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K888

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VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« on: August 03, 2017, 04:18:23 pm »
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Hi everyone!

I completed VCE French last year (2016) and finished top of my cohort for school assessed coursework. This post has stuff relating to writing, as well as the oral exam.

WRITING

I just wanted to share my writing SACs with you to provide you with some examples of writing. I got full marks for both my writing SACs during the year. :)
I'd just like to put in a disclaimer, and maybe it's something you'll pick up when reading - these SACs are not completely free of errors. It shows that you can still score really well even with some errors in your writing, and I hope it encourages you to extend yourself in your writing, and not be afraid to make mistakes.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)

Writing SAC #1 - a story
Imaginez l’histoire d’Ahmed, jeune père syrien, qui est arrivé à Marseille en France en bateau avec sa femme et ses enfants comme refugie. Mentionnez 3 points distincts de son histoire, par exemple son histoire en Syrie, en bateau et en France.

(Write the story of Ahmed, a young Syrian father who has arrived in Marseilles in France by boat with his wife and children as a refugee. Include 3 clear parts of his story - eg: his life in Syria, on the boat, and in France.)

Le bateau a ébranlé, et il a réveillé l’homme, Ahmed. Ahmed et sa famille – sa femme Yasmina, et ses enfants Rashid et Kareem – voyagaient dans le bateau pour deux semaines avec trente-cinq autres gens, pour aller en France et créer une vie saine pour chacun. « Papa, je suis effrayé, notre pays maternel me manque, » a dit Rashid. Ahmed a embrassé son fils et a dit « Tout sera bien, Rashid. » En réalité, Ahmed n’était pas certain si ses mots seraient la vérité. Il regrettait qu’il ait quitté son pays, la Syrie. Quand il était en Syrie, Ahmed travaillait comme pharmacien, à Damascus. Il a quitté le pays parce que la guerre augmentait depuis quelques années. Le pays n’était plus hors de danger, et Ahmed ne voulait pas que sa famille soit en danger. Mais, c’était très difficile – Ahmed a dû quitter son travail, et la famille a dû vendre toutes leurs possessions pour payer les contrebandiers. Bien que le pays n’était pas sécure, la journée sur le bateau a créé un trou dans l’âme d’Ahmed. Deux semaines sans suffisamment d’eau et sans abri faisaient le regret dans le cœur d’Ahmed.
Tout à coup, un grand tsunami a frappé le bateau. Rashid et Kareem ont crié comme le bateau a tourné. Tous les gens ont été submerge dans l’océan. Ahmed a panique…et il s’est réveillé, dans son lit, a cote de sa femme, Yasmina. Il y a eu trois années depuis qu’il arrive à Marseille et la vie en France pour sa famille était très agréable, mais n’était pas sans difficulté. Quand il est arrivé en France, il faisait face à le racisme. Les mots d’un autre immigre ont été retenti dans sa tête : « La France n’est pas une terre d’accueil ! » Mais, il a trouvé que la plupart de gens les ont accueillis, et ses voisins étaient très gentils et assez accueillants – ils ont fait un gâteau pour sa famille ! Ahmed a trouvé un emploi et il ne s’inquiétait plus au sujet des bombes qui explosaient près de sa maison – il n’y a plus de bombes ! La France lui a fourni avec une nouvelle opportunité de vivre en sécurité et avec les droits humains qu’il n’avait pas quand il a habité en Syrie.

Final word count: 381

Writing SAC #2 - a speech
Vous êtes le maire d’un village dans la zone occupée. Vous donnez un discours aux habitants afin de les convaincre de rester dans le village et de ne pas partir pour la zone libre.

(You are the mayor of a village in the occupied zone. You give a speech to the inhabitants to convince them to stay in the village and not leave for the free zone.)

