French oral

jennyq · 08-03-2008 9:05pm #1

My French teacher told us that in general the examiners don't go into current topics e.g. environment, alcohol, drugs, etc. & mostly stick to yourself, family, homeplace, school, that sort of thing. Can anybody tell me how true this is? I want to be prepared but at the same time don't want to waste my time practising something that has no chance of being asked.

Léan · 08-03-2008 10:01pm

We were just told to learn a paragraph on all those more difficult topics and generally the examiner won't go into them unless he/she thinks you're capable.

Tbh. I don't know how true this is though.

Mars Bar · 08-03-2008 11:29pm

Our teacher gave us loads of Abstract Questions that the examiner can ask ranging from drugs, drinking, smoking all the way to the Celtic Tiger and how important the french language is. It depends how you lead into a question also. If you really don't have a clue about it, you could say you don't know a lot about this subject, learn a sentence before the exam (I would tell ye but i have to learn it myself, it goes something like Je ne sais pas beaucoup *about that*.) Answer at least one abstract question, if she asks you a second you might get away with the sentence but don't try and avoid it completely, you'll give the examiner the impression that you didn't learn too much. This can also be done for Irish, Nil a lán morán faoi sin. Remember, only use this ONCE!

Jay P · 09-03-2008 1:07am

Ha ha! Oral

Never gets old

sorry

blue-army · 09-03-2008 1:44am

jennyq wrote: »

My French teacher told us that in general the examiners don't go into current topics e.g. environment, alcohol, drugs, etc. & mostly stick to yourself, family, homeplace, school, that sort of thing. Can anybody tell me how true this is? I want to be prepared but at the same time don't want to waste my time practising something that has no chance of being asked.

I had a mock oral and didn't get asked anything too abstract...maybe just know something on the environment.....and learn off an answer saying "I don't have an interest in..............".

tolosenc · 09-03-2008 1:55am

Je n'en sais pas beaucoup. Ca ne m'intéresse pas. Should get you out of a sticky situation.

I did mine last year, the examiner only pushes you if they think you can handle it. If you're looking for a high grade, prepare the abstract stuff, otherwise don't bother.

I got asked: "How does the current problem of traffic in Dublin compare to that of major cities worldwide? Do you think it causes undue stress? And how would you go about solving the problem?", I almost died, but worked through it.

The most important thing is to be relaxed.

Xhristy · 09-03-2008 10:20am

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eoins2345 · 09-03-2008 2:19pm

Well id prepare unemployment thoroughly because of the current state of it.Lead the examiner.Bring in a document and keep talking about it for as long as you can.

nerdysal · 09-03-2008 4:38pm

Definitely prepare a document!!! I have mine prepared and it will last for at least 3 minutes!!! On the easy questions like ma maison and ma ville I really padded them out with a big vocab. But I am going to prepare a little bit on the more complicated stuff. I have to prepare something on the Health Service because my document is a card I got when I was in hospital.

blue-army · 09-03-2008 8:50pm

nerdysal wrote: »

I have to prepare something on the Health Service because my document is a card I got when I was in hospital.

You do know that the card must be in french right?

thatone! · 09-03-2008 10:11pm

I don't know what to use for my document any ideas?

Xhristy · 10-03-2008 1:35pm

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nerdysal · 10-03-2008 5:31pm

blue-army wrote: »

You do know that the card must be in french right?

I'm cutting the back of it off so it's only a picture of a poor little bear that's sick in bed. It has Get Well on the front but my teacher said it's only if its a newspaper article that that matters in.

Bajingo · 10-03-2008 8:56pm

jennyq wrote: »

My French teacher told us that in general the examiners don't go into current topics e.g. environment, alcohol, drugs, etc. & mostly stick to yourself, family, homeplace, school, that sort of thing. Can anybody tell me how true this is? I want to be prepared but at the same time don't want to waste my time practising something that has no chance of being asked.

I would study a bit on the abstract stuff to be safe...at the moment were doing mock orals and my mate was asked about animal welfare in ireland,global warming and he was in there for 25 minutes

The Walsho · 10-03-2008 11:33pm

Bajingo wrote: »

I would study a bit on the abstract stuff to be safe...at the moment were doing mock orals and my mate was asked about animal welfare in ireland,global warming and he was in there for 25 minutes

Isn't there a strict 12 minute limit on the oral exam?

blue-army · 10-03-2008 11:54pm

The Walsho wrote: »

Isn't there a strict 12 minute limit on the oral exam?

yep....there is!

claret · 11-03-2008 11:48am

The Walsho wrote: »

Isn't there a strict 12 minute limit on the oral exam?

Not that strict. I did my leaving in 2006 and I was in my oral for just over 15 mins. Then as I was trying to leave the supervisor (who was only sitting in on two students orals...lucky me :rolleyes:) started chatting to me en francais! Every time I reached for the handle of the door she'd ask me another question. It was all off the record but I just kept thinking why can't she speak to me in English! Got my A1 in the end though

Bajingo · 12-03-2008 6:48pm

The Walsho wrote: »

Isn't there a strict 12 minute limit on the oral exam?

For the real thing they'll keep you in for about 13 or 14 minutes sometimes its a bit longer but you'll never be in there for never 25 minutes in the real thing....these were just mock exams i was kept in for 17 minutes but all the same you could be asked anything about global warming and stuff like that.

Mars Bar · 12-03-2008 8:51pm

I was kept 12 exactly and another girl was kept 22!

Xhristy · 12-03-2008 9:49pm

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The Walsho · 12-03-2008 10:18pm

Xhristy wrote: »

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Bon chance!

dip · 13-03-2008 10:15pm

jennyq wrote: »

My French teacher told us that in general the examiners don't go into current topics e.g. environment, alcohol, drugs, etc. & mostly stick to yourself, family, homeplace, school, that sort of thing. Can anybody tell me how true this is? I want to be prepared but at the same time don't want to waste my time practising something that has no chance of being asked.

Its definitely a good idea to prepare a paragraph on racism, alcohol, drugs, obesity, unemployment etc

You can easily direct the conversation, and if you have a paragrpah prepared with good vocabulary its an easy way to get marks. There are always going to be questions which will throw you off on the day so the more questions you have prepared and practised saying out loud, the more confident you'll be.

Xhristy · 13-03-2008 10:45pm

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Fibonacci23 · 16-03-2008 10:16am

Hey i just had my mock oral exam on wednesday, got 87% which was top of the class, and the only abstract topic she asked me was hunting.. (my document was a dressage competition) She thought she'd catch me out but i was prepared, and i mentioned the new law in England and the likes....

So i wouldn't worry, i had all the usual iffy lil bits padded out with excellent vocab and made sure not to stumble on any tenses... And there ya go A2 for nothing!

French oral

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