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!! FRENCH - predictions, guesses and discussion.

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 621 ✭✭✭ Isaias Wooden Memorandum


    I think MarRef is too specific for the exam. Same with Ebola.

    But "the importance of voting" or "is voluntary work important" could.

    I hope something about Water Charges & Driving comes up.


  • Registered Users Posts: 150 ✭✭EaSwe


    Horse meat was pretty specific (and recent) in 2013 when it came up.. so we really dont know

    Praying for MarRef though..


  • Registered Users Posts: 20 JohnDunne


    It says around 75 / 90 words but that's to be honest, so short! So is it ok to go over that or better to play it safe?

    Also if you do all the written tasks will your best be counted?

    Merci.


  • Registered Users Posts: 126 ✭✭BlueWolf16


    80 is bare minimum imo. You won't be faulted for writing more, but think logically - the more words your write the more mistakes you are likely to make. Doing a lot also means waffling around, and you don't want to bore your examiner -> 100-110 words for the first one, and then around 90 for the others is best I think.

    You will have loads of time during the exam, It's the shortest exam in the LC in my opinion. You can finish the paper in about 90 minutes, so take your time with everything, look over numerous times. And in general, I think a lot of students do all the written tasks because all will be marked, and then your best 4 are counted. Good luck


  • Registered Users Posts: 20 JohnDunne


    Sound thanks!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 49 sdio


    BlueWolf16 wrote: »
    80 is bare minimum imo. You won't be faulted for writing more, but think logically - the more words your write the more mistakes you are likely to make. Doing a lot also means waffling around, and you don't want to bore your examiner -> 100-110 words for the first one, and then around 90 for the others is best I think.

    You will have loads of time during the exam, It's the shortest exam in the LC in my opinion. You can finish the paper in about 90 minutes, so take your time with everything, look over numerous times. And in general, I think a lot of students do all the written tasks because all will be marked, and then your best 4 are counted. Good luck

    I'm just wondering, are you supposed to have introduction and conclusion paragraphs in your answers? I always end up writing twice as much as you need to.


  • Registered Users Posts: 70 ✭✭Tet2015


    The real question is: Why are aurals being changed to last in the exam rather than first? (my school did it for mocks and will be doing it for real thing, they said it's mandatory)..


  • Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 26,398 Mod ✭✭✭✭Peregrine


    Tet2015 wrote: »
    The real question is: Why are aurals being changed to last in the exam rather than first? (my school did it for mocks and will be doing it for real thing, they said it's mandatory)..

    JC does aurals before the written exam and LC does it after so there's enough CD players for every room. Not an issue with Irish since their Irish exam is on a different day.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,307 ✭✭✭DarraghF197


    I really hope we don't use our school CD players. Some of them might as well be a vibrating box, the quality can be so bad. It's really annoying at times when you wouldn't be able to understand them in English, never mind French.

    I suppose enough with my excuses lol


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 525 ✭✭✭vamos!


    During the part of the CD which is in Irish and telling you that it's a French exam etc is your opportunity to raise your hand and report poor quality equipment or ask for the CD player to be turned up/down. One Section 1 starts the CD cannot be stopped for any reason. There may be nothing the supervisor can do but it can be noted in their report. I would imagine most schools have 'good' CD players which are kept in storage during the year so they don't get damaged. The ones the teachers in my school use are cheap and tinny but the big guns are brought out for the exams!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 525 ✭✭✭vamos!


    Also with regards to SSM as a topic- I would think it is too controversial. They wouldn't have known that it was going to pass by huge numbers at the time of printing exams. I can't see a direct question but I could be wrong! I would be more likely to predict something on young people and politics i.e voting or perhaps the of equality in general and it could be twisted towards marriage, age or gender. I would like to see necknomination or social network challenges and terrorism/ Charlie Hebo come up as the current and topical themes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 525 ✭✭✭vamos!


    sdio wrote: »
    I'm just wondering, are you supposed to have introduction and conclusion paragraphs in your answers? I always end up writing twice as much as you need to.

    Intro, Valid and concise points and conclusion. Nothing has to be long but everything has to relate back to the question.


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    Hi all,

    Posted here a fair bit last year. French teacher and examiner here.

    I understand people's desire to predict topics that may appear but it concerns me that some of you may not be accurately watching the trends on the paper. 2014 in particular was a very important year for that.

    The SEC is very anxious to avoid predictability and also to reward full engagement with the syllabus, in other words mastering a broad vocabulary and displaying the flexibility necessary to answer the actual question posed. Think about last year's written question on banning smoking. It was in fact a question about the merits of banning as opposed to an opportunity to rattle off a learned off essay full of smoking vocab. I can tell you that there was carnage on that question last year because very few candidates actually answered the question, i.e. is banning the only solution. Also, consider last year's lovely question on sport. Candidates were asked two things: talk about a sport you play and a 'sportif irlandais/sportive irlandaise' that you admire. The amount of people who didn't know the word 'sportif' at LC higher level and thus failed to address half of the question was high. Again, too much of a focus on looking to get away with a learned off essay and the SEC is now trying to deter that.

