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WJEC A2 French Oral Exam

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone in their french oral exam has ever put at the end of their presentation about their film/ book "If I had more time I would speak about..."

If so, did it work (did the examiner ask many questions about what you wanted to talk about?)

Thanks!

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Reply 1
Any help?
Reply 2
How did it go? Wasn't as bad as any of my class expected :L Our exposés were on Provence though, not a film/book.
Reply 3
Original post by MDPearson
How did it go? Wasn't as bad as any of my class expected :L Our exposés were on Provence though, not a film/book.


Mine is on Thursday. Terrified. D:
Does the discussion after the exposé drag or does it go by quickly? I'm scared I won't have enough to say and the 10 minutes will feel like ages.:s-smilie:

And any other tips? I just want it to be over, tbh.:redface:
Original post by Dusty12
Mine is on Thursday. Terrified. D:
Does the discussion after the exposé drag or does it go by quickly? I'm scared I won't have enough to say and the 10 minutes will feel like ages.:s-smilie:

And any other tips? I just want it to be over, tbh.:redface:

:O i've firmed bristol too! And it doesn't have to last 10 mins I thought just that's the maximum
Reply 5
Original post by Moscardini
:O i've firmed bristol too! And it doesn't have to last 10 mins I thought just that's the maximum

:O yaaay! I'll hopefully have someone to complain about WJEC with when I'm at Bristol! (If I pass this exam and the rest of my A-Levels...:colonhash:)

That's good news too, hopefully I won't have to discuss it for too long.:s-smilie:
Did you find the topic cards challenging, or were they quite predictable?
Reply 6
Original post by Dusty12
Mine is on Thursday. Terrified. D:
Does the discussion after the exposé drag or does it go by quickly? I'm scared I won't have enough to say and the 10 minutes will feel like ages.:s-smilie:

And any other tips? I just want it to be over, tbh.:redface:


It flies by, I spent longer on my 20-min preparation than I did in the exam (well only because the examinatrice forgot where the prep room was and couldn't find me lol). But just give the examiner a load of facts and he/she'll pretend to be interested and you'll be fine... as long as, you know, you know some facts :smile:

Try to lead him/her towards a topic you feel comfortable with, they're trained to pick up on it and change the subject to what you want to talk about.

Also try to throw in some specialist vocabulary, don't do what I did which is writing down some useful vocab and then not looking at it once during the exam :s-smilie:

Good luck hope it goes well!
Original post by Dusty12
:O yaaay! I'll hopefully have someone to complain about WJEC with when I'm at Bristol! (If I pass this exam and the rest of my A-Levels...:colonhash:)

That's good news too, hopefully I won't have to discuss it for too long.:s-smilie:
Did you find the topic cards challenging, or were they quite predictable?


I lie, I just had my exam, we talked for the whole duration -.-
I was surprised actually she had like a bazillion different cards but they all seemed okay, all 4 of us sitting the exam each had a different card on the environment so i think there are a few for each subject but it the cards werent too bad actually. My film was les choristes and the questions after were a bit 0.o not any of the simple 'what's your fave scene' or 'what's the film about' or anything i was expecting :L when's yours?
Reply 8
Original post by Moscardini
I lie, I just had my exam, we talked for the whole duration -.-
I was surprised actually she had like a bazillion different cards but they all seemed okay, all 4 of us sitting the exam each had a different card on the environment so i think there are a few for each subject but it the cards werent too bad actually. My film was les choristes and the questions after were a bit 0.o not any of the simple 'what's your fave scene' or 'what's the film about' or anything i was expecting :L when's yours?

The environment seems one of the nicer topics. Hopefully I'll be as lucky.:smile:

Oh dear, I'm scared for the exposé questions. I suppose language quality of the most important thing though, so even if I can't think of good answers, I hope I'll be able to say it in an eloquent way.:tongue:

Mine is tomorrow!:frown::frown::frown:
Original post by Dusty12
The environment seems one of the nicer topics. Hopefully I'll be as lucky.:smile:

Oh dear, I'm scared for the exposé questions. I suppose language quality of the most important thing though, so even if I can't think of good answers, I hope I'll be able to say it in an eloquent way.:tongue:

Mine is tomorrow!:frown::frown::frown:


