Why is "Using the wrong word for 'in/to' a country (saying 'à France' or 'en Canada')" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: English uses one word ('in'/'to') for everywhere, so learners pick one French word and use it for all countries. How to avoid it: Use the gender rule: en + feminine (*en France*), au + masculine (*au Canada*), aux + plural (*aux États-Unis*). Reserve *à* for cities (*à Paris*). Learn each country with its gender. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing), accuracy

Why is "Not agreeing the nationality (writing 'elle est français' for a girl)" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: English nationalities never change, so learners forget the feminine -e or the plural -s. How to avoid it: Ask 'who am I describing?' first. Female singular → add -e (*française*); plural → add -s (*ils sont français*). Watch the doubled-consonant feminines: *italien → italienne*, *canadien → canadienne*. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)

Why is "Capitalising the language or adjective (writing 'je parle Français', 'je suis Anglais')" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: English capitalises nationalities and languages (English, French), so learners copy that habit. How to avoid it: In French, the adjective and the language are lower case (*je suis anglais*, *je parle français*). Only the noun for the people takes a capital (*les Anglais*, *les Français*). Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)

Why is "Using du/de la/des after a quantity word (writing 'beaucoup du pain')" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: Learners over-use the partitive (du, de la, des) and don't notice that quantity words override it. How to avoid it: After *beaucoup de*, *un peu de*, *trop de* and *assez de*, use plain **de** with no article: *beaucoup de pain*, *beaucoup de traditions*. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing), grammar

Why is "Giving an opinion with no reason (just 'j'aime la France')" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: Beginners run out of language and stop after the opinion, missing the marks for justification. How to avoid it: Always add *parce que* + a reason, and a connective for a second idea: *J'aime la France parce qu'elle est belle, et j'adore la cuisine.* Examiners reserve higher bands for justified opinions. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4

Why is "Getting the country gender wrong (treating le Mexique as feminine because it ends in -e)" a common mistake in Life in other countries and cultures?

Why it happens: The -e rule is reliable but has exceptions, and learners apply it mechanically. How to avoid it: Learn the -e = feminine rule but memorise the exception *le Mexique* (masculine). When unsure, recall the country with its article as a single chunk. Source: Cambridge 0520 Syllabus 2025-2027 — vocabulary list

Cambridge IGCSE French (0520)

Life in other countries and cultures

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Detailed Study Notes

Detailed notes on Topic Area 5 - The International World for Cambridge IGCSE French, covering key concepts, explanations, examples, and exam-focused revision points.

Life in other countries and cultures — Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 (2025-2027)

A beginner-friendly toolkit of French vocabulary, verbs and ready-made sentences for talking about countries, nationalities, the French-speaking world, customs, food and festivals. Build the cultural-awareness language that earns marks across all four 0520 papers.

At a glance

French is spoken in dozens of countries (la Francophonie) — France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Québec), and much of West and North Africa (Sénégal, Maroc, Côte d'Ivoire).
Countries have a gender: most ending in -e are feminine (la France, l'Italie), most others are masculine (le Canada, le Maroc). One key exception: le Mexique.
The little word for 'in/to' a country depends on gender: en + feminine (en France), au + masculine (au Canada), aux + plural (aux États-Unis).
Nationalities are adjectives and must agree: il est français (he is French) but elle est française (she is French — note the extra -e).
Nationalities lower-case (je suis anglais) but the language and the people can capitalise as nouns (les Français, le français = the French language).
Talk about customs and culture with simple verbs: on mange (people eat), on parle (people speak), on fête (people celebrate), il y a (there is/are).
Give opinions with reasons: J'aime la cuisine française parce qu'elle est délicieuse (I like French cooking because it's delicious).
Cultural awareness is rewarded across all four papers — knowing a few facts about the French-speaking world helps Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing alike.

What you’ll learn

Mapped to the Cambridge IGCSE 0520 syllabus (2025-2027).

