ordinary french

Sheep457

hi i just joined boards, used to have an account here back when I did the jc but i forgot my pass and dont have the email or anything.

Anyways so im in 5th year now and im doing 8 subjects, 7 hl and 1 ol (irish), I currently dont have any 3rd language because I orginally wanted to do engineering (most courses dont require it) but now Im second guessing that and feel i have limited my options. Now Im thinking that maybe i should do french, even at ol just to open some more doors?

I did french for my jc and got a c at hl. I cant do french at school anymore as it is on in the same band as history which I really love and cant do at any other band. So im thinking i might do it by myself? Would it be hard to pass ol french on my own without any teacher? I might be able to get grinds next year but in all honesty moneys a bit tight at home and Id feel awful asking my parents to pay for that, especially if i might need grinds in any of my other subjects more so.

If i was to do french by myself how would I do it? Do i need to learn off grammar and whats expected for the oral? I googled a bit online and am I right in saying oral for ol is worth more marks than for hl? will the examiner know if im ol or hl, or will it be like irish? Is there picture sequences to learn off or poetry or whatever on the course? Im a bit confused by it all!

All im looking for is a pass grade and to be truthfully, id rather not put much time/effort into it (1 hour a week maybe? more next year?) as I do have 7 hl subjects to work on. My current subjects are english, irish (ol), maths, physics, engineering, biology, history and business. Im doing really well in most of my subjects so far so I dont think ol french would be too much pressure on me but that might all change in the next few months!

Could anyone please give me some advice on this? Im really at a loss and our school doesnt have a guidance counsellor anymore so i dont have many people to take too about it!

thanks,
Daniel.

Sheep457

Sorry for all the spelling mistakes and grammar issues! My phone is shocking to type on!

Can anyone help?

rainbowtrout

You can do it on your own if you want to if you are able for the extra subject. I had a student who dropped languages purposely to take sciences in school and took OL German outside school. She was only aiming for a pass to meet requirements.

The easiest way of finding out all the answers to your questions would be to go and talk to the French teacher in your school. Tell them what you are planning to do. Maybe they could advise you on what is required for the oral and what percentage of marks it's worth. They might also point you in the direction of some books and resources you could use.

While the teacher would be under no obligation they might be willing to let you sit their French test at Christmas or summer so you know how you are doing. Obviously that is the decision of the French teacher, they might not want or have the time for the extra work.


Realistically if you were able for HL French for Junior Cert you should be able for OL for Leaving Cert.

Troxck

People in my year (I am in 6th now) were not able to do a language for their LC but decided in 5th Year to do it as an 8th subject at OL to meet requirements. They get grinds every 3 or so weeks to practice their oral, aural, grammar and written. The German teacher in our school let them take copies of the Christmas and Summer tests to practice and see their standard.

Given you did HL for the JC and achieved an Honours you'd be well capable of passing the OL LC exam. Consult a French teacher in your school and see what they say!

rainbowtrout

Sheep, it might be worth you having a look at the OL French past papers on examinations.ie. I'm just looking at them now and the OL paper looks fine. There are a lot of reading short advert style questions where the questions on it are in English and you give your answers in English. That sounds very similar to what you would have done for Junior Cert.

There are two comprehensions where you answer all the questions but one in French (1-2 line answers) and you are told which paragraph the question is about. Then there is a fill in the gaps letter, and you are given in the words to slot in. Then there's a form to fill in about yourself, which seems to test whether you understand the questions (name, address, DOB, favourite subject etc). Then write a postcard.

It's very, very doable. Even with junior cert French you should be able to tackle an ordinary level paper right now I'd say.

Sheep457

Thanks a million for all the sound advice! I don't get along very well with my old French teacher (only one in the school) she wasn't happy about me dropping french and we had a bit of an argument about it. We didn't always see eye to eye anyways so speaking to her isn't really an option.

I've been looking at past papers, like you suggested rainbowtrout, and it seems to be fairly straightforward. The only thing that is throwing me off is that some of them want answers in french which I'd need to work on, but that could be done. Would I be best off working off exam papers rather than a book and just get some revision book (less stress or revise wise or something, what do poeple recommend?) for the writing stuff. Postcard phrases and that.

Besides that its just the oral so! This is probably my biggest issue, as we did very little oral in jc. My french teacher always said though that my oral french (if I read something out in class or whatever) was good, is it just a case of learning things off by heart?

Troxck

Sheep457 wrote: »

Thanks a million for all the sound advice! I don't get along very well with my old French teacher (only one in the school) she wasn't happy about me dropping french and we had a bit of an argument about it. We didn't always see eye to eye anyways so speaking to her isn't really an option.

I've been looking at past papers, like you suggested rainbowtrout, and it seems to be fairly straightforward. The only thing that is throwing me off is that some of them want answers in french which I'd need to work on, but that could be done. Would I be best off working off exam papers rather than a book and just get some revision book (less stress or revise wise or something, what do poeple recommend?) for the writing stuff. Postcard phrases and that.

