This planner gives you an original French prompt, a timer for preparation and speaking, a notes box, an optional recording and a self-check. It is designed for learner-controlled rehearsal, so you decide how to practise and how to judge it.
It supports speaking preparation and interaction in IGCSE French (Foreign Language 0520).
How do I use the planner?
- Choose a topic. Options include my family, my neighbourhood, free time, school life, holidays, food, sport and health, and technology.
- Choose a communication purpose: describe, give and justify an opinion, talk about the past, or talk about the future.
- Set preparation time and speaking time (30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds each) and press Give me a prompt.
- Read the French question and the sentence starters. Jot a plan in the notes box. Short notes usually work better than a full script.
- Start the preparation timer, then the speaking timer, and answer aloud.
- Optionally record yourself, listen back, then tick the self-check. Press Download agenda to save the plan.
How do I read the result?
There is no score. The prompt and sentence starters are in French. The timer shows seconds left and tells you when time is up.
The self-check has five questions: could an unfamiliar listener understand you (intelligibility), did you answer what was asked (relevance), did you refer clearly to past, present and future where the task asks (time reference), did you give a reason or example, and did you pause in French instead of switching to English. Tick what you honestly did, and choose one thing to fix.
Worked example
Choose Free time and Talk about the past, with 60 seconds to prepare and 60 to speak. The prompt is:
Qu’as-tu fait samedi dernier ?
The sentence starters are “Hier / L’année dernière, j’ai… (passé composé)” and “C’était… (imparfait pour décrire)”.
In the notes box you write only keywords: football, amis, grand-mère, fatigant. After the preparation timer, you speak:
Samedi dernier, j’ai joué au football avec mes amis le matin. Ensuite, j’ai mangé chez ma grand-mère. C’était fatigant, mais c’était très amusant parce que mon équipe a gagné.
Now run the self-check. The answer used the past (j’ai joué, j’ai mangé) and described with the imparfait (c’était). It gave a reason with parce que. To practise time reference further, repeat once and add a short future sentence, such as Samedi prochain, je vais jouer encore.
What is the usual mistake?
The usual mistake is to read a written paragraph aloud. It sounds flat, and you cannot respond if a follow-up question comes. Keep notes short, and practise saying the same idea two different ways.
Another mistake is to rush past the prompt. Underline the time frame first: samedi dernier is past, l’année prochaine is future.
Assumptions and limits
The prompts are original and short, and they do not copy any exam paper. Exact speaking-test rules, such as the format, timing and preparation, depend on your exam year and syllabus, so check the current Cambridge IGCSE French syllabus page (linked under sources) and ask your exam centre. The recording is optional, stays on your device and can be deleted.
Which lessons explain this?
For the approach, read speaking preparation and interaction. To get past-tense answers right, see past and future meaning. The French revision guide and assessment guide show how speaking fits with the other skills, and the French terminology list helps with grammar words.
A teacher can rehearse real spoken exchanges with you one to one in IGCSE French tuition. More tools are on the tools page.