C - A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing Practise key vocabulary Italian Top Tips! - Make a mind map or revision poster of the key vocabulary. You can use the link below to create an online revision map. - Vocab Express ( You should be using this website weekly to practise key vocabulary and focus on the topics you need to revise or find more difficult. (Higher Tier Vocab Section) - Online revision tools: You can use the websites below to complete exercises interactively for revision Complete practise higher level questions- Make a list of key words that appear regularly. - Amici Revision Workbook (available to buy from school or online) Complete the higher listening and reading graded exercises in each topic and check your answers. Each page also offers examiner tips which you should read through carefully. - BBC GCSE Bite size ( You can use this website to complete practise listening and reading activities and check your answers. - Past papers(available on the school website)

2 You can complete higher tier listening and reading past papers from the Edexcel Exam board. It is also useful to practise using the AQA/OCR papers also available here. The mark schemes are online as well as the audios for you to access. In bocca al lupo! Listening/reading Use the 5-minutes pre-listening Underline question words e.g. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW, HOW MANY Underline the mark allocations (1), (2), (3) Anticipate what words will come up and note them down Read the questions FIRST And use the example Use clues that the texts give away When listening When you hear the words, write the KEY words on the exam paper, Be clear about positive/negative language and opinions, one small word can change meaning. What tense is the question in? Make sure you know your tenses! Practise synonyms: Some examples include: a. piscina/nuoto/nuotare b. andare a cavallo/l equitazione c. sci/sport invernali/neve/pista d. noioso//poco interessante e. cinema/film f. contento/felice g. triste/infelice/ scontento Practise negatives

3 Listen very carefully for negatives. If you miss a negative, you will think a sentence means the exact opposite. Non. (not) Non mai (never) Non nessuno (nobody) Non...niente (nothing) Non più (no longer) Non nè... nè (neither... nor) There are other words which express negatives indirectly, such as tranne (except). EXAMPLE: Look at the following example: A question in the exam paper asks When is the market open? The answer to that question is contained in the sentence Il mercato è aperto tutti i giorni tranne il martedì e la domenica. If you don t know the word tranne or don t listen carefully to all the words, you might think the answer was either every day (tutti i giorno) or Tuesday (martedì). However, if you catch the word tranne you will be able to give the correct answer of every day except Tuesday. Listen for tone of voice Listen to the way things are said on the recording as this can often help with questions about opinions. If the speaker sounds negative or enthusiastic this can help you assess his or her opinion, even if you are unsure of the exact vocabulary they use Be prepared for traps Be prepared for answers to come anywhere on the recording, so listen immediately and do not switch off, even if you think that you have heard the answer you are listening for. Sometimes additional or contradictory information may follow, which could be vital in getting the correct answer. EXAMPLE For example, if you are listening for a specific place that the speaker has visited and hear, sono andato in piscina, you might believe that you have found the correct answer and stop listening, only to miss the vital addition, ma era chiuso, allora sono andato al cinema.

4 Watch out for twists and turns Some questions appear straightforward, but you might hear extra information on the recording which could mislead you. In listening for the speaker s opinion about something you might hear other opinions too. Make sure you listen carefully to work out who is saying or thinks what. EXAMPLE For example, if you are asked what the speaker thinks about skiing and hear Mio fratello ama lo sci, ma io lo odio. don t just write down the first thing you hear. The speaker hates skiing, it s his brother who likes it. READING Tips for revision Spot references to the past and future a) You can tell that an event happened in the past by identifying the verb form e.g. sono andato (I went) from the use of a time phrase such as l anno scorso (last year). b) You can tell that an event happened in the future by spotting a straight future tense e.g. andrò. other phrases which indicate the future e.g. avere intenzione di (to intend), sperare (to hope), pianificare( to plan), etc. the use of a time phrases such as la settimana prossima Be careful of false friends.. For example, sensibile means sensitive, libreria bookshop not library, parente relative not parent Different ways of giving opinions per (for/in favour of), contro (against) piacere (to please) as in quello che mi piace (which pleases me/which I like), quello che mi dispiace (which displeases me/ which I don t like). Read questions carefully and don t just pick the first word you recognise The texts will usually be about similar topics,. For example, one statement could say Non faccio mai il nuoto.,