    With regard to the issues coming up here: terrorism/Charlie Hebdo and le mariage pour tous (which is what it is known as in France), I will be stunned if either appears in direct form - based on what I understand to be the current trend. Charlie Hebdo is a highly controversial subject. Seriously, there are many Muslim students in our schools who genuinely take umbrage at satirising their prophet. We (the majority) may take a diametrically opposed view and in any case there is no excuse for mass murder, but the SEC is not out to cause that level of controversy. Think about a question where you could bring it in - albeit in passing. I think a question, similar to last year's one on sport, on the general topic of reading might be a possibility. The stimulus might include the term 'les bandes dessinées' allowing you a chance to mention Charlie. But do a Charlie Hebdo/terror essay in response to your reading habits and you're dead:)

    On le mariage pour tous, women's equality came up last year so I would be surprised if equality came up two years in a row. Either way, just bear in mind that the SEC doesn't particularly want the head of the Mosque or Breda O'Brien on Liveline talking about students being 'forced' to write against their conscience. Now, I could be wrong, but look at the trend and it's towards questions that elicit a targeted rather than a learned off response.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2 Shan016


    For HL French for the written these are the topics Ive covered-
    Marriage/Gay Marriage
    Drugs
    Importance of foreign languages
    Violence in schools
    Smoking
    Relationships in families
    Water charges
    Gender Equality
    The environement
    Road Accidents
    Emigration
    Unemployment
    Terrorism

    Is there anything else that I should focus on??? Please help I'm hoping for a B or a high C
    I think you're fairly ok! 😂


  • Registered Users Posts: 13 Casio123


    Any OL French predictions ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Jessica treacy 2015


    better examinations.ie


  • Registered Users Posts: 3 Mags95


    The Environment (with theme of Water possibly)
    Crime
    Drug Problem in Ireland
    The Habit of Drinking as Irish People
    Racism, Gender Inequality
    Terrorism (important to include something about Charlie Hebdo)

    I'm in LC in a grind school in Dublin which shall remain unnamed (we all know),
    and these are my teacher's predictions, she's pretty spot on every year :-)

    Did she mention anything on Ebola?- my teacher has predicted pretty much the same topics just including ebola.


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    These abstract topics focus on only one very small part of the syllabus - topical or social issues. How would one even frame a question on ebola? I mean, you're not going to get "Ebola - donnez vos réactions!"

    Racism - always a possible topic. But as I said in my earlier piece, the strong trend now is towards questions that require a very targeted answer. For example, quite a good question on racism might be a graph/pie chart indicating the number of students interviewed - probably in France - who only have friends from the same ethnic group. You would then be asked to comment on it. Now that's just off the top of my head. But you are most unlikely to get "Le racisme est un grand fléau dans notre société. Etes-vous d'accord?" because all that does is test memory as opposed to your ability to produce fairly spontaneous French on the day.

    Just remember all the perfectly ordinary topics that are on the syllabus and that need to be examined too. "Le monde entier parle anglais, on n'a plus besoin d'étudier le francais" is far more likely than something terribly specific and technical such as ebola. Frankly, as a very experienced teacher, I don't know where I'd start on a topic like ebola:)

    The twist on drugs might be the issue of decriminalisation. However, since the question of banning smoking came up last year, it would seem very similar. However, it is true that candidates last year did not deal well with the issue of banning so maybe...


  • Registered Users Posts: 49 sdio


    linguist wrote: »
    These abstract topics focus on only one very small part of the syllabus - topical or social issues. How would one even frame a question on ebola? I mean, you're not going to get "Ebola - donnez vos réactions!"

    Thanks for your advice... I was feeling quite nervous as I haven't learnt off anything specific for the exam. I did think it would be unfair to include such topics as Ebola and water charges, as it would benefit people who have learnt off essays instead of those who have a wide range of vocabulary and grammar to cover the syllabus.


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    For all that people bang on about grind schools, the tiny number of people who know what's on this exam certainly don't work in them and I don't need the fingers on one hand to count the number of people working in them whom I've actually encountered as examiners:) Beware the hype!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 121 ✭✭DUBLINHITMAN97


    So far I've learned Water, racism and terrorism. My teacher said obesity is likely to come up? Does anyone recommend anything else to study and where i can find an essay on obesity? :P


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    For obesity, I would revise the topic on health in your French book. Once again, you are not going to get "l'obésité - donnez vos réactions'. If it comes up, which it might, it will be a question which invites you to deploy your vocabulary on health and healthy eating in response to a specific stimulus (picture etc). You won't get to write a learned off essay and if you do, enjoy your 8/15 on content and 8/15 on language like half the country. Sorry, I don't mean to offend with my bluntness but I just wonder if you've read what I've said so far.

    What exactly are you expecting on water? A political essay on water meters? I would be surprised to be honest. I don't really see where it sits on the syllabus. Conservation would seem to be the issue really. Something about using less water around the house would be in line with the general topic of the environment.