Le discours du maire, le 27 juin 1941
Messieurs et mesdames, je vous ai demandé à rassembler ici aujourd’hui parce que nous devons faire face à la pire adversité encore une fois. Il y a vingt années, nous endurions la guerre, et en ce moment, il faut que nous ayons le courage d’endurer la guerre encore une fois. Je sais qu’après votre première expérience de cette tragédie, vous ne voulez pas le rencontrer. Mais, votre expérience doit vous convaincre à faire face à ce défi – personne ne veut que les Allemands puissent voler notre village. Cependant, ce n’est pas possible de protéger notre village si vous partez pour la zone libre. Tous les habitants de notre village doivent rester dans le village pour empêcher la maitrise absolue allemande.
Je sais que je demande une décision très, très difficile, mais si nous quittions notre village, nous détruirions la fondation de la France – les valeurs françaises comme la liberté, l’égalité et la fraternité. La peur n’est pas une excuse pour les abandonner. Si nous les oublions, nous abandonnons l’identité française. Aussi, je vous prie que vous n’oubliez pas vos voisins. Nous devons unir et travailler ensemble – même si cela signifie que nous devons faire face aux épreuves. Si nous quittons ce village, nous laissons l’amitié et les rapports que nous avons développé depuis les années innombrables. Est-ce que vous êtes contents de faire ça ? Est-ce que vous êtes contents de permettre les envahisseurs de nous dominer ? Les Allemands sont les intrus, ils ne sont pas Français et alors, ils ne peuvent pas déterminer « la zone occupée » ou « la zone libre » ! Ces zones n’existent pas ! Tout le pays est la zone libre, sans la maitrise allemande ! Restez ici, résistez si vous voulez – ils peuvent prendre nos vies, mais ils ne peuvent jamais prendre notre liberté. Vive la France !

Final word count: 315


ORAL EXAM

Detailed Study

For your detailed study, I'd really recommend creating a table, where you have your three texts in the separate columns, and the questions in the rows. You can then answer the questions for each text, and draw comparisons between them. Your ability to talk about the links and differences between your texts will impress the examiners :)

Here are the questions I used in my table:
Explain the texts.
Expliquez les textes

Why did the author write the text?
Pourquoi est-ce que l’auteur a écrit ce texte ?

Key ideas of detailed study
Les idées clés de l’étude détaillée

How are the texts relevant to the detailed study?
Comment sont les textes relevant à l’étude détaillée ?

Do the texts link to each other?
Est-ce qu’il y a des liens entre les textes?

What is your favourite character/ part/ place?
Qui est votre personnage préféré?

Explain the problems in the text (racism, immigration, humanitarian aid)
Expliquez les problèmes dans le texte

(If you're utilising an image) Talk about the image. What does it mean?
Parlez de l’image. Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire?

Favourite text and why?
Quel est ton favori et pourquoi ?

What was the most unusual or interesting thing?
Qu’est-ce que la chose le plus intéressante/étrange

What have you learnt about the culture or language?
Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur la culture/langue?

What did you know before about the topic?
Qu’est-ce que vous avez su avant l’étude détaillée?

What did you think of theme? Would you recommend it?
Est-ce que vous avez aimé le thème?

Where did you obtain information? Did you use the internet?
Ou est-ce que vous avez obtenu l’information? Est-ce vous avez utilisé l’internet ?

Do you have a solution for the problem?
Vous avez une solution pour la problème?

What would you do in this situation?
Qu’est ce vous feriez dans ce situation?

Here are some other questions to answer, I typed up a few sentences/small paragraph for these ones:
(Word of warning, there may be some duplicates, and probably plenty of errors in there. Just copying and pasting from my resources, and I recall typing these questions up very quickly last year)
I also have some specific questions to the war, as my class did the occupation of France during WW2 as the overall theme for the detailed study. Just let me know if you would like them :)

