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AS French Oral

Hi! Hopefully this reaches any AS French students
Oral exams are coming up soon and I'm wondering how you guys are revising?
My school gave me a list of loads of questions to prepare but i don't think it's feasible to write out answers to each

Would simply asking myself the questions and saying answers aloud be sufficient preparation?

Thanks :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
Hi,
although I do AQA German, all Modern Foreign Languages are assessed by the same standards and criteria so I think I'll be able to help out. Here's the absolute mandatory stuff I would suggest people do:

1) It's vital to learn sentence starters and phrases that you can pre-learn, that really show off advanced vocabulary and complex grammar constructions (I'm sure you could find a list in a textbook or online). They automatically bump up your grade, because it means that you can cover nearly all points of grammar, yet you still don't have to try and incorporate them into your actual points, you just stick one in before your point where it could be appropriate e.g. "If I had more time, I would..." (shows conditional), "Once, when I was younger, my friend had had to.... (shows pluperfect) etc etc etc. It's also really good for essays too, especially using phrases like "It cannot be disputed, that......" or "On the contrary......" - it can help you develop and expand on points, and can be really impressive to the examiner.

2) I know it's a hassle, but learning as much vocabulary as you can (especially advanced stuff and colloquialisms that wouldn't necessarily translate well back into English) is one of the best things you can do. Make flashcards of difficult words for different topics and learn like crazy. It'll stop you sounding too basic and when you get given a question from a certain topic, you have an entire semantic field in your head to refer to. These can then trigger new points and developments which give more content marks.

3) I know you said you wouldn't want to, but at least learn some of the predictable questions - it can save you if you're doing badly and give you things to say. I would suggest writing some and getting them checked by your teacher and then learning them off by heart beforehand. Obviously, you'll need your acting skills, because it cannot sound scripted; ensure the general speed and feel of your response is the same as if you were making it up on the spot. But this is completely bulletproof, just make sure it's a realistic response.

4) At least plan some responses for questions. Just a little spider diagram or list of points you could make - nothing is worse than hearing an examiner give you a question and thinking "oh God, I wouldn't even know what to say if I was asked that in English!".

5) Stay calm at all times and try not to panic. Just be chilled and act like it's a normal class conversation. Always stick to French when asking to repeat the question or talk slower etc (so yes, even more phrases to learn) because English is not allowed at any time!

Good luck anyway, I'm sure you'll do just fine :smile:
I've got my AS Frech Oral next Tuesday and i was just looking though the student room for idea of good sentence starters and I've found these (all copy and pasted).

pouvez -vous répéter la question s'il vous plaît ?
je partage votre avis
alors, enfin, en fait or just euh (filers to buy more time)
je ne suis pas (tout a fait) d'accord or au contraire,
Je vous concède que...
• je suis convaincu que...
• on va trop loin en disant que...
• par ailleurs...
• il n'a pas été démontré que...
• on exagère quand on affirme que...
• on a tort de croire que...
• incontestablement...
• jusqu'à preuve du contraire...
• il est inexact de dire que...
• par contre ...
• j'estime que...
• il faut constater que...
• il faut aborder la question de...
• afin de changer cette situation, il faudrait ...
• tous ces facteurs semblent indiquer que...
• à titre d'exemple, je cite...
• il est manifeste que...
• il est nécessaire d'envisager une situation où...
• au niveau de...
bien que je sache que...... although that i know that
pour que je puisse........... so that i can
il est necessaire que nous voyions....... it is necessary that we see

Good Luck!
Original post by aspoonfulofsoph1
I've got my AS Frech Oral next Tuesday and i was just looking though the student room for idea of good sentence starters and I've found these (all copy and pasted).

Good Luck!


Thank you so much for doing this, I have mine on Tuesday too and I'm terrified! Good luck everyone!
Reply 4
Avatar for JManning
JManning
1
Original post by Don Joiner
Hi! Hopefully this reaches any AS French students
Oral exams are coming up soon and I'm wondering how you guys are revising?
My school gave me a list of loads of questions to prepare but i don't think it's feasible to write out answers to each

Would simply asking myself the questions and saying answers aloud be sufficient preparation?

Thanks :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile


The questions are good but like you said it's a little unrealistic to write down and memorise 60 or so answers when only one topic is going to come up.
Of course it's essential to know grammar, remember the exam does not have many marks for content- just accuracy and range.
Include a few tenses but I wouldn't try to conjugate one mid-assessment. The nerves might get to you and you can lose marks!

Just try your best, learn your stuff and you should be fine. The exam goes a lot quicker than you think.

Bonne chance.
Reply 5
Avatar for sab311
sab311
Hi, has anyone done the speaking this year with new technology as their stimulus card?? How'd it go?? (Aqa as level)

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