Introduction

The book I have always wanted to write has finally been written and about to come out. It is a very innovative book in that it embeds listening-to-learn in an input-to-output sequence which applies my PIRCO (Pre-listening, In-listening, Review, Consolidation, Output) sequence framework, in a bid to make the learning of the new gcse vocabulary occur organically and multimodally, i.e. through listening, reading and writing. Speaking tasks were not included because we are going to create a book exclusively devoted to it, which will complement this one.

Alongside the listening-to-learn sequences, teachers will also find comprehension tasks based on the new GCSE exam format. The icing on the cake for those who want to engage students in a bit of listening-to-test too.

Co-authored with Ronan Jezequel, this workbook is not a an EPI book, even though EPI aficionados will recognize quite a few EPI classics in it such as: Faulty transcript, Spot the intruder, Break the flow, Faulty Translation, Gapped translations, Spot the silent endings; Partial dictations; Jigsaw listening; One of three, etc.. It can be used by any language educators teaching towards the new GCSE or simply aiming to teach the most frequent 2000 words in the French language.

Why did we write it?

This listening workbook was created to address a major gap in the currently available instructional resources for the new GCSE (starting in 2026). While such resources include practice tasks similar to those expected in the exam papers, they exhibit several significant shortcomings:

• Lack of an explicit focus on vocabulary instruction through listening – Yet, success in listening comprehension primarily (70%) depends on vocabulary recognition. Most current textbooks fail to provide the 10-15 meaningful aural encounters necessary for the human brain to acquire new vocabulary.
• No deliberate focus on listening micro-skills – Listening fluency depends on the rapid execution of key micro-skills such as phonological processing, segmenting, lexical retrieval, morphological and syntactic processing, and meaning- and discourse-building.
• Lack of logically sequenced input-to-output activities – Aural activities should be part of a structured input-to-output continuum where receptive skills scaffold the development of speaking and writing.
• Insufficient pre-listening preparation – Students should be introduced to key vocabulary from the listening text beforehand, as research shows this significantly enhances comprehension and builds self-efficacy—an essential factor when transitioning from KS3 to KS4.
• No meaningful post-listening reflection – Reflection on comprehension difficulties and strategies to overcome them fosters metacognitive awareness, which research suggests improves listening performance.
• Lack of post-listening consolidation and output activities – Research indicates that post-listening tasks are crucial to ensuring vocabulary retention. Moreover, such activities mitigate the ’empty hands’ effect, a sense of frustration students often experience after completing listening comprehension tasks (Conti and Smith, 2019).
• Failure to integrate listening-to-learn with listening-to-test tasks – Learners who receive extensive listening-to-learn practice are far more likely to succeed in exam-style comprehension tasks.

This book directly addresses these issues by implementing two input-to-output PIRCO sequences per unit, covering five core topics. Each PIRCO sequence consists of:

• Pre-listening (2 pages) – A comprehensive vocabulary-building phase featuring 11-12 micro-reading and micro-listening tasks that introduce key vocabulary from the upcoming listening text.
• In-listening (1 page) – A selective listening phase with structured comprehension tasks, including 3-4 wh-questions, true/false/not mentioned activities, and content reordering exercises, typically preceded by a ‘word grab’ game.
• Review (½ page) – Students listen to the text while reading the transcript, identifying obstacles to comprehension. Teachers may follow up with strategy instruction to tackle these challenges.
• Consolidation (1½ pages) – Reinforcement of key vocabulary through aural and reading tasks.
• Output (1 page) – Retrieval of target vocabulary through translation and partial dictation exercises, essential for reinforcing lexical and syntactic patterns.

Each unit concludes with 2-3 pages of exam-style listening tasks, designed to assess students’ retention of language elements processed in the PIRCO phase.

What Themes Are Included in This Book?

This first volume, part of what we envision as a long series of listening books for the new GCSE, includes the following themes:

• Healthy Living
• Celebrity Culture
• Environment and Where People Live
• Customs, Festivals, and Celebrations
• Media and Technology

How Can Teachers Use This Book?

This book is not intended as a primary textbook but as a workbook designed for multimodal practice of GCSE vocabulary and patterns. It is ideally used at the end of a series of lessons on each theme. We recommend a three-lesson approach:

• Lesson 1: Pre-teaching
• Lesson 2: In-listening, Review, and Consolidation
• Lesson 3: Continued Consolidation and Output (Supplement written tasks with oral retrieval practice, role plays, photocard descriptions, and information-gap exercises.)
• Lesson 4: Exam-style assessment tasks

For Lesson 2, before the In-listening phase, teachers may introduce a reading comprehension task based on a text similar in content and structure to the listening passage. This primes students for subsequent listening tasks.

How Does This Book Complement Other Resources?

This workbook is the perfect companion to Smith and Conti’s A New French GCSE Workbook and Conti and Vinales’ A New Spanish GCSE Workbook. Additionally, subscribers to http://www.language-gym.com will soon have access to a range of interactive exercises aligned with this book, including:

• Vocabulary Workouts
• Listening Workouts
• Vocabulary and Listening Trainer
• Boxing and Audio-Boxing Games
• Rock Climbing and Sentence Trainer

Will there be a Spanish and a German version?

Yes. Dilan Vinales is already on it.