More questions
1.   Quels/quelles documents/textes/ressources avez-vous étudié pour votre étude approfondie ?
2.   Quel texte/lequel des textes est le plus utile/intéressant ?
3.   Que savez-vous de l’auteur de ce texte ?
4.   Pouvez-vous élaborer sur des idées clefs dans votre étude détaillée ?
5.   Pourriez-vous expliquer/discuter/élaborer davantage ?
6.   Comment les textes choisis sont-ils lies au thème principal de votre étude approfondie ?
7.   Est-ce que les textes se sont liés ? Donnez un exemple
8.   Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur la langue et/ou la culture française dans ces pays ?
9.   Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur ce sujet avant cette étude ?
10.   Que pensez-vous de votre thème ? Vous le recommanderiez aux autres à étudier l’année prochaine ?
11.   Êtes-vous du même avis de l’auteur de _____ ?
12.   Lequel des textes préférez-vous et pourquoi ?
13.   D’où avez-vous cherché les informations ? Vous avez cherché sur l’internet?
14.   Pourriez-vous parler du dessin/de la carte/de la photo, et. Que vous avez apporté ? Qu’est-ce que cela signifie ?
15.   Avez-vous (trouvé) une solution à votre thème/au problème ?
16.   Quel aspect de cette étude vous avez trouvé le plus intéressant/étrange/frappant ?
17.   Dites-nous/parlez-nous du film/de la chanson/du témoignage, etc. ? Qui l’a écrit(e)/compose(e)/dirigé(e) ?
18.   Pourriez-vous nous donner un exemple de _____ que vous avez lu/vu dans l’extrait/le film/la chanson ?
19.   Si vous étiez dans cette situation, que feriez-vous ?
20.   Quel est votre personnage préféré ? La partie favorite ? L’endroit ? Pourquoi ?

In terms of your introduction to your detailed study, it doesn't have to be too fancy. Make sure it doesn't go over 1 minute, but that it isn't too short, either. Whilst it isn't assessable, the introduction ideally sets the parameters of the discussion.
Make sure you mention:
- The overall theme of your detailed study - eg: occupation of France during WW2 - this is usually what your class studied
- Your sub-theme/focus topic - eg: I did the consequences of resistance for the resistants and the French public
- Your three texts that you'd like to discuss with your examiners
- If you brought in an image, make sure you introduce it, as the examiners need you to introduce it before they can ask you about the image


General Conversation
I've included some tips/advice, useful vocab, as well as questions for you to consider. :)

Key tips:
- Sachez diriger la conversation! -> know how to direct conversation - you can really direct the assessors to ask the questions you want them to ask, by adding sentences to your response to direct them in your desired direction. However, you need to make sure it's not in a disjointed manner. Make a nice segue/add on to the end of your sentence, so it feels natural :) Eg: (off the top of my head) they might ask you about say, your pets, and maybe you don't have any, but you really want to talk about the sports you play - you could say that you don't have any pets, because you are too busy with your sports to be able to look after them properly -> this gives substance to your answer (which is awesome), and invites them to ask "what sports do you play?" :) - a really poor example, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

- Don't be afraid to ask them to repeat the question. But maybe consider asking them to rephrase the question, particularly if you didn't understand the first time. This way, they'll ask it in a different way, and hopefully it'll make some more sense to you.

- Be prepared to provide your thoughts/opinions on something, rather than just a yes/no or once sentence answer - they want to see your ability to develop and express your ideas in French. You don't need to speak in super complicated sentences, but you do need to be able to flesh out what you say!

- Use the subjunctive once (maybe you might like to include it a few more times, up to you - you might also like to use it in your detailed study, again, completely up to you). Have a few sentences up your sleeve that you can use, get it out of the way and done with, then forget about it. This is provided you incorporate it in a really disjointed way so it sticks out like a sore thumb - it needs to fit naturally in your sentence :) It's also not the end of the world if you forget to use it, so don't stress!
 

Questions:
These can vary a lot (so it's best to prepare for a wide range of topics), and be ready to get a question out of left field that you haven't prepared for. I had some strange questions thrown at me (like, we had been talking about my part time job and what I did in it, why I liked working, then they suddenly were asking me what I buy with the money I earn from working - was not expecting it, and had to wing an answer about how I was trying to save money for a holiday. I tried to make a joke, but they didn't get it, and it was sooooo awkward. Big fail haha)

School & Home
Quelles matières étudiez-vous cette année ?
Est-ce que vous faites des choses en dehors de votre cursus scolaire ?
Comment est votre école ?
Comment s’est passée cette année scolaire ?
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pour aider à la maison/comme taches ménagères ?
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pour vous détendre
Pensez-vous que l’étude d’une langue étrangère doive être obligatoire ?
Qu’est-ce que vous pourriez conseiller a quelqu’un qui va commencer la terminale l’année prochaine ?