Name common countries, continents and nationalities in French, with correct gender and adjective agreement.
Use en / au / aux correctly to say where someone lives or is going.
Recognise and describe the French-speaking world (la Francophonie) at a basic level.
Describe customs, food, festivals and daily life in another country using simple present-tense verbs and on.
Express and justify opinions about other cultures using opinion phrases, parce que and connectives.
Build reusable question and answer frames for the Speaking and Writing papers on the theme of other countries and cultures.
Show cultural awareness by comparing life in France or a Francophone country with your own.

Countries, continents and their genders

Every country has a gender in French, and it controls the small words around it.

In French, a country is a noun with a gender, just like table or livre. You cannot avoid this — the gender decides which article you use and, crucially, which little word means "to/in" that country.

The friendly rule of thumb: countries ending in a silent -e are usually feminine; almost all others are masculine.

French	Pronunciation	English	Gender
la France	la frahnss	France	feminine
l'Angleterre	lahn-gluh-TAIR	England	feminine
l'Italie	lee-ta-LEE	Italy	feminine
l'Espagne	less-PAN-yuh	Spain	feminine
l'Allemagne	lal-MAN-yuh	Germany	feminine
la Chine	la sheen	China	feminine
le Canada	luh ka-na-DA	Canada	masculine
le Maroc	luh ma-ROK	Morocco	masculine
le Sénégal	luh say-nay-GAL	Senegal	masculine
le Portugal	luh por-tew-GAL	Portugal	masculine
le Mexique	luh mek-SEEK	Mexico	masculine (exception!)
les États-Unis	lay-zay-ta-zü-NEE	the United States	masculine plural

Continents are nearly all feminine: l'Europe (Europe), l'Afrique (Africa), l'Asie (Asia), l'Amérique (America), l'Australie (Australia).

Worked mini-example. Why is it la France but le Canada? France ends in -e, so it is feminine → la. Canada ends in -a, not -e, so it is masculine → le. The one to memorise as an exception is le Mexique — it ends in -e but is still masculine.

Countries are nouns with a gender that you must learn.
Ending in -e → usually feminine (la France, l'Italie).
Other endings → usually masculine (le Canada, le Maroc).
Key exception: le Mexique (ends in -e but masculine).
Continents are almost all feminine (l'Europe, l'Afrique).

Saying where you live or go — en, au, aux

The word for 'in/to a country' changes with the country's gender and number.

Choosing the right word for "to / in" a country: en (feminine), au (masculine), aux (plural); cities use à.

To say you live in or are going to a country, French does not use one single word like English "in" or "to". It uses three, and the choice depends on the country's gender and number:

Word	Use it with	Example	English
en	feminine countries	J'habite en France.	I live in France.
au	masculine countries	Je vais au Canada.	I'm going to Canada.
aux	plural countries	Il habite aux États-Unis.	He lives in the United States.
à	cities (any)	Nous allons à Paris.	We're going to Paris.

Notice that en, au and aux cover both "in" and "to" — French does not distinguish them here. The same word works for living somewhere and travelling there.

Worked mini-example. Build "I live in England but I'm going to Senegal." England (l'Angleterre) is feminine → en Angleterre. Senegal (le Sénégal) is masculine → au Sénégal. Result: J'habite en Angleterre mais je vais au Sénégal. (zhah-BEET ahn ahn-gluh-TAIR meh zhuh veh oh say-nay-GAL).

en + feminine country (en France, en Italie).
au + masculine country (au Canada, au Maroc).
aux + plural country (aux États-Unis).
à + any city (à Paris, à Londres).
These words mean both 'in' and 'to' — no separate word needed.

Nationalities — adjectives that agree

A nationality describes a person, so it changes its ending for masculine, feminine and plural.

When you say someone "is French" or "is Spanish", the nationality word is an adjective, and French adjectives must agree with the person they describe. The basic pattern: add -e for feminine, add -s for plural.

Country	Masculine	Feminine	English
la France	français	française	French
l'Angleterre	anglais	anglaise	English
l'Espagne	espagnol	espagnole	Spanish
l'Italie	italien	italienne	Italian
l'Allemagne	allemand	allemande	German
le Canada	canadien	canadienne	Canadian
le Maroc	marocain	marocaine	Moroccan
la Chine	chinois	chinoise	Chinese

Pronunciation tip: the masculine often ends in a silent consonant, and the feminine -e "switches that consonant on". So français (frahn-SEH) sounds different from française (frahn-SEZ) — you can hear the 'z' in the feminine.

