Poland in the UK

Paper 1: Listening at the foundation tier tests understanding and responding to different types of spoken language. The exam lasts 35 minutes (during this time, candidates have five minutes to read the exam sheet before the recording is played). There are 40 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam. The foundation tier listening exam sheet consists of two sections: A and B:

• Section A contains questions in English and requires an answer in English or non-verbal.
• Section B contains questions in Polish and requires answers in Polish or non-verbal.

A sample listening exam sheet can be found here.

The recording for the sample exam sheet can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam sheet can be found here.

Paper 2: Speaking at the foundation tier tests communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes. The exam consists of two main parts: a twelve-minute preparation time and a recorded oral exam consisting of three components: a role-play (up to two minutes), a picture [photo card] description (up to two minutes), and a general conversation on two of three themes that is three to five minutes long. The candidate chooses one theme for the general interview.

The recorded part of the exam usually lasts between 7 and 9 minutes.

There are 60 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam.

A sample speaking paper can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample speaking exam paper can be found here.

Paper 3: Reading at the foundation tier tests understanding and responding to different types of written language. The exam lasts 45 minutes. There are 60 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam. The paper consists of three sections: A, B, and C:

• Section A contains questions in English and requires an answer in English or non-verbal.
• Section B contains questions in Polish and requires answers in Polish or non-verbal.
• Section C contains a translation from Polish to English (for a minimum of 35 words)

A sample reading exam paper can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam paper can be found here.

Paper 4: Writing at the foundation tier tests communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes. The exam lasts one hour. There are 50 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam.

The paper, at the foundation tier, consists of four tasks:

• The first task is to describe the picture/photo in four sentences. The visual material is presented in black and white. This task allows you to earn eight marks for communication, two marks per sentence if the relevant message is clearly expressed in Polish (e.g., The family is eating a meal.).
• The second task requires writing a short speech (blog, letter, etc.) of about 40 words on a topic. In their statement, the candidates should refer to the four sub-points in the instruction.
• The third task is translating five sentences (at least 35 words) from English into Polish. The ability to convey information in Polish with appropriate grammatical and lexical structures is tested. You can get 5 marks for providing the main information. Another 5 marks can be obtained for grammatical and lexical correctness.
• The last task is guided writing, which is supposed to result in an essay of about 90 words. Candidates choose one topic from two options.

A sample writing paper can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam sheet can be found here.

Paper 1: Listening tests understanding and responding to different types of spoken language. The exam lasts 45 minutes (during this time, candidates have five minutes to read the exam sheet before the recording is played). There are 50 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam. The paper consists of two sections: A and B:

• Section A contains questions in English and requires an answer in English or non-verbal.
• Section B contains questions in Polish and requires answers in Polish or non-verbal.

A sample listening exam sheet can be found here.

The recording for the sample exam sheet can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam sheet can be found here

Paper 2: Speaking tests communication and effective oral interactions in various communication situations.

The exam consists of two main parts – a twelve-minute preparation time and a recorded oral exam consisting of three components – a role-play (up to two minutes), a picture description (up to three minutes), and a general conversation on two of three themes of five to seven minutes.  The candidate chooses one theme for the general interview. The recorded part of the exam usually lasts between 10 and 12 minutes. There are 60 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam.

Sample speaking exam papers can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample speaking exam paper can be found here.

Paper 3: Reading at the higher tier tests understanding and responding to different types of written language. The exam lasts one hour. There are 60 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam. The reading paper consists of three sections: A, B, and C:

• Section A contains questions in English and requires an answer in English or non-verbal.
• Section B contains questions in Polish and requires answers in Polish or non-verbal.
• Section C contains a translation task from Polish to English (for a minimum of 50 words) 

A sample reading exam paper can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam paper can be found here.

Paper 4: Writing at the higher tier tests communication and effective interaction in writing in various communication situations. The exam lasts one hour and 15 minutes. There are 60 marks to be earned from this part of the exam, which is 25% of the entire GCSE exam. The exam at the higher tier consists of three tasks:

• It begins with guided writing, which is supposed to result in an essay of about 90 words. Candidates choose one topic from two options.
• The second task is to write a longer essay in Polish on one of the two topics on one of the sub-topics of the themes, in Polish, for about 150 words.

The last task is translating a text of at least 50 words from English into Polish. The translation task earns points in two categories: transferring relevant information and applying relevant grammatical and lexical knowledge.

A sample writing paper can be found here.

The mark scheme for the sample exam sheet can be found here.