Family & Friends
Parlez-nous de votre famille
Avez-vous des frères et des sœurs ? Est-ce que vous vous disputez de temps en temps ?
Avec qui vous entendez-vous le mieux dans votre famille, et pourquoi ?
Quelles sont les qualités que vous appréciez le plus chez votre mère ou votre père ?
Avez-vous de bonnes relations avec vos parents ?
Est-ce que vous avez des animaux à la maison ?
Décrivez une personne importante dans votre vie. Pourquoi est-ce que cette personne est importante ?

Work/Interests/Aspirations
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pendant votre temps libre ?
Qu’est-ce qui vous intéresse en particulier ?
Parlez-nous du dernier livre que vous avez lu/du dernier film que vous avez vu
Qu’est-ce que vous avez l’intention de faire après le lycée ?
Si vous aviez l’occasion de voyager, où aimeriez-vous aller et pourquoi ?
Savez-vous ce que vous voulez faire plus tard dans la vie ?
Quels sont vos projets pour l’avenir ?
Avez-vous déjà travaillé ?
Si non, est-ce que vous voudriez trouver un petit boulot ?
Pensez-vous que ce soit importante de travailler ?

Other questions
Qu’est-ce que vous avez fait aujourd’hui avant de venir à cet examen ?
Comment êtes-vous venu(e) ici ?
Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire après cet examen/les examens/à la fin de l’année ?

Useful Vocab:

To make sure you have understood what the assessors have asked you (Vous assurer que vous avez bien compris)
Vous m’avez demandé si…
Vous suggerez que…
Vous vous demandez si…
Vous me demandez si…

When you understand or don't understand the question (Dire que vous comprenez ou ne comprenez pas)
Excusez-moi, je n’ai pas bien compris/saisi votre question
Pardon, je ne vois pas très bien ce que vous voulez dire
Oui, je comprends/je vois
Ah, je comprends maintenant
Ah, oui, je vois ce que vous voulez dire

When you don't know what to say/don't know how to answer a question (Dire que vous ne savez pas)
Je suis désolé(e), je ne sais pas vraiment, mais peut-être…
C’est une question a laquelle je n’avais pas pensé, mais peut-être…
Malheureusement, nous n’avons pas étudié cet aspect-là, mais moi l’aspect sur lequel je me suis concentré(e)…
Je ne sais pas du tout
Aucune idée. C’est un aspect sur lequel nous ne nous sommes pas penchés. Par contre, nous nous sommes penchés sur…

Don't be afraid to add spacers into your responses! To give yourself time to think of a response, you can at least start making some sounds so they know you've understood the question :) I think I used "euh....oui...." or "c'est une bonne question!" a fair bit haha, or else I knew the verb I wanted to use, so would maybe start with "je pense que..." and I repeat that once or twice.

Also use body language - make sure you're really open and smiling (even though you're probably nervous as hell!), and don't be afraid to use your hands when talking :) Give them expression - the assessors love it if you engage with them and seem personable!

Last but not least: the level of French the assessors expect is that of someone who has been learning French in a secondary school environment for 6 years. Yes, they're assessing you, but they will also be able to prompt you, and hopefully help you express yourself if you're struggling. :)

Bonne chance!
« Last Edit: August 07, 2017, 05:50:18 pm by K888 »

Joseph41

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2017, 04:19:04 pm »
+4
AMAZING!

Thank you so much, Kate. +1 +1 +1.

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Calebark

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2017, 05:50:50 pm »
+4
I have no idea what this means (being a filthy monolinguist), but even I can tell it's a damn good addition to the board!
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jaygatsby

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2017, 08:20:18 pm »
+4
Merci beaucoup tu nous sauves!

div149

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2017, 04:49:29 pm »
+3
wow that is awesome!! well done!!  ;D do you have any tips for the answering in french section of reading SACs?? thanks xx

K888

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2017, 05:42:20 pm »
+3
wow that is awesome!! well done!!  ;D do you have any tips for the answering in french section of reading SACs?? thanks xx
Thanks! :) Do you just want some general tips, or do you have something particular in mind?