Three uses, three spellings (capital letters matter):

As an adjective, lower case: Elle est canadienne. (She is Canadian.)
As a noun for the person, capital: un Canadien, les Français (a Canadian, the French people).
As the language, lower case: Je parle français. (I speak French.)

Worked mini-example. "My mother is Italian and my parents are Spanish." Mother is feminine singular → italienne. Parents is plural → espagnols. Result: Ma mère est italienne et mes parents sont espagnols.

Nationalities are adjectives → they agree: add -e (feminine), -s (plural).
The feminine -e often makes a silent consonant sound (français → française).
Adjective = lower case (je suis anglais); person-noun = capital (les Anglais).
The language name is lower case (je parle français).
Some take a double consonant in the feminine (italien → italienne).

The French-speaking world (la Francophonie)

French is a global language spoken across Europe, Africa, the Americas and beyond.

La Francophonie — a mind-map of where French is spoken across four world regions.

French is not only spoken in France. La Francophonie (la frahn-ko-fo-NEE — the French-speaking world) covers roughly 300 million speakers across every inhabited continent. Knowing a little about this gives you ready-made content for Speaking and Writing.

French	Pronunciation	English
la Belgique	la bel-ZHEEK	Belgium
la Suisse	la swees	Switzerland
le Québec	luh kay-BEK	Quebec (Canada)
le Sénégal	luh say-nay-GAL	Senegal
la Côte d'Ivoire	la koht dee-VWAR	Ivory Coast
une langue	ün lahng	a language
une culture	ün kül-TÜR	a culture
un pays	uhn pay-EE	a country
le monde	luh mohnd	the world
à l'étranger	a lay-trahn-ZHAY	abroad

Useful sentence starters:

On parle français en France, en Belgique et au Sénégal. (People speak French in France, Belgium and Senegal.)
Le français est une langue mondiale. (French is a world language.)
J'aimerais visiter le Québec. (I would like to visit Quebec.)

Worked mini-example. To say "French is spoken in many countries", a simple, correct version is On parle français dans beaucoup de pays. Here on (one/people/we) plus a present-tense verb is the easiest way to express "is spoken" without needing the passive.

La Francophonie = the worldwide community of French speakers (~300 million).
French-speaking regions span Europe, Africa, the Americas and overseas territories.
Useful nouns: un pays (country), une langue (language), une culture (culture), le monde (world).
à l'étranger = abroad — a high-value phrase for the travel/culture theme.
Use on parle... to say 'people speak / is spoken' simply.

Customs, food and festivals

Describe daily life and culture with simple present-tense verbs and the word on.

To describe how people live in another country, the easiest tool is the pronoun on (people / one / we) with a present-tense verb, plus il y a (there is / there are).

Key verbs for describing culture:

French	Pronunciation	English
on mange	on mahnzh	people eat
on parle	on parl	people speak
on fête	on fet	people celebrate
on porte	on port	people wear
il y a	eel ya	there is / there are
on célèbre	on say-LEBR	people celebrate

Food and festivals vocabulary:

French	Pronunciation	English
la cuisine	la kwee-ZEEN	cooking / cuisine
un plat	uhn pla	a dish
une spécialité	ün spay-sya-lee-TAY	a speciality
une fête	ün fet	a festival / party
une tradition	ün tra-dee-SYON	a tradition
Noël	no-EL	Christmas
le Nouvel An	luh noo-vel ahn	New Year
délicieux / délicieuse	day-lee-SYUH / day-lee-SYUHZ	delicious

Model sentences you can adapt:

En France, on mange beaucoup de pain et de fromage. (In France, people eat a lot of bread and cheese.)
Au Maroc, le couscous est un plat traditionnel. (In Morocco, couscous is a traditional dish.)
Il y a beaucoup de fêtes en été. (There are lots of festivals in summer.)
Chez nous, on fête Noël en famille. (At home, we celebrate Christmas as a family.)