5 another might write, Sono andato in piscina ieri. and the final one might add, Vado a nuotare domani. If the question asks, Who has recently been swimming? you will need to study each passage in depth and use your language skill to decide the correct answer, as all 3 mention the sport in their texts. Watch out for traps Some questions appear more straightforward, but can trick you. If you are asked for the writer s opinion about something, there will often be another person s opinion, which will not be the correct response. Mio padre trova il golf noioso, ma secondo me è interessante! is an example where the initial comment is negative but the writer s opinion is positive. Make sure you read carefully to work out who is saying or thinks what. When you have to answer in English Always read the questions thoroughly and give as much information in your answers as is necessary- look at numbers in brackets. For example, if a question asks you where the writer lives and the answer can gain you 2 marks, you would need to include 2 pieces of information. If in the passage it says Abito in una casa in campagna you need to write that he/she lives in a house (1) in the countryside (1). Speaking/writing - Tips for success in controlled assessment - Use the Look, cover, write, check technique to prepare - Prepare more complex sentences using connectives (e.g. ma but, quando when, dove where, o or, purtroppo/tuttavia however, nonostante nevertheless, etc.) adverbs (e.g. qualche volta sometimes, solamente only, ugualmente equally, etc.) adjectives (making sure they agree with the noun they describe expressions using verbs (e.g. prima di+infinitive,) - To achieve the higher GCSE grades, you will need to vary the way to give reasons and justifications for your opinions using connectives and opinion expressions ( penso che/ credo che (I think that), a mio parere/secondo me (in my opinion).

6 Model paragraphs/answers A*-C GRADE C Mangio i panini, bevo la limonata, parlo con gli amici e gioco a tennis. GRADE B È molto corto. Cinquanta minuti. Di solito dopo aver mangiato qualcosa gioco con il cellulare. Posso navigare sull internet. Ieri a l ora di pranzo ho visto un film. E domain giocherò in un torneo di scacchi. Vincerò. GRADE A È veramente corto. Cinquanta minuti. Di solito dopo aver mangiato qualcosa, senza perdere un momento,prendo il mio cellulare nuovo che ha l internet. Ieri a l ora di pranzo ho visto un film indimenticabile. E 6omain parteciperò in un torneo di scacchi. Voglio vincere. GRADE A* Sfortunatamente è veramente corto. Che cinquanta minuti!. Che peccato! Tuttavia, di solito, dopo aver mangiato qualcosa, senza perdere un momento, prendo il mio cellulare nuovo che ha l internet. L ho appena comprato. La mia sorellina mi ha acompagnata. Ieri, all ora di pranzo, ho visto un documentario indimenticabile sui recenti problemi. E domani participerò a una competizione di scacchi. Ho voglia di vincere. Sarebbe meraviglioso! Cosa fai domani a mezzogiorno? A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing Use quello/che + verb (what/which) Quello che è importante, è mangiare in modo sano (what is important is to eat healthy) Se + subjunctive + conditional

7 Se avessi il tempo, lo potrei fare (If I had the time, I could do it) Connecting phrases Quando: lquando sono in vacanza leggo molto. (when on holiday, I read a lot) Chi/che: Abbiamo visitato Nizza che si trova nel sud della Francia, ed era molto bella! (we visited Nice, in the south of France, which was very pretty) Ma/tuttavia: il viaggio è andato bene, tuttavia il mio fratellino si è sentiti male dopo.(the journey went well, however my little brother got ill afterwards) Exclamations! Che bella giornata! Che sorpresa! Che disastro! Comparatives/superlatives Era più interessante dell anno scorso. Era meno lontano di quanto pensavo. È la mia migliore amica. È la piu bella città che io conosca! Sono state le più belle vacanze che io abbia mai trascorso. Adverbs È veramente interessante Lavora bene/sodo Gioca bene È estremamente importante (it s extremely important)) È terribilmente difficile (terribly difficult) Lei è così gentile.

8 Subjunctive: Benchè sia lontano, andremo in Australia l anno prossimo. (although it is far away, we ll go to Australia next year.) Passeremo un mese in Germania in modo che io possa praticare il mio tedecso. (we ll spend a month in Germany so that I can practise my german). Use an infinitive to start a sentence Viaggiare all estero ci aiuto a conoscre altre culture. Travelling abroad helps to know other cultures) Viaggiare in aereo è più conveniente(travelling by plane is more convenient).