In general, I'd say a big one is to highlight the key points you find in the text as you're reading. I also used to find it easier to read the questions before I even read the text, and highlight the key points of the question, or underline key words that you think you'll be looking for in the text.
Some people like to read the text first, but I preferred to read the questions first, because then I could ignore parts of the reading comprehension that were irrelevant, and focus purely on what the text provided me with for a specific question - French was all about work minimisation for me haha :P

Another one, is making sure you highlight whether you have to answer in English or French. Writing in the wrong language in the heat of the moment is actually a really common mistake to make, I did it once or twice last year, but thankfully only in practice pieces :-[

When you have to respond in French, it can help to maybe have a brief plan in your head about what you're gonna write. Even if you just scribble a few key words or something down. Do this in French. Minimises the risk of accidentally writing in English, and also makes your response easier to write, as you're not trying to translate a complex English sentence into French.

My last general point is to make sure you find the right balance in the length of your response. Try to stick to the amount of lines provided (given your handwriting isn't large or something), and maybe try to incorporate part of the question in your answer. Doesn't mean you have to re-write the question, but make sure the examiners know you're answering the question. Doing this also shows off your ability to create sentences in French - something the examiners want to see :) They're not too keen on you just writing dotpoints, because that just doesn't show off your French abilities.

Hope this has helped! Please don't hesitate to ask any further questions you may have :)

K888

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2017, 06:38:05 pm »
+2
Have updated first post to include some detailed study stuff. :) General conversation will follow soon.

I'd really recommend creating a table, where you have your three texts in the separate columns, and the questions in the rows. You can then answer the questions for each text, and draw comparisons between them. Your ability to talk about the links and differences between your texts will impress the examiners :)

Here are the questions I used in my table:
Explain the texts.
Expliquez les textes

Why did the author write the text?
Pourquoi est-ce que l’auteur a écrit ce texte ?

Key ideas of detailed study
Les idées clés de l’étude détaillée

How are the texts relevant to the detailed study?
Comment sont les textes relevant à l’étude détaillée ?

Do the texts link to each other?
Est-ce qu’il y a des liens entre les textes?

What is your favourite character/ part/ place?
Qui est votre personnage préféré?

Explain the problems in the text (racism, immigration, humanitarian aid)
Expliquez les problèmes dans le texte

(If you're utilising an image) Talk about the image. What does it mean?
Parlez de l’image. Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire?

Favourite text and why?
Quel est ton favori et pourquoi ?

What was the most unusual or interesting thing?
Qu’est-ce que la chose le plus intéressante/étrange

What have you learnt about the culture or language?
Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur la culture/langue?

What did you know before about the topic?
Qu’est-ce que vous avez su avant l’étude détaillée?

What did you think of theme? Would you recommend it?
Est-ce que vous avez aimé le thème?

Where did you obtain information? Did you use the internet?
Ou est-ce que vous avez obtenu l’information? Est-ce vous avez utilisé l’internet ?

Do you have a solution for the problem?
Vous avez une solution pour la problème?

What would you do in this situation?
Qu’est ce vous feriez dans ce situation?

Here are some other questions to answer, I typed up a few sentences/small paragraph for these ones:
(Word of warning, there may be some duplicates, and probably plenty of errors in there. Just copying and pasting from my resources, and I recall typing these questions up very quickly last year)
Spoiler
1.   Quels/quelles documents/textes/ressources avez-vous étudié pour votre étude approfondie ?
2.   Quel texte/lequel des textes est le plus utile/intéressant ?
3.   Que savez-vous de l’auteur de ce texte ?
4.   Pouvez-vous élaborer sur des idées clefs dans votre étude détaillée ?
5.   Pourriez-vous expliquer/discuter/élaborer davantage ?
6.   Comment les textes choisis sont-ils lies au thème principal de votre étude approfondie ?
7.   Est-ce que les textes se sont liés ? Donnez un exemple
8.   Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur la langue et/ou la culture française dans ces pays ?
9.   Qu’est-ce que vous avez appris sur ce sujet avant cette étude ?
10.   Que pensez-vous de votre thème ? Vous le recommanderiez aux autres à étudier l’année prochaine ?
11.   Êtes-vous du même avis de l’auteur de _____ ?
12.   Lequel des textes préférez-vous et pourquoi ?
13.   D’où avez-vous cherché les informations ? Vous avez cherché sur l’internet?
14.   Pourriez-vous parler du dessin/de la carte/de la photo, et. Que vous avez apporté ? Qu’est-ce que cela signifie ?
15.   Avez-vous (trouvé) une solution à votre thème/au problème ?
16.   Quel aspect de cette étude vous avez trouvé le plus intéressant/étrange/frappant ?
17.   Dites-nous/parlez-nous du film/de la chanson/du témoignage, etc. ? Qui l’a écrit(e)/compose(e)/dirigé(e) ?
18.   Pourriez-vous nous donner un exemple de _____ que vous avez lu/vu dans l’extrait/le film/la chanson ?
19.   Si vous étiez dans cette situation, que feriez-vous ?
20.   Quel est votre personnage préféré ? La partie favorite ? L’endroit ? Pourquoi ?

