Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91121 about?

Accepted Answer

This is an external exam (sat in the NCEA exam period, marked by NZQA) worth 5 credits. Students read and look at a variety of French texts — things like articles, letters, blog posts, advertisements, or interviews — and answer questions in English, Māori, or French to show they understand what the texts mean. The texts are about everyday topics like relationships, environment, school, or culture. The 2025 exam included texts about cats threatening New Zealand wildlife, a letter between pen pals organising a visit, and an interview with two Tahitian sisters who studied in New Zealand.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91121?

Accepted Answer

1. Read several written or visual French texts (e.g. articles, letters, interviews, posters) during the end-of-year external exam 2. Answer questions about what the texts say — their main ideas, details, and implied meanings 3. Respond in English, Te Reo Māori, or French — your choice 4. Show you understand not just the surface meaning but also what the author is suggesting or implying 5. Support your answers with specific evidence from the texts rather than your own opinions or prior knowledge

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91121?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You get the gist of each text and can pick out some correct information. Your answers may be short or a bit vague, and you might misread some vocabulary or numbers, but you show a basic understanding of what each text is about. Merit: You clearly understand each text and can pick out the right details to answer each question. You attempt to draw links and conclusions from the text. You may still miss a few key details or misunderstand the odd word or phrase, but your answers are well-supported and unambiguous. Excellence: You show thorough understanding of the full text — including tricky vocabulary, implied meanings, and conclusions the author is pointing toward. Your answers are clear, well-organised, and backed up with precise evidence from the text. You can correctly interpret 'false friends' (words that look like English but mean something different) and draw logical inferences that go beyond just repeating what the text says.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91121?

Accepted Answer

1. Adding personal opinions, prior knowledge, or stories from your own life — these do not count as evidence of understanding the text and often make answers go off track 2. Misreading numbers (e.g. confusing 200,000 with 2,000,000 or 20,000) — examiners flagged this in both 2024 and 2025; doing a quick common-sense check helps 3. Misunderstanding 'false friends' — French words that look English but mean something different (e.g. 'sensible' means sensitive, not sensible; 'se passer' means to happen, not to pass) 4. Just repeating or translating chunks of the French text without actually answering the question — copying the text back does not show understanding 5. Writing long, repetitive answers that keep restating the same point instead of adding new supported detail 6. Missing important details by not reading the whole text carefully before answering each part of a question

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