Worked mini-example. Build "In Italy, people eat a lot of pasta." Italy is feminine → en Italie. Use on mange (people eat) and beaucoup de (a lot of). Result: En Italie, on mange beaucoup de pâtes. (ahn ee-ta-LEE, on mahnzh bo-KOO duh paht).

Use on + present-tense verb to describe how people live (on mange, on parle).
il y a = there is / there are — perfect for listing what a place has.
Food/festival nouns: la cuisine, un plat, une fête, une tradition.
beaucoup de (a lot of) is followed by the noun with no article (beaucoup de pain).
chez nous / chez moi = at home / at my place — useful for comparing cultures.

Opinions, reasons and comparisons

Earn higher marks by giving an opinion, a reason and a comparison.

The single best way to lift your mark on this theme is to give an opinion and justify it. Examiners reward a clear opinion + parce que (because) + a reason, joined with connectives.

Opinion phrases:

French	Pronunciation	English
j'aime	zhem	I like
j'adore	zha-DOR	I love
je préfère	zhuh pray-FAIR	I prefer
je n'aime pas	zhuh nem pa	I don't like
à mon avis	a mon-na-VEE	in my opinion
je pense que	zhuh pahnss kuh	I think that

Connectives to glue ideas together:

French	English
parce que	because
mais	but
et	and
aussi	also / too
par exemple	for example
par contre	on the other hand

Simple comparisons use plus... que (more... than) and moins... que (less... than):

La cuisine française est plus variée que la cuisine anglaise. (French cooking is more varied than English cooking.)
Il fait plus chaud au Maroc qu'en France. (It is hotter in Morocco than in France.)

Model opinion (memorise the pattern): À mon avis, la culture française est intéressante parce qu'il y a beaucoup de traditions. Par exemple, on mange du pain frais tous les jours. (In my opinion, French culture is interesting because there are lots of traditions. For example, people eat fresh bread every day.)

Worked mini-example. Turn a flat statement into a top-marks one. Flat: J'aime la cuisine italienne. Upgraded: J'aime la cuisine italienne parce qu'elle est délicieuse, et je préfère les pâtes au couscous. (I like Italian cooking because it's delicious, and I prefer pasta to couscous.) You've added a reason, a connective and a comparison.

Opinion + parce que + reason is the core high-mark structure.
Stock opinion phrases: j'aime, je préfère, à mon avis, je pense que.
Connectives lift fluency: mais, aussi, par exemple, par contre.
Compare with plus... que (more than) and moins... que (less than).
Note the elision: parce que + elle → parce qu'elle.

Reusable question and answer frames

Learn a handful of question-answer pairs you can recycle in Speaking and Writing.

For the Speaking conversation and the Writing tasks, it pays to walk in with ready-made frames you can fill with your own details. Learn the question so you recognise it, and the answer so you can produce it.

Question (French)	English	Model answer
Tu habites où ?	Where do you live?	J'habite en Angleterre, à Londres. (I live in England, in London.)
Quelle est ta nationalité ?	What is your nationality?	Je suis anglais(e). (I am English.)
Quels pays as-tu visités ?	Which countries have you visited?	J'ai visité la France et l'Espagne. (I have visited France and Spain.)
Quel pays voudrais-tu visiter ?	Which country would you like to visit?	J'aimerais visiter le Canada. (I'd like to visit Canada.)
Quelle culture t'intéresse ?	Which culture interests you?	La culture marocaine m'intéresse beaucoup. (Moroccan culture interests me a lot.)
Pourquoi ?	Why?	Parce que j'adore la cuisine et les traditions. (Because I love the food and traditions.)

Two ready paragraphs (adapt the underlined-style details to yourself):

Je suis anglaise et j'habite en Angleterre. J'ai visité la France l'année dernière, et c'était fantastique. J'aimerais aussi visiter le Sénégal parce que je voudrais découvrir une autre culture. (I'm English and I live in England. I visited France last year, and it was fantastic. I'd also like to visit Senegal because I'd like to discover another culture.)
À mon avis, c'est important de connaître d'autres cultures. Par exemple, en France on mange différemment et on a beaucoup de fêtes traditionnelles. (In my opinion, it's important to know other cultures. For example, in France people eat differently and there are lots of traditional festivals.)

