Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

FRENCH ORAL

  • 13-03-2009 7:17am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 52 ✭✭


    Any good vocab, conversational fillers and stuff that would be nice to learn for higher level?

    What are you guys studying?

    I'm learning all chapters in my Oral Book, intense vocab on topics such as food, clothes, weather, sports and stuff. And, revising verbs as well as preparing vocab on my document (A holiday picture- we had a hurricane) and vocab on topics such as racism, pollution, obesity, manners, celeb culture, and so on.


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭MeetReality


    Ya the usual stuff family,hobbies,school,job,summer. I would pay a lot of attention to my verbs as they do like to test all the tenses....conditional is very popular (easy though). Also make sure when you bring up a topic that you can discuss it thoroughly.. A few people in my class mentioned unemployment as a problem in Ireland during the mock oral and then were asked about the recession and didn't have a clue.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 357 ✭✭djcervi


    I'm studying pretty much the usual topics. I'm also preparing Paddys day and our Rugby match. Also I'm trying to put a bit of subjunctive into my oral.

    Par exemple: Mes parents veulent que je fasse de mon mieux- My parents want me to do my best.

    Il faut que j'obtienne... points- I need to obtain ... points.

    I'm trying to organise a few mock orals, just to deal with my nerves, with my french teacher.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    is this amount enough to know: family, area, school, future, pastimes, sport, job, holidays, daily life, travel, health and education system, recession, drugs, alcohol, crime, road accidents.
    Is there any other big topics we should be covering? Were really rushing everything cos my french teacher is pregnant and will be leaving straight after the orals...so hoping we havnt left anything big out :confused:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭MeetReality


    Ya that's basically everything you need to know and you wont need the hald of it, the recession will only be asked if you bring it up...just revise the conditional for stuff like what would you do if you were principal, minister for education, if you won the lotto.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Ya that's basically everything you need to know and you wont need the hald of it, the recession will only be asked if you bring it up...just revise the conditional for stuff like what would you do if you were principal, minister for education, if you won the lotto.

    Isn't that the "mochonilach" in Irish?

    *fonetical Spelling.
    **isn't it ironic that "phonetical" isn't spelled phonetically


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    The Módh Coinníolach, I think that's right, is the Irish conditional tense yes.
    *fonetical Spelling.
    **isn't it ironic that "phonetical" isn't spelled phonetically

    It's not really ironic because the majority of 'ph's have an f sound anyway so it's essentially pronounced as it's written.
    Also, phonetical is not a word, just phonetic.
    There's a science teacher in my school who keeps saying 'hydrochlorical acid', really gets on my nerves. She also misspelt vagina so it's to be expected I suppose.
    crime, road accidents.

    We haven't done anything of that sort for the oral. :(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭MeetReality


    You will only be asked about topics like crime and road accidents if YOU mention them.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    Heggy wrote: »
    We haven't done anything of that sort for the oral. :(

    We only did crime in relation to social problems in the area...but most people choose to talk about drugs instead. Then we did road accidents in relation to the bad effects of people taking drugs and alcohol...so youd really have to be the one to bring it up in the first place

    We havnt done any conditional in french, only in irish...:confused:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    We havnt done any conditional in french, only in irish

    Well, if you can stick to the first person singular, it sounds identical to the future tense.
    The endings aren't that hard for the rest though, future stem + imparfait endings, no exceptions.

    If you haven't done the conditional, what are the chances you've done the subjunctive?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭bythewoods


    The book "Shortcuts to Success- The French Oral" is realllllllllllly good.

    Covers LOADS and has all the phonetics written in, and the english translation. It's a complete and utter lifesaver.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    Heggy wrote: »
    Well, if you can stick to the first person singular, it sounds identical to the future tense.
    The endings aren't that hard for the rest though, future stem + imparfait endings, no exceptions.

    If you haven't done the conditional, what are the chances you've done the subjunctive?

    Weve done the conditional but not as part of the oral...like we havnt prepared anything on if i won the lotto, that sorta stuff.
    Ya weve done subjunctive!! Il faut que je fasse les economises pour aller a la fac, il faut que j'obtienne...points....:)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭bythewoods


    It's important to get the subjunctive in at least once. The easiest being:

    Il faut que j'aie ___ points.
    (aie is pronounced "eye")


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 243 ✭✭Kournikova


    I used all nessecary tenses in the Mock Oral, I used the subjuncive twice and still only got 45 out of 100 :(:(.

