Thinking of taking French for the Leaving Cert

BKtje

Bit of background. I'm 27 and currently living in the french speaking region in switzerland. I applied to the local university but my application has been denied (they don't seem to accept that a D1 in higher level is worth more than a C at ordinary seeing as they only have one flat level here...)

I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to get a C at ordinary level and since i've been studying french for a year I figured that i'd take the French exam in the leaving cert (assuming I can sit just one exam) to get the required C.

Having never studied french in the leaving cert (i did german) i have no idea what is on the papers and whether I should take a Higher or Lower level. I currently hold a B2 level in French according to the Test de connaisance de Française and expect I could do well enough at the higher level...

Basically I'm hoping that someone here could explain to me what the higher/lower levels entail (Written papers, oral, aural) and whether someone who hasn't "prepared" for them could do well enough. As I only need a C at ordinary level I figured i'd do that but I guess my french would be of a sufficiently high standard do get a decent mark in the higher level.

I will have a holiday in Ireland for the new year celebrations and will be buying past exam papers (if my appeal to the university fails) so I'll have some idea of the questions but I won't know what exactly is expected for each question (i remember there being "tricks" to help you get extra points in the german exams). Am also considering going to the Leeson street institute for easter grinds.

I hope i'm clear enough for you to be able to understand what I need and that someone out there will be kind enough to help me.
Thanks!

spurious

The first thing you need to do (if you're talking about the 2011 exams) is apply to the SEC to sit the exam as an external candidate and pay your fee.
address to apply to is here
This needs to be done fairly soon, definitely by the end of January.
The past exam papers and marking schemes are all available on http://www.examinations.ie

BKtje

Aha thank you very much.

I saw the application date alright but never thought to look on the examinations website.

Hopefully it won't be needed if my appeal is succesfull but better safe than sorry if I want to finish my degree before my hair falls out

Once more thank you very much!

readystudypass

You will have an oral exam in April. The dates are as per the circular below

http://www.examinations.ie/schools/S_78_10_Leaving_Certificate_Oral_Tests.pdf

Best of luck,

BKtje

Just listened to the aural exam and did the questions from 2010. Very very easy really.

Also read the first articles and understood them without much difficulty though the questions needed some thought but that's normal I guess Will go through the rest of the written paper later.

EDIT: spoke to soon, guess you fixed the link so have edited post. Thank you

TimeToShine

If you live in a French speaking area it should be a piece of cake really...there's no poetry or anything just small written topics and comprehensions, and an oral and aural which you should ace.