Worked mini-example. The examiner asks Quel pays voudrais-tu visiter et pourquoi ? A strong, simple answer: J'aimerais visiter le Canada parce que j'aime la nature et on y parle français. (I'd like to visit Canada because I like nature and people speak French there.) Notice y = "there", a neat little word that avoids repeating the country.

Learn each question both to recognise it (Listening/Reading) and answer it (Speaking/Writing).
Tu habites où ? → J'habite en/au... à [city].
Quelle est ta nationalité ? → Je suis [nationality, agreeing].
Quel pays voudrais-tu visiter ? → J'aimerais visiter [country].
Always be ready for the follow-up Pourquoi ? with parce que + reason.

Quick recap

Countries have a gender: -e usually feminine (la France), others usually masculine (le Canada); le Mexique is the key exception.
Say 'in/to' a country with en (feminine), au (masculine), aux (plural); cities use à.
Nationalities are adjectives and must agree: add -e (feminine), -s (plural); français → française.
Capitals matter: adjective lower case (je suis anglais), person-noun capital (les Anglais), language lower case (le français).
La Francophonie spans Europe, Africa, the Americas and overseas — use on parle français to talk about it.
Describe culture with on mange / on parle / on fête and il y a; after beaucoup de use plain de.
Earn marks with opinion + parce que + reason, connectives (mais, aussi, par exemple) and comparisons (plus... que).

Memorise this

Verbatim phrases and definitions Cambridge mark schemes credit.

en France / au Canada / aux États-Unis / à Paris.
le Mexique — masculine despite ending in -e.
français → française; italien → italienne; canadien → canadienne.
Je suis anglais(e). — I am English (add -e if female).
J'habite en Angleterre. — I live in England.
On parle français en France, en Belgique et au Sénégal.
il y a — there is / there are.
beaucoup de pain (not du pain) — a lot of bread.
À mon avis... parce que... — In my opinion... because...
J'aimerais visiter le Canada. — I'd like to visit Canada.
Quelle est ta nationalité ? — What is your nationality?

How it’s examined

The theme of other countries and cultures appears across all four 0520 papers.

Paper 1 (Listening): Texts mention countries, nationalities and travel. You must hear en/au/aux and recognise nationalities (française vs français), plus catch cultural detail (festivals, food, where someone is from).
Paper 2 (Reading): Passages about life abroad, travel and Francophone countries. Country and nationality vocabulary, plus cognates (la culture, la tradition, la spécialité), unlock the meaning.
Paper 3 (Speaking): The conversation regularly covers where you live, your nationality, countries you've visited or would like to visit, and other cultures. Have opinion-plus-reason answers ready (J'aimerais visiter... parce que...).
Paper 4 (Writing): Tasks ask you to describe a trip, compare cultures, or give opinions about other countries. Accurate gender (en/au/aux), nationality agreement and a justified opinion all earn marks; missing the feminine -e on a nationality or using du after beaucoup are common accuracy losses.

Examiner reports note that candidates score well when they include a justified opinion and a small accurate cultural detail, and lose marks through agreement errors on nationalities and wrong prepositions (en/au/aux) for countries.

Sources: Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 Syllabus 2025-2027; Cambridge 0520 Paper 3 (Speaking) & Paper 4 (Writing) Specimen 2025-2027; Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports 2022-2024. Last reviewed 2026-06-02.

Take this whole topic with you

Step-by-step worked examples — Life in other countries and cultures

Step-by-step solutions to past-paper-style questions on life in other countries and cultures, written exactly the way a tutor would explain them at the board.