    The first question I was asked was about the economy and what would I do if I was the Taoiseach :(.

    For conditional I always use Je Voudrais cause you can kinda say anything for that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭Fad


    Kournikova wrote: »
    I used all nessecary tenses in the Mock Oral, I used the subjuncive twice and still only got 45 out of 100 :(:(.

    The first question I was asked was about the economy and what would I do if I was the Taoiseach :(.

    For conditional I always use Je Voudrais cause you can kinda say anything for that.


    You can use the subjunctive but have really awful basic grammar, like agreements and stuff.

    My french teacher has said, people have gotten A's without knowing the subjunctive.

    (Still trying to figure it out in Irish tbh)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,440 ✭✭✭✭Piste


    ...there's a subjunctive in Irish?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    Well, for French conditional, three vital ones I found, and they're perfectly regular.
    J'achèterais
    J'améliorerais - I would improve, a bit of mouthful, but good for pronunciation marks if you can get it.
    Je supprimerais - I would get rid of, (suppress)

    The subjunctive in Irish is used in things like prayers, Our Father etc.
    To be honest I don't think it's really needed in for the LC, just maybe be able to recognise it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,231 ✭✭✭Fad


    Piste wrote: »
    ...there's a subjunctive in Irish?

    Modh Foshuiteach, I think I've used it once..........

    Might just avoid it :pac:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Signature


    Mine is in a week and I haven't yet studied.

    Will a week's study do? I have good sheets on everything.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,082 ✭✭✭Fringe


    This is crap. I have my Applied Maths mock on Thursday so I've only been studying that for the past week. I won't be doing any work on Paddy's Day and probably very little on Wednesday so I'll only have less than a week to study for the oral. There's so much I need to go over.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭PurpleFistMixer


    Guys... your mocks mean NOTHING. Your oral counts towards your LC. Oral is WAY higher in priorities than mocks, or at least it should be!

    The best study you can do is getting it on your ear, get happy with speaking it. Learning off phrases is all well and good but it's a communication exam, you want a degree of fluidity to your speech, you want to be thinking in the language, ideally! So talk, talk, talk. >.> (Then again, I pointedly didn't learn anything off for either of my orals, which possibly cost me an A1 in French but saved me so much time everyone else spent learning things. : p)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    No god damned people to talk French to though. And friends would scorn you off the planet for trying with them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭PurpleFistMixer


    Heggy wrote: »
    No god damned people to talk French to though. And friends would scorn you off the planet for trying with them.
    Watch French films? That's what I did coming up to my oral...*


    *may not get you grades... La Haine is a good film though!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    Well, I tried listening to a few podcasts from RTL (Les Grosses Tetes (cant' be bothered looking for a circonflex)) And every time I grasp the topic they say something quite fast which just happens to be the punchline and everyone starts laughing and I just feel left out. :rolleyes:
    I looked up La Haine, not my usual sort of film, but maybe I'll give it a go. :D
    I think I'll need to try and sort some sort of tandem thing maybe.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 643 ✭✭✭Swizz


    Signature wrote: »
    Mine is in a week and I haven't yet studied.

    Will a week's study do? I have good sheets on everything.

    What do ya mean by
    I have good sheets on everything.

    As in notes photocopied from a book?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Signature


    I'm learning vocab (words, phrases, etc) now but I'm wondering if I should have a good look over my grammar (verbs, tenses, etc)?

    Mine's on tomorrow. Thanks.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,974 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    Any chance of some ideas about what to say about the Grand Slam win and Bernard Dunne?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,169 ✭✭✭ironictoaster


    Yeah this would help alot considering I was asked about both of these in the Irish oral :mad:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    Any chance of some ideas about what to say about the Grand Slam win and Bernard Dunne?