  • Registered Users Posts: 121 ✭✭DUBLINHITMAN97


    linguist wrote: »
    For obesity, I would revise the topic on health in your French book. Once again, you are not going to get "l'obésité - donnez vos réactions'. If it comes up, which it might, it will be a question which invites you to deploy your vocabulary on health and healthy eating in response to a specific stimulus (picture etc). You won't get to write a learned off essay and if you do, enjoy your 8/15 on content and 8/15 on language like half the country. Sorry, I don't mean to offend with my bluntness but I just wonder if you've read what I've said so far.

    What exactly are you expecting on water? A political essay on water meters? I would be surprised to be honest. I don't really see where it sits on the syllabus. Conservation would seem to be the issue really. Something about using less water around the house would be in line with the general topic of the environment.

    Thanks for the help. Its an essay talking about the importance of water and has a few points about the water charges and protests.


  • Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭OMGeary


    linguist wrote: »
    For obesity, I would revise the topic on health in your French book. Once again, you are not going to get "l'obésité - donnez vos réactions'. If it comes up, which it might, it will be a question which invites you to deploy your vocabulary on health and healthy eating in response to a specific stimulus (picture etc). You won't get to write a learned off essay and if you do, enjoy your 8/15 on content and 8/15 on language like half the country. Sorry, I don't mean to offend with my bluntness but I just wonder if you've read what I've said so far.

    What exactly are you expecting on water? A political essay on water meters? I would be surprised to be honest. I don't really see where it sits on the syllabus. Conservation would seem to be the issue really. Something about using less water around the house would be in line with the general topic of the environment.

    Is French like English where your language can only be as high as your content?


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    There is a fairly close tie in between the two things.

    To be honest, I was a little tough in last answer:) The general rule is that an answer which doesn't address the question closely enough, in other words a learned off general essay on the subject but not an actual answer to the question, tends not to make it into the so called top category. If you look back over the marking schemes you'll see this. So such an answer, if it were excellent, would often peak at C=12, L=12 in Question 1 (40 marks) and C=10, L=10 in Questions 2,3,4 (30 marks). Occasionally such an answer might just make it into top category (C=13, L=13), (C=11, L=11).

    Now assuming that you have produced a decent answer that is making a sincere attempt at the question, things can open up a bit. It is extremely rare for the language mark to be higher than the communication mark. But something like C=15, L=13 (Q1) or C=13, L=11 (Q2,3,4) would be awarded all the time.

    Let's suppose a question was asked on banning smoking (last year) and somebody decided to do an opening sentence and a closing sentence on the topic and then ream off a perfect essay that was off the point, it would be extremely unfair to other candidates to give that person C=10, L=15! Both marks are there to assess 'the language of the task'.


  • Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭linguist


    Just coming back to the water thing, I should maybe explain my scepticism a little. I'm very conscious that I could be left seriously red-faced on Wednesday if something on the protests did up but I just feel that I need to situate this in the context of what really matters: the French syllabus.

    The following is the famous list of topics that all these predictions are based on. I have copied and pasted it directly from the syllabus.

    "General Activity Theme:
    Understanding, describing and discussing aspects of the relations between the target language community and Ireland

    Performance Targets:
    Outlining in broad terms the principal links between the target language community and Ireland (e.g. co-membership of the EU, literary connections, tourism, sport, etc.)

    Stating and defending personal opinions about the desirability of maintaining, developing or changing Ireland's links with the community in question

    General Activity/Theme:

    Understanding, describing and discussing in general terms issues that transcend cultural divisions

    Performance Targets:
    Discussing issues such as

    teenager culture
    the generation gap
    "entertainment"
    environment and ecology
    sexual and racial equality
    ethnic minorities
    health and lifestyle
    changing perspectives regarding human relationships (marriage, the family, etc.)
    the European dimension
    the Third World

    Describing how such issues present themselves in Ireland and in the target language community
    Stating and defending personal opinions in respect of such issues"

    Now, I don't know about you, but I don't see terrorism in there and I struggle to see how Ireland's water protests would fit in. Ironically, what is there is marriage and sexual equality! However, I still wonder about the level of controversy involved as I posted earlier. Notice how the broad thrust is issues that transcend national boundaries/cultural divisions. In other words, topics that might arise and could be discussed reasonably between you and a French person. Sorry to any of you who've been out protesting, but I just don't think the Irish water protests are the global event of the year!!

    Where water comes up is regarding the environment (conservation) and the third world (access to clean water). At the end of the day, an exam has to examine the actual syllabus. If a specific question on the water protests comes up on Wednesday, there might be a few happy essay learners but there'll also be people like me wondering where it fits with what we were told to teach!


  • Registered Users Posts: 503 ✭✭✭Kat97


    Oh dear Ive really neglected French. This is the one I've been dreading the most :(

    The oral was okayish but I prefer speaking it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 49 sdio


    Kat97 wrote: »
    The oral was okayish but I prefer speaking it.

    Same! I wish we could just speak our answers instead.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3 Eimear97


    Drugs
    Obesity/health
    Racism
    Changes in family's and family life !


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  • Registered Users Posts: 448 ✭✭Stooped


    Why does everyone think terrorism will come up? The Charlie Hebdo incident happened after they set the papers.


This discussion has been closed.
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