1Choose en, au or aux for a country
Getting started
Question
Complete with en, au or aux: J'habite ___ France, mon cousin habite ___ Canada, et ma tante habite ___ États-Unis. (I live in France, my cousin lives in Canada, and my aunt lives in the United States.)
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  France ends in -e and is feminine → use en: en France.
2. Step 2
  Canada does not end in -e and is masculine → use au: au Canada.
3. Step 3
  États-Unis is plural → use aux: aux États-Unis.
Answer
J'habite en France, mon cousin habite au Canada, et ma tante habite aux États-Unis.
Examiner tip
Prepositions with countries are tested every series. The rule is purely gender/number: en (feminine), au (masculine), aux (plural). Learn each country with its gender so the preposition is automatic.
2Make the nationality agree
Getting started
Question
Make the nationality agree: Mon père est espagnol. Et ma mère ? Elle est ___. (My father is Spanish. And my mother? She is ___.)
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Identify who is described. Ma mère (my mother) is feminine singular.
2. Step 2
  Take the masculine form espagnol and apply the feminine rule: add -e.
3. Step 3
  Result: espagnole. (The added -e is silent here, but it must be written.)
Answer
Elle est espagnole. (She is Spanish — feminine, with the -e.)
Examiner tip
Agreement on nationalities is a frequent Paper 4 accuracy point. For a female subject you must add -e (espagnole, française, anglaise); some take a doubled consonant (italien → italienne, canadien → canadienne).
3Describe a custom using on + present tense
Building confidence
Question
Translate into French: 'In Morocco, people eat a lot of couscous and there are many traditional festivals.'
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  'In Morocco' — Maroc is masculine → au Maroc.
2. Step 2
  'people eat' — use on mange. 'a lot of couscous' — after beaucoup de use plain de: beaucoup de couscous.
3. Step 3
  'there are' — il y a. 'many traditional festivals' — beaucoup de fêtes traditionnelles (note fêtes is feminine plural, so the adjective adds -s: traditionnelles).
Answer
Au Maroc, on mange beaucoup de couscous et il y a beaucoup de fêtes traditionnelles.
Examiner tip
This sentence packs in three high-value structures: the preposition au, the pronoun on for general statements, and il y a. Watch the adjective agreement on traditionnelles (feminine plural) and the plain de after beaucoup.
4Build a justified opinion with a connective
Building confidence
Question
Upgrade this flat sentence into a top-marks answer: J'aime la cuisine française. (I like French cooking.) Add an opinion phrase, a reason and a connective.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Add an opinion frame. Start with À mon avis (in my opinion) to signal an opinion clearly.
2. Step 2
  Add a reason with parce que. Before elle, parce que elides to parce qu'elle: parce qu'elle est délicieuse (because it is delicious — cuisine is feminine, so délicieuse).
3. Step 3
  Add a connective + extra idea. Use et (and) plus a comparison or example: et je préfère le fromage français. (and I prefer French cheese.)
Answer
À mon avis, j'aime la cuisine française parce qu'elle est délicieuse, et je préfère le fromage français.
Examiner tip
Opinion + parce que + reason is the structure examiners reward most on this theme. Note the elision parce qu'elle and the feminine agreement délicieuse (because la cuisine is feminine).
5Write a short paragraph about another culture
Stretch
Question
Write 3-4 sentences answering: Quel pays voudrais-tu visiter et pourquoi ? (Which country would you like to visit and why?) Use a 'would like', a reason and a cultural detail.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Open with the conditional chunk J'aimerais visiter... (I would like to visit...) + the country with the correct word: le Sénégal is masculine, but after visiter you use the article directly (visiter le Sénégal).
2. Step 2
  Give a reason with parce que: parce que je voudrais découvrir une autre culture (because I'd like to discover another culture).
3. Step 3
  Add a cultural detail with on + present: Au Sénégal, on parle français et on mange des plats délicieux. (In Senegal, people speak French and eat delicious dishes.)
4. Step 4
  Close with an opinion to round it off: À mon avis, c'est important de connaître d'autres cultures. (In my opinion, it's important to know other cultures.)
Answer
J'aimerais visiter le Sénégal parce que je voudrais découvrir une autre culture. Au Sénégal, on parle français et on mange des plats délicieux. À mon avis, c'est important de connaître d'autres cultures.
Examiner tip
This answer shows range: the conditional j'aimerais/je voudrais (a second 'tense'), the connective parce que, the general on, and a justified opinion. That combination reaches the top band on the Writing mark scheme for this theme.