I was praying for either environment or media :P haha, i'm not very eloquent in English, let alone French :P
Reply 10
Original post by Moscardini
I was praying for either environment or media :P haha, i'm not very eloquent in English, let alone French :P

Media's good. I'd love to have a chance to discuss the internet. "MOI, J'UTILISE L'INTERNET CHAQUE JOURRRR!!! 8D"...:tongue:

I can write quite eloquently, but definitely not speaking. In English I have a strange accent, in Welsh I use too many English words, and in French my accent is bad and I can't think of words fast enough. I don't sound normal in any language.:colondollar:
Reply 11
Original post by Dusty12
Media's good. I'd love to have a chance to discuss the internet. "MOI, J'UTILISE L'INTERNET CHAQUE JOURRRR!!! 8D"...:tongue:

I can write quite eloquently, but definitely not speaking. In English I have a strange accent, in Welsh I use too many English words, and in French my accent is bad and I can't think of words fast enough. I don't sound normal in any language.:colondollar:


Bonne chance/good luck/pob lwc. Let me know how you get on!
Reply 12
Original post by Gales
Bonne chance/good luck/pob lwc. Let me know how you get on!

Merci/thanks/diolch. Hopefully i'm not depressed and despondent following the exam this time tomorrow.:redface:
Original post by Dusty12
Media's good. I'd love to have a chance to discuss the internet. "MOI, J'UTILISE L'INTERNET CHAQUE JOURRRR!!! 8D"...:tongue:

I can write quite eloquently, but definitely not speaking. In English I have a strange accent, in Welsh I use too many English words, and in French my accent is bad and I can't think of words fast enough. I don't sound normal in any language.:colondollar:


haha, 'pour 6 heure chaque jour' whenever I say that people are like WTF 0.o :frown:
Yeah, i find words come so much easier to my hand than my mouth :P I just find that i want to talk more deeply about something like i would if i was writing but i dont know how to say it and then i stumble and fail
Original post by Dusty12
Merci/thanks/diolch. Hopefully i'm not depressed and despondent following the exam this time tomorrow.:redface:


Hi! I was just wondering how you found the exam? I have mine next Tuesday and am really worried about it! What sort of questions did they ask following the expose (mine is on Amelie if anyone else has done that too!)Also, in the expose do people tend to retell a little of the plot or just launch straight into their specific question/focus?

I'm also worried that I won't be able to understand the examiner's accent! Has anybody had this problem?! Thanks in advance :smile:
Reply 15
Original post by never too late
Hi! I was just wondering how you found the exam? I have mine next Tuesday and am really worried about it! What sort of questions did they ask following the expose (mine is on Amelie if anyone else has done that too!)Also, in the expose do people tend to retell a little of the plot or just launch straight into their specific question/focus?

I'm also worried that I won't be able to understand the examiner's accent! Has anybody had this problem?! Thanks in advance :smile:

Hi! Tbh the exam was fine! My topic card was on nuclear power (my friends got global warming, TV, and something about immigration and Marine Le Pen) and that was alright. It went by really quickly.
The annoying thing about the examiner I had was that he wouldn't give us time to speak. He barely let me say two sentences in answer to every question before moving on! That was quite good if I forgot what I was saying and started trailing off though.:tongue:
The expose questions weren't too challenging. Again he didn't let me ramble in the slightest, and I got the impression it really didn't matter what you said as long as you were talking and it was correct. The questions I got were all pretty much either the 'obvious' questions from my exposé, or just the classic things you discuss when discussing 'L'étranger'. They don't throw really tricky ones to catch you out.

For my exposé, I had one paragraph on the author, one on the story/structure of the novel, and then the rest discussing my theme. I'd say it doesn't matter with films/books that are quite popular and that they've probably read.

