Major & Minor Errors In Gcse Mfl Languages

What counts as major and minor errors in GCSE MFL?

The specifications are vague on what counts as a major or minor error in GCSE Writing and Speaking, but in my experience and having compared a number of sources, including this one from the CCEA and this blogpost by a French teacher, alongside the AQA 2016 Specification and documents from the AQA new specification training, I am operating with the below definitions.

As the CCEA state on one of their guides, "The following supplementary information is neither prescri ptive nor exhaustive but provides some examples though these are dependent on contexts.'

Major errors:

A major error is one which seriously affects communication and seriously impedes

understanding. Major errors tend to be in verbs and tenses.

Examples of major errors:

major spelling mistake which renders a word unrecognisable

incorrect verb tense used

confusion with verb tenses e.g. conditional ending in a future context

incorrect syntax