Model Answers — Life in other countries and cultures

High-scoring sample answers for life in other countries and cultures on the Cambridge IGCSE 0520 paper, with examiner-style notes mapping each response to the mark scheme and assessment objectives.

Question 1
Paper 3 (Speaking) style. The examiner asks: Où habites-tu et quelle est ta nationalité ? (Where do you live and what is your nationality?) Give a model answer for an English girl living in London.
Model answer
J'habite en Angleterre, à Londres. (I live in England, in London.) Je suis anglaise. (I am English — feminine, with the -e.)

J'aime habiter ici, mais j'aimerais aussi vivre à l'étranger un jour. (I like living here, but I'd also like to live abroad one day.)
Why this scores
Why this scores. It uses en correctly with the feminine Angleterre, à with the city Londres, and the agreeing feminine nationality anglaise. The final sentence adds a conditional (j'aimerais) and the high-value phrase à l'étranger (abroad), showing range beyond a one-line reply.
Question 2
Paper 4 (Writing) style. Décris une culture qui t'intéresse et explique pourquoi. (Describe a culture that interests you and explain why.) Give a short model answer.
Model answer
La culture marocaine m'intéresse beaucoup. (Moroccan culture interests me a lot.)

Au Maroc, on mange des plats délicieux comme le couscous, et il y a beaucoup de traditions. (In Morocco, people eat delicious dishes like couscous, and there are lots of traditions.)

À mon avis, c'est intéressant parce que c'est différent de mon pays. (In my opinion, it's interesting because it's different from my country.)
Why this scores
Why this scores. It combines the preposition au, on + present, il y a, a connective (comme), and a justified opinion (parce que). The agreement is accurate throughout (marocaine, délicieux), and the small concrete detail (couscous) shows genuine cultural awareness, which examiners reward.
Question 3
Paper 3 (Speaking) style. Quels pays as-tu visités ? (Which countries have you visited?) Give a model answer using the perfect tense.
Model answer
J'ai visité la France et l'Espagne l'année dernière. (I visited France and Spain last year.)

C'était fantastique parce que j'adore la cuisine et les gens étaient sympas. (It was fantastic because I love the food and the people were friendly.)

J'aimerais retourner en France un jour. (I'd like to go back to France one day.)
Why this scores
Why this scores. It shows three time frames — perfect (j'ai visité), imperfect (c'était, étaient) and conditional (j'aimerais) — which is exactly the grammatical range the top band requires. The justified opinion (parce que) and the natural un jour (one day) round it off.

Key Definitions and Keywords — Life in other countries and cultures

Definitions to memorise and the exact keywords mark schemes credit for life in other countries and cultures answers — sharpened from recent examiner reports for the 2026 0520 sitting.

en / au / aux
Examiner keyword
The words for 'in / to' a country: en + feminine, au + masculine, aux + plural. (Cities use à.)
Example
en France, au Canada, aux États-Unis, à Paris.
un pays
Examiner keyword
A country. Masculine noun; the final s is silent and stays the same in the plural.
Example
Quel pays voudrais-tu visiter ? — Which country would you like to visit?
la nationalité
Examiner keyword
Nationality. The nationality word is an adjective and must agree: add -e (feminine), -s (plural).
Example
Je suis anglais (male) / Je suis anglaise (female).
français / française
Examiner keyword
French. Lower case as an adjective or language (je parle français); capital as the people (les Français).
Example
Il est français / Elle est française / le français (the French language).
la Francophonie
Examiner keyword
The worldwide community of French speakers, spanning Europe, Africa, the Americas and overseas territories.
Example
On parle français dans beaucoup de pays de la Francophonie.
on
Examiner keyword
An everyday pronoun meaning 'people / one / we'. Takes the same verb form as 'he/she' and is the easy way to make general statements.
Example
En France, on mange beaucoup de pain. — In France, people eat a lot of bread.
il y a
A fixed phrase meaning 'there is' or 'there are'. Used to say what a place or culture has.
Example
Il y a beaucoup de fêtes en été. — There are lots of festivals in summer.
à l'étranger
Abroad / overseas. A high-frequency phrase for the travel-and-cultures theme.
Example
J'aimerais vivre à l'étranger. — I'd like to live abroad.
parce que
Examiner keyword
'Because' — the connective that turns a plain opinion into a justified one. Elides to parce qu' before a vowel.
Example
J'aime la France parce qu'elle est belle. — I like France because it's beautiful.
la culture / la tradition
Culture / tradition — useful, near-cognate nouns for describing life in another country.
Example
Il y a beaucoup de traditions au Maroc. — There are lots of traditions in Morocco.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions — Life in other countries and cultures

