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Reading: Comprehension Skills

FoundationHigherAQA

Practise Reading: Comprehension Skills for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Reading tasks test identifying the overall message, key points, details and opinions.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Reading comprehension rewards a systematic approach far more than a large vocabulary, because the strategy determines what you extract from the text.

Read the questions before the text. This tells you what to look for and stops you reading everything with equal attention. Then scan for the specific information each question needs.

When an unknown word appears, use context and word structure. A word ending in -tion is a feminine noun; one ending in -able is an adjective; a familiar prefix like in- reverses the meaning. Beware faux amis — words that look English but mean something else. Sensible means sensitive, not sensible, and librairie means bookshop, not library.

Revision notes

Read the questions first

This tells you what information to look for before you start reading.

Without it you read everything with equal attention and waste time on parts the questions never touch. Scanning for specific information is faster and more reliable.

Decoding unknown words

Use context and word structure.

A word ending in -tion is a feminine noun. One ending in -able is an adjective. A prefix such as in- reverses the meaning. Often the grammar alone is enough to answer the question.

Faux amis

Words that look English but mean something else.

Sensible means sensitive. Librairie means bookshop, not library. Actuellement means currently, not actually. Assister à means to attend, not to assist.

Key points

  • Read the questions before the text.
  • This tells you what to look for.
  • Scan for specific information.
  • Use word structure to decode unknowns.
  • Faux amis look English but differ in meaning.
  • Librairie means bookshop, not library.

Worked examples

Example 1

Explain why you should read the questions before the text. [2 marks]

Working

It tells you what specific information to look forstate the benefit
so you can scan for it rather than reading everything with equal attentionexplain why that helps

Example 2

State the meaning of the faux ami sensible. [2 marks]

Working

It means sensitivegive the meaning
not sensible, which is what an English reader would assumeexplain the trap

Example 3

Explain how word structure helps with an unknown word. [2 marks]

Working

An ending such as -tion or -able shows what kind of word it isstate what it reveals
so its grammatical role can be identified even when the meaning is unknownexplain the benefit

Common mistakes

  • Reading the text before the questions.

    Reading questions first directs your attention.

  • Assuming a French-looking English word means the same.

    Faux amis are deliberately tested.

  • Panicking at unknown words.

    Use structure and context to work them out.

  • Answering from memory of the topic.

    The answer must come from the text.

Exam tips

  • Always read the questions first.
  • Scan rather than reading everything closely.
  • Use suffixes and prefixes to decode.
  • Learn the common faux amis.

Key terms

Faux ami
A word that looks English but means something else.
Scanning
Searching for specific information.
Suffix
An ending revealing a word's grammatical role.
Context
Surrounding words that help decode an unknown one.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.