Running a fantastic GCSE speaking exam revision session

If you're giving up time in school holidays, at weekends or after school to run French, German or Spanish GCSE speaking exam revision sessions, the last thing you want is for them to feel like a waste of time.

I'm so excited this week to share my first ever blog post collaboration, with the fabulous Isabelle aka La Petite Cagouille 😃 

If you're not already following her on Instagram, you need to head over and give her a follow! She is an experienced head of MFL and gives amazing advice on preparing your students for their GCSEs, among other things. 

Plus, if the follow-on conversation is the area your students still need most practice with, she's created a FREE GCSE Speaking General Conversation pack with practical activities you can use straight away. Grab the freebie here. 

So, without further waffling from me (🤣), here are Isabelle's top tips for what to prioritise in your speaking exam revision sessions before the exams.... 

At this stage, I focus less on cramming content and more on building confidence, fluency and familiar routines.  

Here are 4 things I prioritise in speaking revision sessions before exams:  

1. Start with low-stakes speaking. Begin with short pair tasks that get everyone talking quickly. Find someone who…, Battleships, Connect 4 and Trapdoor are my go-to activities. They lower pressure and gets students speaking from the start.  
2. Revisit high-frequency structures. Students don’t need every possible phrase. They need reminding of the key structures you have taught them throughout the course. Focus on opinion phrases, time phrases, present / past / future verbs, connectives and reasons why. These are the foundations of stronger answers. Multiple-choice quizzes, sorting tasks such as Thinking Quilts, and even a good game of bingo can work brilliantly here. 
3. Practise exam tasks with support first. As teachers, we want to believe students can remember everything from the last two years. In reality, scaffolding before expecting independence not only reduces stress and anxiety, but reinforces what a strong answer looks like. Try model answers, sentence starters, paired practice and timed repeats. Confidence grows when students experience success first. 
4. Use fast-paced follow-on conversation practice. Working against the clock is always a great motivator. One-minute speaking rounds work brilliantly: ask a question, give one minute to answer, then rotate partners. Speed-dating and hot-seating are excellent ways to run this. High repetition helps students improve quickly and reduces panic when the real exam arrives.  

What really matters?  

• Don’t overload with vocab lists.  
• Prioritise speaking time over written tasks.  
• Drill routines they can rely on in the exam.  
• Keep the atmosphere supportive and fast-paced.  
• Confidence often grows from successful repetition.