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Home > French > Beginners Course > How to approach the exam > The Oral Examination > Oral Examination

How to approach the exam: the Oral Examination

1. Examination specifications
2. Preparing for the examination
3. During the examination
4. Related Board of Studies Websites

Examination specifications

The current French Beginners syllabus was examined for the first time in 2008.

The oral examination will take approximately five minutes and is worth 20 marks.

The oral examination assesses your knowledge and skills in interacting in French. It relates to Objective 1 – Interacting, and the following outcomes, where you:

The oral examination is held on a date in Term 3, earlier than the HSC written examinations. The Board of Studies publishes a Languages Oral Examinations Timetable each year at (http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/ ). You should be familiar with the practical advice supplied with the timetable. You will be advised of the examination date, time and venue at least three weeks prior to the examination. Make sure that your school and the Board of Studies have your correct contact details.

The examination will consist of a general conversation between you and an examiner. In the conversation, you and the examiner will discuss your personal world, as it relates to the prescribed topics in the syllabus.

You are not permitted to use dictionaries or refer to written notes during the oral examination.Other useful and related documents provided by the Board of Studies are included at the end of this section.

Preparing for the examination

You should aim to establish effective communication and to maintain the flow of the conversation to create the best overall impression. You should demonstrate how well you can:

• exchange relevant information (i.e. give relevant answers to the questions asked)
• exchange opinions and make comments (e.g. say why you like something, why you don’t want to do something, etc.)
• use appropriate intonation and pronunciation
• demonstrate a variety of vocabulary and language structures.

This is an examination for which you can be well prepared. You may be asked about aspects of everyday life (see the topics listed below), from the perspective of your personal world. This is your opportunity to talk about yourself, your friends, your family, etc.

You are advised to:

• familiarise yourself with the topics prescribed in the syllabus. These are:
  • Family life, home and neighbourhood
  • People, places and communities
  • Education and work
  • Friends, recreation and pastimes
  • Holidays, travel and tourism
  • Future plans and aspirations
• learn as much useful vocabulary as you can. This will enable you to speak across the range of topics.
  
  
• practise your pronunciation. There are a number of resources available to help you do this, e.g. the audio material which comes with textbook courses, commercially available material which focuses specifically on pronunciation, etc. Some of these are available electronically. Listen carefully and try to model your pronunciation on what you hear.
  
  
• practise responding to a wide range of sample questions.
  
  
• practise speaking with classmates, with different French teachers, etc.
  
  
• record your answers and, if possible, ask your teacher for feedback. This will give you practice in recording your responses and will also help you to assess areas on which you may need to focus, e.g. pronunciation, intonation, variety of vocabulary, sentence structure, etc.
  
  
• practise speaking in full sentences and extending your responses where possible. This will enable you to show a greater facility with the language than if you consistently answer with simple phrases or single words. Practise making a number of relevant comments in your response.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	Parle-moi de ta famille.
  	Student:	Il y a cinq personnes dans ma famille.D’abord ma mère Christiane et mon père Philippe. Et puis ma soeur Annette et mon petit frèreTristan.
  	Examiner:	Comment est ton petit frère?
  	Student:	Il est adorable. Il a trois ans et je l’aime beacoup. Je joue souvent avec lui.
  	Examiner:	Tu t’entends bien avec ta soeur?
  	Student:	Plus ou moins. Annette est parfois énervante, elle est très gaie et fait beaucoup de bruit.Elle parle tout le temps. Moi, j’aime le silence.

  
  
  
• practise giving a range of information in your answers. You may be asked a range of questions from the perspective of your own personal world and you should not limit yourself to extremely brief answers. Conversing well, across a range of topics, will create a good impression. It is up to you to maximise this opportunity during the five minutes of the examination. You should remain consistent throughout the conversation, e.g. it is inadvisable to say you have three brothers at the beginning of the examination and then claim to be an only child at the end.
  
  
• practise speaking in the past tense

E.g. L’année dernière je suis allé(e) en Nouvelle Calédonie avec ma classe.  Nous nous sommes amusé(e)s et nous avons fait beaucoup d’activités intéressantes.

E.g. Je me suis réveillé(e) à cinq heures ce matin.  J’ai pris l’avion à huit heures.

• practise using subordinate clauses
  
  E.g. Quand nous avons pris le bus pour aller visiter le Centre culturel Tijibaou, ma copine Josiane s’est perdue.
  
  E.g. Je m’entends bien avec ma meilleure amie Jacqueline parce que nous apprécions les mêmes choses.
  