The examiner's accent was very different from my teachers', but I think they do make a concious effort to speak clearly so it's fine. The one we got had a slight North-Walian edge to his accent.:tongue:

Don't worry anyway; it should be fine. :smile:
Original post by Dusty12
Hi! Tbh the exam was fine! My topic card was on nuclear power (my friends got global warming, TV, and something about immigration and Marine Le Pen) and that was alright. It went by really quickly.
The annoying thing about the examiner I had was that he wouldn't give us time to speak. He barely let me say two sentences in answer to every question before moving on! That was quite good if I forgot what I was saying and started trailing off though.:tongue:
The expose questions weren't too challenging. Again he didn't let me ramble in the slightest, and I got the impression it really didn't matter what you said as long as you were talking and it was correct. The questions I got were all pretty much either the 'obvious' questions from my exposé, or just the classic things you discuss when discussing 'L'étranger'. They don't throw really tricky ones to catch you out.

For my exposé, I had one paragraph on the author, one on the story/structure of the novel, and then the rest discussing my theme. I'd say it doesn't matter with films/books that are quite popular and that they've probably read.

The examiner's accent was very different from my teachers', but I think they do make a concious effort to speak clearly so it's fine. The one we got had a slight North-Walian edge to his accent.:tongue:

Don't worry anyway; it should be fine. :smile:


Hi! Thank you, that doesn't sound too bad then- at least you've got it out of the way! ahh right, I just find it so hard to prepare for the cards, but those topics sound ok. Did you get a chance to bring in bits from the elections at all? How irritating! Although, as you say it's better that way as I tend to go off on a tangent.

Would you say that if you were to go over the time limit for the presentation of the expose, the examiner would stop you from finishing? How did you prepare for the discussion? Argh no how offputting! Thanks for all your help, and I hope you get a good mark! :smile: I've just done my resit of last years speaking, so i'm fed up with preparing for this type of exam!
Reply 17
Original post by never too late
Hi! Thank you, that doesn't sound too bad then- at least you've got it out of the way! ahh right, I just find it so hard to prepare for the cards, but those topics sound ok. Did you get a chance to bring in bits from the elections at all? How irritating! Although, as you say it's better that way as I tend to go off on a tangent.

Would you say that if you were to go over the time limit for the presentation of the expose, the examiner would stop you from finishing? How did you prepare for the discussion? Argh no how offputting! Thanks for all your help, and I hope you get a good mark! :smile: I've just done my resit of last years speaking, so i'm fed up with preparing for this type of exam!

I didn't mention the elections, but my brother had the immigration card so I think he talked about it for a bit.

He wouldn't cut you off mid sentence after 4 mins. Our examiner made it clear he wouldn't interrupt and I think most people went over the time limit. Mine was 5.5 minutes but I forgot part of it and spoke really quickly, so I'm not sure how long it was.:redface: They'd probably allow you a minute extra, but if you were still going strong after minutes they might tell you to shut up. You shouldn't lose marks for that though.
I was really badly-prepared for the discussion. I just did a couple of essays as practice, and read stuff about it in French on the internet. Have a few themes/ideas you're confident speaking about, so you can lead the conversation towards them.:biggrin:

But yeah, good luck to you too.:smile:
Reply 18
Original post by Dusty12
I didn't mention the elections, but my brother had the immigration card so I think he talked about it for a bit.

He wouldn't cut you off mid sentence after 4 mins. Our examiner made it clear he wouldn't interrupt and I think most people went over the time limit. Mine was 5.5 minutes but I forgot part of it and spoke really quickly, so I'm not sure how long it was.:redface: They'd probably allow you a minute extra, but if you were still going strong after minutes they might tell you to shut up. You shouldn't lose marks for that though.
I was really badly-prepared for the discussion. I just did a couple of essays as practice, and read stuff about it in French on the internet. Have a few themes/ideas you're confident speaking about, so you can lead the conversation towards them.:biggrin:

But yeah, good luck to you too.:smile:


Really? 5.5 minutes? Ours specifically said no more than 4 minutes, and if we did go over, he'd stop us at the end of the sentence. :s-smilie:
Reply 19
Original post by Gales
Really? 5.5 minutes? Ours specifically said no more than 4 minutes, and if we did go over, he'd stop us at the end of the sentence. :s-smilie:

Examiners must have different opinions then - ours didn't even seem to look at his watch! It would be so off-putting to be stopped mid-paragraph.:s-smilie:

There's nowhere I can see in the markscheme where they could possibly take substantial marks off for it, at least, so even if you rambled and had to be stopped it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Anyway, probably wiser to err on the shorter side of 4 minutes then.

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