I also have some specific questions to the war, as my class did the occupation of France during WW2 as the overall theme for the detailed study. Just let me know if you would like them :)

In terms of your introduction to your detailed study, it doesn't have to be too fancy. Make sure it doesn't go over 1 minute, but that it isn't too short, either. Whilst it isn't assessable, the introduction ideally sets the parameters of the discussion.
Make sure you mention:
- The overall theme of your detailed study - eg: occupation of France during WW2 - this is usually what your class studied
- Your sub-theme/focus topic - eg: I did the consequences of resistance for the resistants and the French public
- Your three texts that you'd like to discuss with your examiners
- If you brought in an image, make sure you introduce it, as the examiners need you to introduce it before they can ask you about the image

dr.huv

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2017, 05:36:41 pm »
+2
Thanks so much, this is great!

div149

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2017, 05:33:03 pm »
+2
Thank you so much!! your general tips are helpful! ;D ;D

Thanks! :) Do you just want some general tips, or do you have something particular in mind?

In general, I'd say a big one is to highlight the key points you find in the text as you're reading. I also used to find it easier to read the questions before I even read the text, and highlight the key points of the question, or underline key words that you think you'll be looking for in the text.
Some people like to read the text first, but I preferred to read the questions first, because then I could ignore parts of the reading comprehension that were irrelevant, and focus purely on what the text provided me with for a specific question - French was all about work minimisation for me haha :P

Another one, is making sure you highlight whether you have to answer in English or French. Writing in the wrong language in the heat of the moment is actually a really common mistake to make, I did it once or twice last year, but thankfully only in practice pieces :-[

When you have to respond in French, it can help to maybe have a brief plan in your head about what you're gonna write. Even if you just scribble a few key words or something down. Do this in French. Minimises the risk of accidentally writing in English, and also makes your response easier to write, as you're not trying to translate a complex English sentence into French.

My last general point is to make sure you find the right balance in the length of your response. Try to stick to the amount of lines provided (given your handwriting isn't large or something), and maybe try to incorporate part of the question in your answer. Doesn't mean you have to re-write the question, but make sure the examiners know you're answering the question. Doing this also shows off your ability to create sentences in French - something the examiners want to see :) They're not too keen on you just writing dotpoints, because that just doesn't show off your French abilities.

Hope this has helped! Please don't hesitate to ask any further questions you may have :)

K888

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2017, 05:44:21 pm »
+3
Me again! This time with some general conversation questions and advice, plus general advice/useful vocab/other stuff for the oral exam :) All has been added to the original post.


General Conversation
Key tips:
- Sachez diriger la conversation! -> know how to direct conversation - you can really direct the assessors to ask the questions you want them to ask, by adding sentences to your response to direct them in your desired direction. However, you need to make sure it's not in a disjointed manner. Make a nice segue/add on to the end of your sentence, so it feels natural :) Eg: (off the top of my head) they might ask you about say, your pets, and maybe you don't have any, but you really want to talk about the sports you play - you could say that you don't have any pets, because you are too busy with your sports to be able to look after them properly -> this gives substance to your answer (which is awesome), and invites them to ask "what sports do you play?" :) - a really poor example, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

- Don't be afraid to ask them to repeat the question. But maybe consider asking them to rephrase the question, particularly if you didn't understand the first time. This way, they'll ask it in a different way, and hopefully it'll make some more sense to you.