    Samedi dernier, j'ai passe la plupart du jour devant le petit ecran, regardant le match de rugby entre l'Irlande et le Pays de Galles. C'etait inoubliable! L'Irlande a gagne le Tounoi des Six Nations mais, plus important, le Grand Slam pour la premiere fois depuis soixante et un ans. Quelle journee historique! Moi, je ne joue pas au rugby mais j'aime bien regarder les matchs a la tele. Je prefere de jouer au.....and then off into whatever sport you play etc :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 52 ✭✭Ancee


    Just passing on the best bit of advice I got for my orals - say what you can say not what you want to say.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    This was on skoool.ie:

    "There is no set pattern to the questions asked. The first few are simple basic requests designed to put you at ease. The examiner decides, based on an indication of ability given by your teacher, the range and type of questions to be asked."

    Does our teacher tell the examiner our standard of french? :eek::eek::eek:


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,211 ✭✭✭celtic723


    This was on skoool.ie:

    "There is no set pattern to the questions asked. The first few are simple basic requests designed to put you at ease. The examiner decides, based on an indication of ability given by your teacher, the range and type of questions to be asked."

    Does our teacher tell the examiner our standard of french? :eek::eek::eek:



    from what i understand no they don't because if they were they would need to write a list with all the capabilities of each student so i doubt it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    celtic723 wrote: »
    from what i understand no they don't because if they were they would need to write a list with all the capabilities of each student so i doubt it.

    yeyyy :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 99 ✭✭-ME-


    I dunno but my teacher said that they sometimes have to give the examiner a list of students in order of ability, so that the examiner can try and give everyone the opportunity to reach their full potential or something :confused: I dunno though, it seems a bit unfair that the exam would begin in such a biased way.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,974 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    Cheers Anne-Marie!!.


    How would I say:

    "Then on Saturday night, after an eleven round thriller Bernard Dunne beat Ricardo Cordoba with an eleventh round knock-out, making Dunne the new WBA Super-Bantamweight World Champion"

    Or something along them lines.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 160 ✭✭.:FuZion:.


    This was on skoool.ie:

    "There is no set pattern to the questions asked. The first few are simple basic requests designed to put you at ease. The examiner decides, based on an indication of ability given by your teacher, the range and type of questions to be asked."

    Does our teacher tell the examiner our standard of french? :eek::eek::eek:

    As far as I know yeah they do.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 514 ✭✭✭Chanandler Bong


    any tips for what to do the night before?, i.e. anything useful online to listen to (to get into the mode)?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 514 ✭✭✭Chanandler Bong


    cheers,

    im checking out some french pop hits aswell, quality stuff.

    Did you get any really abstract questions no?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,577 ✭✭✭Heinrich


    Samedi dernier, j'ai passe la plupart du jour devant le petit ecran,(pas mal de la journee devant la tele) en regardant le sport. D'abord le magnifique exploit de l'equpe d'Irlande contre le Pays de Galles. C'etait inoubliable! L'Irlande a gagne le Tounoi des Six Nations mais, plus important, le Grand Slam pour la premiere fois depuis soixante et un ans. Quelle journee historique! Moi, je ne joue pas au rugby mais j'aime bien regarder les matchs a la tele. Je prefere de jouer au.....and then off into whatever sport you play etc :D

    this sort of stuff...


  • Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 284 ✭✭We


    just had mine earlier today, thank fook its over.. felt pretty good about how I did.. one things for sure though,
    the leaving cert is truly in full swing now ;p


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 643 ✭✭✭Swizz


    We wrote: »
    just had mine earlier today, thank fook its over.. felt pretty good about how I did.. one things for sure though,
    the leaving cert is truly in full swing now ;p
    What kinda things were you asked


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,109 ✭✭✭QueenOfLeon


    Had mine today, happy enough with it but i think it could have gone better :( the examiner was really really nice, she only asked the basics like myself, family, where i live, hobbies, future career, job and school. Worst thing was she would let me talk away for about a minute and when i was finished shed still sit there saying nothing so just had to try and keep the conversation going :o Overall i suppose it was ok though!! Just wished she would have asked more questions as i couldnt really bring in stuff id learned about say drugs or the recession. Also, got really thrown off at the start as the first thing she asked was where i lived, i was expecting it to be family :(