The traps other students keep falling into on life in other countries and cultures questions — taken from recent Cambridge IGCSE 0520 examiner reports and mark schemes — and how to avoid them.

✕Using the wrong word for 'in/to' a country (saying 'à France' or 'en Canada')
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing), accuracy
Why it happens
English uses one word ('in'/'to') for everywhere, so learners pick one French word and use it for all countries.
How to avoid it
Use the gender rule: en + feminine (en France), au + masculine (au Canada), aux + plural (aux États-Unis). Reserve à for cities (à Paris). Learn each country with its gender.
✕Not agreeing the nationality (writing 'elle est français' for a girl)
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)
Why it happens
English nationalities never change, so learners forget the feminine -e or the plural -s.
How to avoid it
Ask 'who am I describing?' first. Female singular → add -e (française); plural → add -s (ils sont français). Watch the doubled-consonant feminines: italien → italienne, canadien → canadienne.
✕Capitalising the language or adjective (writing 'je parle Français', 'je suis Anglais')
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)
Why it happens
English capitalises nationalities and languages (English, French), so learners copy that habit.
How to avoid it
In French, the adjective and the language are lower case (je suis anglais, je parle français). Only the noun for the people takes a capital (les Anglais, les Français).
✕Using du/de la/des after a quantity word (writing 'beaucoup du pain')
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing), grammar
Why it happens
Learners over-use the partitive (du, de la, des) and don't notice that quantity words override it.
How to avoid it
After beaucoup de, un peu de, trop de and assez de, use plain de with no article: beaucoup de pain, beaucoup de traditions.
✕Giving an opinion with no reason (just 'j'aime la France')
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4
Why it happens
Beginners run out of language and stop after the opinion, missing the marks for justification.
How to avoid it
Always add parce que + a reason, and a connective for a second idea: J'aime la France parce qu'elle est belle, et j'adore la cuisine. Examiners reserve higher bands for justified opinions.
✕Getting the country gender wrong (treating le Mexique as feminine because it ends in -e)
Cambridge 0520 Syllabus 2025-2027 — vocabulary list
Why it happens
The -e rule is reliable but has exceptions, and learners apply it mechanically.
How to avoid it
Learn the -e = feminine rule but memorise the exception le Mexique (masculine). When unsure, recall the country with its article as a single chunk.

Life in other countries and cultures

Detailed Study Notes

At a glance

What you’ll learn

Quick recap

Memorise this

How it’s examined

Take this whole topic with you

1Choose en, au or aux for a country

2Make the nationality agree

3Describe a custom using on + present tense

4Build a justified opinion with a connective

5Write a short paragraph about another culture

en / au / aux

un pays

la nationalité

français / française

la Francophonie

on

il y a

à l'étranger

parce que

la culture / la tradition

✕Using the wrong word for 'in/to' a country (saying 'à France' or 'en Canada')

✕Not agreeing the nationality (writing 'elle est français' for a girl)

✕Capitalising the language or adjective (writing 'je parle Français', 'je suis Anglais')

✕Using du/de la/des after a quantity word (writing 'beaucoup du pain')

✕Giving an opinion with no reason (just 'j'aime la France')

✕Getting the country gender wrong (treating le Mexique as feminine because it ends in -e)