Besides that its just the oral so! This is probably my biggest issue, as we did very little oral in jc. My french teacher always said though that my oral french (if I read something out in class or whatever) was good, is it just a case of learning things off by heart?

You surely have a friend in your year or someone you get on with enough to practice your oral French with? They'd be obliging too since they'd also to get to practice their French. I only do German so as to what you need to know, I am clueless but I just went onto the examinations website there and found this in relation to the French oral.

"The French Oral examination will consist of an interview. During this interview, candidates will have the option of answering questions on one of the following types of material which they have worked on:

An article from a newspaper or magazine
A picture
A project
A literary work
Candidates who avail of this option will be required to bring the material into the examination room. Texts in languages other than French will not be acceptable."

Possibly the aural may be another place you'd need more practice but since examinations has the exam papers, marking schemes and sound files you'd be fine!

I hope this all works out for you!

Sheep457

Troxck wrote: »

You surely have a friend in your year or someone you get on with enough to practice your oral French with? They'd be obliging too since they'd also to get to practice their French. I only do German so as to what you need to know, I am clueless but I just went onto the examinations website there and found this in relation to the French oral.

"The French Oral examination will consist of an interview. During this interview, candidates will have the option of answering questions on one of the following types of material which they have worked on:

An article from a newspaper or magazine
A picture
A project
A literary work
Candidates who avail of this option will be required to bring the material into the examination room. Texts in languages other than French will not be acceptable."

Possibly the aural may be another place you'd need more practice but since examinations has the exam papers, marking schemes and sound files you'd be fine!

I hope this all works out for you!

Yeah I have friends doing French but since we're only in 5th year they don't really know much about the oral yet! So without bringing one of those stuff in, it'd just be an interview like the part in Irish where you just talk about different topics? That'd be grand! I could just learn off some answers about a variety of things! Im guessing if I do well on the written and aural papers I wouldn't need to be brilliant in the oral for a pass anyways?

Yeah I seen past exam papers in the shops have the cds so that should be okay!

Thanks a million lad

Troxck

Sheep457 wrote: »

Yeah I have friends doing French but since we're only in 5th year they don't really know much about the oral yet! So without bringing one of those stuff in, it'd just be an interview like the part in Irish where you just talk about different topics? That'd be grand! I could just learn off some answers about a variety of things! Im guessing if I do well on the written and aural papers I wouldn't need to be brilliant in the oral for a pass anyways?

Yeah I seen past exam papers in the shops have the cds so that should be okay!

Thanks a million lad

I'm going to assume the French oral is a similar format to that of the German. In German you have a 5 minute general conversation which covers you/your family, where you life etc. Just like Irish. Then we have a project and roleplay, which I assume is when the French students use their documents!

No bother!

rainbowtrout

Sheep457 wrote: »

Thanks a million for all the sound advice! I don't get along very well with my old French teacher (only one in the school) she wasn't happy about me dropping french and we had a bit of an argument about it. We didn't always see eye to eye anyways so speaking to her isn't really an option.

I've been looking at past papers, like you suggested rainbowtrout, and it seems to be fairly straightforward. The only thing that is throwing me off is that some of them want answers in french which I'd need to work on, but that could be done. Would I be best off working off exam papers rather than a book and just get some revision book (less stress or revise wise or something, what do poeple recommend?) for the writing stuff. Postcard phrases and that.

Besides that its just the oral so! This is probably my biggest issue, as we did very little oral in jc. My french teacher always said though that my oral french (if I read something out in class or whatever) was good, is it just a case of learning things off by heart?

I understand that you might find it awkward to talk to your French teacher, but do look at the bigger picture. The conversation is to benefit you in the long run. She's a professional and is not going to go 'I told you so', she might even be willing to give you some help. At the very least she will be able to tell you what you need to know. Given that you are in LC, you might be as well to get a revision book and start working on exam papers and the aural part of the exam with the CD and get up to speed on that part.

You said money was tight at home, maybe if you spoke to your parents and asked them if it would be possible for you to get a few (like 3-4) French grinds in the run up to the oral to maximise your chances there. Maybe if you asked nicely, your former French teacher would be willing to give you 10 minutes of her time some day.

Also when the mocks are on in your school, maybe you could ask the person who organises the mocks to get an OL French paper for you that you could sit and offer to pay for it to be sent off and corrected. Then you will have an idea of how you are doing.

i'm not a language teacher, but in terms of exam papers, they are very repetitive in many subjects. Download or print off the marking schemes, so you can check your answers along the way. Write down new vocabulary and phrases you come across in the exam papers and you might see if vocabulary with the same theme comes up frequently.

It's not too late!

By the way, when you are filling in the form for exam entry in January, dont' forget to add French to the list!