  E.g.  Ma correspondante qui s’appelle Mira arrive demain en Australie.
  
  
• concentrate on verbs and know how to use them correctly. You should be able to talk not only about yourself and what you do, etc, but also about other people – your family, friends, etc. To do this, you will need to use different verb endings and should practise this.
  
  E.g. Moi j’aime bien les sports. Je fais de la voile et de l’équitation, mais mes amis détestent les activités sportives.
  
  E.g. Je suis en terminale et nous avons beaucoup de devoirs.

During the examination

You should:

• remain calm and speak confidently and clearly.
  
  
• avoid  the temptation to rush into a response. If you need a moment to think about your answer, then take this – just as you might in a normal conversation. You may also use filler words such as Euh… Eh bien… Je pense que…  Alors… to give yourself time to think. On the other hand, long pauses would not be natural, and should be avoided, especially as this examination only lasts for five minutes.
  
  
• listen carefully to the question. If you have not understood, or are uncertain, then ask the examiner (in French) for clarification, or to repeat it

E.g. Pardon, vous pouvez répéter s’il vous plaît? Parlez moins vite s’il vous plaît. Je ne comprends pas. Je suis désolé(e). Répétez s’il vous plaît.

• be aware that the questions asked may follow on from the answers you have already given. However, a number of different topics may be covered in the exam. So there may be a switch to other topics during the course of the conversation. You should be prepared for this to happen.
  
  
• be prepared to expand your answers. This does not mean giving a prepared monologue and attempting to dominate the conversation. However, you should attempt to expand your responses by making a number of relevant comments to demonstrate the range of vocabulary and language structures you have at your disposal. You may find that aiming for roughly three comments in an extended response will assist you in this.
  
  
• try to treat every question as a springboard to show what you know. Avoid the temptation to restrict your response to oui, or non or to simply repeat the question. Consider the following examples. Which response do you think would make the better impression?
  
  

  Example 1	Examiner:	Tu as déjà voyagé?
  	Student:	Non.
  Example 2	Examiner:	Tu as déjà voyagé?
  	Student:	Non, je n’ai jamais voyagé mais je voudrais rendre visite à ma grande soeur. Elle habite en Angleterre depuis trois ans.

  
  
  
• be aware that this is not a normal ‘conversation’, but rather a one-way conversation, with a series of questions provided for you to demonstrate your knowledge. It is therefore not appropriate for you to ask the examiner questions, e.g. whether he/she has seen a film, where he/she goes on holidays, etc.
  
  
• remember that there is a wide range of possible questions that you could be asked. It is impossible to accurately predict the questions in this type of examination. However, if you have practised, you can be confident you will be able to handle any line of questioning that develops.
  
  
• answer as best you can, but do not worry if there is a question you cannot answer. A range of questions may be asked across a range of topics.
  
  
• be aware that you should not ask the examiner for assistance, other than to repeat or clarify the question

E.g. Je ne comprends pas. Je suis désolé(e). Répétez s’il vous plaît.

• note that if you are asked a question with vous (vous plural), e.g. Vous allez ensemble au cinéma?  Then you are probably being asked about yourself and other people, and you will want to respond with we (nous). E.g. Nous allons au cinéma le vendredi soir.  C’est moins cher.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	Tu aimes le cinéma? Tu vas souvent au cinéma avec tes amis?  Quel genre de film regardez-vous?
  e.g.	Examiner:	Tu as un petit boulot? Ton amie et toi, vous travaillez dans le même restaurant?
  e.g.	Examiner:	Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire pendant les vacances? Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire pendant les vacances?

  
  
• be prepared to answer a question(s) in the past tense
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	Tu as pris ton petit-déjeuner ce matin?
  	Student:	Oui, j’ai mangé des biscottes et du yaourt et j’ai bu un jus de fruit.

  
  
• avoid using English words if you don't know the correct word or expression in French. You should have a range of appropriate vocabulary at your disposal and should keep to what you know to be correct. The examination is not a good time for experimentation.
  
  
• always remember that the examiner’s role is to facilitate the examination. The aim is to provide you with a positive experience, by giving you the opportunity to show your range of ability in spoken French.

The Board of Studies Website

At the Board of Studies website (http://boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/ ), you can access the following:
-French Beginners syllabus
-HSC (Year 12) Examination Timetable
-2008 HSC Specimen Examination Package
-Past examination papers
-Notes from the Examination Centre
-Equipment Checklist for Higher School Certificate Examinations and School Certificate Tests
-Rules and Procedures for Higher School Certificate Candidates