Part 4 | Leaving Cert French Oral Exam | Vocabulary
Leaving Cert French Oral Exam
Vocabulary… 20% of the Oral Exam
In this blog entry, we have looked at the chief examiner’s report and have drawn from our own experience. Here, we show you the vocabulary that students are currently using, and more importantly, the vocabulary that students are finding confusion with.
Vocabulary
Most candidates had sufficient vocabulary in the French Leaving Cert Oral Exam to communicate at a basic level on topics concerning their daily lives, for example,
- Personal details
- Family
- Home
- School
- Holidays
- Part time job
- Sport
- Music
In other words, they were at ease with these topics. Many candidates were able to use a rich and varied vocabulary on a wide range of subjects, particularly those who presented a well-chosen Document. Others had prepared the vocabulary necessary to discuss abstract topics or social problems, for example,
- Alcohol
- Unemployment
- Homelessness
- Emigration
As a result, they were able and willing to give their viewpoint on these topics. The less able candidates had difficulty with basic interrogative words, for example,
- Qui
- Quand
- Comment
- Combien
- Où
- Pourquoi
And, with phrases denoting a time period such as,
- L’été prochain
- Après le bac
- Pendant les vacances
Other areas of difficulty included basic vocabulary such as,
- Numbers
- Times
- Dates
- School subjects
- Food
- Clothing
Adjectives were often limited to,
- Super
- Sympa
- Difficile
- Facile
- Intéressant
Some candidates were unable to use obvious conversational phrases, for example,
- Je ne comprends pas
- Pouvez-vous répéter la question, s’il vous plaît
In the French Leaving Cert Oral Exam…..You will need to take a note of the following….
- Have the ability to talk with ease, about your daily life and the world of young people.
- Consider difficult social topics & abstract reasoning.
- Willing and able to express personal opinion.
- Ability to use various idiomatic and elegant expressions.
- Be able to use a wide ranging choice of adjectives.
- Be able to recognise basic interrogative or question words.
- Avoid using Super, Sympa or intéressant as adjectives of choice.
- Failure to name school subjects, or countries.
- Inability to mention a favourite dish other than frites or pizza.
- Inability to name items of clothing bought or received as a present.
- Limited range of adjectives and verbs.
- Failure to recognise words within a question which hint at the correct tense to be used in answering: Dernier – Last | Prochain – Next | Hier – Yesterday | Demain | Tomorrow.
- Irish words used instead of French equivalent: le for avec, mar for car, nó for ou, a lán for beaucoup.
Our guide to the French Leaving Cert Oral exam is a 60 page booklet containing approximately 100 sample questions and answers, as well as tips on how to maximise your potential.
Leaving Cert French Oral Notes Booklet