- Be prepared to provide your thoughts/opinions on something, rather than just a yes/no or once sentence answer - they want to see your ability to develop and express your ideas in French. You don't need to speak in super complicated sentences, but you do need to be able to flesh out what you say!

- Use the subjunctive once (maybe you might like to include it a few more times, up to you - you might also like to use it in your detailed study, again, completely up to you). Have a few sentences up your sleeve that you can use, get it out of the way and done with, then forget about it. This is provided you incorporate it in a really disjointed way so it sticks out like a sore thumb - it needs to fit naturally in your sentence :) It's also not the end of the world if you forget to use it, so don't stress!
 

Questions:
These can vary a lot (so it's best to prepare for a wide range of topics), and be ready to get a question out of left field that you haven't prepared for. I had some strange questions thrown at me (like, we had been talking about my part time job and what I did in it, why I liked working, then they suddenly were asking me what I buy with the money I earn from working - was not expecting it, and had to wing an answer about how I was trying to save money for a holiday. I tried to make a joke, but they didn't get it, and it was sooooo awkward. Big fail haha)

School & Home
Quelles matières étudiez-vous cette année ?
Est-ce que vous faites des choses en dehors de votre cursus scolaire ?
Comment est votre école ?
Comment s’est passée cette année scolaire ?
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pour aider à la maison/comme taches ménagères ?
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pour vous détendre
Pensez-vous que l’étude d’une langue étrangère doive être obligatoire ?
Qu’est-ce que vous pourriez conseiller a quelqu’un qui va commencer la terminale l’année prochaine ?

Family & Friends
Parlez-nous de votre famille
Avez-vous des frères et des sœurs ? Est-ce que vous vous disputez de temps en temps ?
Avec qui vous entendez-vous le mieux dans votre famille, et pourquoi ?
Quelles sont les qualités que vous appréciez le plus chez votre mère ou votre père ?
Avez-vous de bonnes relations avec vos parents ?
Est-ce que vous avez des animaux à la maison ?
Décrivez une personne importante dans votre vie. Pourquoi est-ce que cette personne est importante ?

Work/Interests/Aspirations
Qu’est-ce que vous faites pendant votre temps libre ?
Qu’est-ce qui vous intéresse en particulier ?
Parlez-nous du dernier livre que vous avez lu/du dernier film que vous avez vu
Qu’est-ce que vous avez l’intention de faire après le lycée ?
Si vous aviez l’occasion de voyager, où aimeriez-vous aller et pourquoi ?
Savez-vous ce que vous voulez faire plus tard dans la vie ?
Quels sont vos projets pour l’avenir ?
Avez-vous déjà travaillé ?
Si non, est-ce que vous voudriez trouver un petit boulot ?
Pensez-vous que ce soit importante de travailler ?

Other questions
Qu’est-ce que vous avez fait aujourd’hui avant de venir à cet examen ?
Comment êtes-vous venu(e) ici ?
Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire après cet examen/les examens/à la fin de l’année ?


Useful Vocab

To make sure you have understood what the assessors have asked you (Vous assurer que vous avez bien compris)
Vous m’avez demandé si…
Vous suggerez que…
Vous vous demandez si…
Vous me demandez si…

When you understand or don't understand the question (Dire que vous comprenez ou ne comprenez pas)
Excusez-moi, je n’ai pas bien compris/saisi votre question
Pardon, je ne vois pas très bien ce que vous voulez dire
Oui, je comprends/je vois
Ah, je comprends maintenant
Ah, oui, je vois ce que vous voulez dire

When you don't know what to say/don't know how to answer a question (Dire que vous ne savez pas)
Je suis désolé(e), je ne sais pas vraiment, mais peut-être…
C’est une question a laquelle je n’avais pas pensé, mais peut-être…
Malheureusement, nous n’avons pas étudié cet aspect-là, mais moi l’aspect sur lequel je me suis concentré(e)…
Je ne sais pas du tout
Aucune idée. C’est un aspect sur lequel nous ne nous sommes pas penchés. Par contre, nous nous sommes penchés sur…

Don't be afraid to add spacers into your responses! To give yourself time to think of a response, you can at least start making some sounds so they know you've understood the question :) I think I used "euh....oui...." or "c'est une bonne question!" a fair bit haha, or else I knew the verb I wanted to use, so would maybe start with "je pense que..." and I repeat that once or twice.