    The randomest things she asked: I was talking bout playing badminton, and she asked what made me decide to play it. Talking bout wanting to study medicine, she asked would i prefer to work as a GP or a doctor in a hospital, and is it important to have chemistry to study medicine. Also had i any previous experience in this field, which was ok but i completely forgot the word for work experience :o Ah, thank god its over, at least i constantly kept talking bout something which is good i suppose!! :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Heggy


    Pretty unhappy with mine. A few mistakes, I paused a lot, and she asked me about my typical day at school and it completely threw me off, it never occurred to me at the time she was just asking for the times etc. but I just talked about what I did at the breaks and after school.
    Most unexpected question was that she asked me did I go to Cork for that Maths quiz that was on a couple of weeks ago. I just blanked on the word for team, really annoyed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,974 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    Had mine earlier, happy enough with it, but she asked me about my best friend and what happens if you don't adhere to school rules, bit random I thought.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,159 ✭✭✭✭phasers


    OK, I've officially had the worst oral ever in the history of man. The first five minutes or so were grand, but she asked me something silly and I got it wrong and she corrected me and then I started crying! for absolutely no reason! then I was mortified so I couldn't stop crying, I wish I'd known how to say "sorry, I'm very hormonal, you know yourself miss." At the end she was trying to reassure me and stuff, but I did not do well.

    Onward and upward though, I never have to speak French again! :D


  • Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 284 ✭✭We


    Quels changements envisagez-vous dans notre société suit á cette decision?

    translation anybody~? :F


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46 bstoran


    We wrote: »
    Quels changements envisagez-vous dans notre société suit á cette decision?

    translation anybody~? :F

    what changes do you envisage in our society following this decision?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,974 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    phasers wrote: »

    Onward and upward though, I never have to speak French again! :D

    Amen to that, now just to get this poxy Irish out of the way next week and I'm fricking laughing.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,159 ✭✭✭✭phasers


    Amen to that, now just to get this poxy Irish out of the way next week and I'm fricking laughing.

    Oh God yeah, next Friday is gonna feel so good!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭bythewoods


    phasers wrote: »
    OK, I've officially had the worst oral ever in the history of man. The first five minutes or so were grand, but she asked me something silly and I got it wrong and she corrected me and then I started crying! for absolutely no reason! then I was mortified so I couldn't stop crying, I wish I'd known how to say "sorry, I'm very hormonal, you know yourself miss." At the end she was trying to reassure me and stuff, but I did not do well.

    Onward and upward though, I never have to speak French again! :D

    My friend burst out into tears in the middle of her Irish Oral last year after a few minutes and felt she did horrendously.
    She had written Irish off, pretty much, as a subject to count for points because of it.
    In the end- she got an A2. Higher Level.

    So there ya go, you'll still have accumulated a good lot of marks ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 884 ✭✭✭ya-ba-da-ba-doo


    this is what i have for my document..(not botherin writing accents and all (á,ó, etc))

    anyway...

    sur cette photo on voit mon equipe de rugby. on est vingt quatre. on est tous habilles en short bleu et maillot bleu, blanc et noir. derriere nous on voit des arbes et l'herbe est tres vert alors la photo etait problament prise en printemps ou en ete. il faisait beau en tous les cas. sur cette photo je suis le troisieme de la droite dans la rangee de derriere. le capitain est devant. c'est celui qui le ballon entre les genoux. il y a un garcon devant a gauche qui n'est pas habilles comme tout le monde. c'est parce qui c'est le remplacant.
    la photo a ete prise lors de la finale de rugby de leinster pour les equipes en dessons de seize ans. c'etait il y a deux ans. la finale a eu lieu a kildare. on y est alle en bus. c'etait un tres bon match. on a bien joue et l'autre equipe aussi. on a joue contre longford. il n'y avait qu'un essai dans le match entier et c'est notre equipe qui l'a marque. le score finale etait de sept contre trois. c'etait un belle vistoire pour mon equipe.
    maintenant, nous nous entrainons deux fois par semaine, le mardi et le vendredi.on joue des matches le samedi. on gagne presque tous les matches.
    j'aime le rugby parce que c'est tres physique, exitant et passionant.


    and then i have some stuff on the grand slam and what not! my orals on tuesday morning! :(


  • Advertisement
Advertisement