Also use body language - make sure you're really open and smiling (even though you're probably nervous as hell!), and don't be afraid to use your hands when talking :) Give them expression - the assessors love it if you engage with them and seem personable!

Last but not least: the level of French the assessors expect is that of someone who has been learning French in a secondary school environment for 6 years. Yes, they're assessing you, but they will also be able to prompt you, and hopefully help you express yourself if you're struggling. :)

SylvieOZ

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2017, 10:44:20 am »
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Thank you K888 for this great post.

I would just add something , when you say to use the subjunctive  at least  once, use an irregular otherwise it is not obvious you are using it.

"Il faut que je mange" is not obviously subjunctive while "il faut que je fasse mes devoirs" is definitely a subjunctive.

jaygatsby

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2017, 05:16:14 pm »
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Hi!

Tout d'abord merci beaucoup pour ce post vraiment utile!

For you detailed study, I would like to know when writing it, how did you group all your info? As in did you info around your three ressources or did you write points and then use your ressources to back it up?

Merci xx

K888

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2017, 12:11:33 am »
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Hi!

Tout d'abord merci beaucoup pour ce post vraiment utile!

For you detailed study, I would like to know when writing it, how did you group all your info? As in did you info around your three ressources or did you write points and then use your ressources to back it up?

Merci xx
Je vous en prie :) Apologies in advance, I doubt my response will make sense because I'm so tired haha, please just ask if you need clarification or have further questions.

I did essentially all my info based around my three resources, so I could link everything back to them. I did have some general points (mainly about the war - key leaders, general stuff, etc.), and if something asked me for my opinion on something that wasn't to do the text, I would definitely write separate points to the resources, then potentially look for a link back to it.
Really, you don't have to be too strict in doing one way or another, just do what works for you. I'd personally recommend focusing your responses on your resources, though, because the examiners really want to see that you have a great knowledge of your texts.

Plus, think of it like this - you can always kinda fluff your way around a general question that you haven't prepared for, but if you haven't prepared something for a text/specific question about the text, then it's harder to make something up on the spot. :)

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2017, 10:45:20 am »
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Thank you so much for starting this thread!! Desperately needed some advice !! :)

Could I just ask, if you were to write a story, is it advisable to write in the first person or third person?
If the question says "You are the lead singer (e.g.)...etc" does that mean you have to write strictly in the first person (just because it says 'you' in the prompt?)

Also, my teacher says to avoid writing the story in the exam...(I don't get why) but he thinks that people do better writing a diary entry or a speech.
What do you suggest?

Thanks a lot once again for starting this thread!!

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Re: VCE French Writing & Oral Exam Resources
« Reply #14 on: December 28, 2017, 05:44:05 pm »
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Thank you so much for starting this thread!! Desperately needed some advice !! :)

Could I just ask, if you were to write a story, is it advisable to write in the first person or third person?
If the question says "You are the lead singer (e.g.)...etc" does that mean you have to write strictly in the first person (just because it says 'you' in the prompt?)

Also, my teacher says to avoid writing the story in the exam...(I don't get why) but he thinks that people do better writing a diary entry or a speech.
What do you suggest?

Thanks a lot once again for starting this thread!!


For the example question you've given, you do need to use first person. In general, there is no right way of writing a story; you can use either first or third person, just as long as you follow the instructions in the question.

The story is often considered to be one of the harder text types because (a) there's the issue of passé simple  (b) stories need descriptive language, which adds another level of difficulty  (c) ...and on top of that, you need to show off your creative flair, in a different language.
Of course, if you're confident with all these, there's no need to avoid story-writing altogether. That's why generally speaking it's not many people's cup of tea.

A diary entry or speech can get pretty repetitive in terms of the vocab and grammatical structures you use, so it might be more straightforward to prepare for them than a story. You could memorise certain idiomatic expressions that you could use in almost any diary entry regardless of the topic, or particular phrases like 'prenons comme point de départ' for any speech. This is possibly what your teacher was getting at.

Personally, I'm more logical than creative, so I committed myself to writing speeches/articles/letters. The most important thing is that you work out which text types suit your skills the most :)     
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