French Help (from the beginning)

[Deja Wu]

French is far from my best subject and I know that I need help with it. Hypothetically, if I were to relearn french from a grade 9 level (I'm not that bad at french but any review is good) to a grade 11 SL French level, how would I go about doing so?

[bigbangfan]

well, I believe the best way to learn a language is putting it into practice. Read articles in french, I´m sure you´re capable of this as you say you started french in year 9. Listen to news in french. Here´s a website of the main news channel of France, http://www.tv5.org/ . They´ve got a section dedicated to french learners. Just read and hear the news, make sure you understand everything and get used to uncommon words that you hear. If you know anyone who speaks french just talk with him/her, if not you can practise by your own, the latter might sound stupid though. That´s all. Languages are just about practising and acquiring the language. Bonne Chance!!

[Sinoco]

You have to realize that French B is totally different from a core French class. French B is more about comprehension, you don't understand something, you won't get those marks on Paper 1. But if you can't write with good grammar, you won't get those marks on Paper 2. What I would suggest for someone with a bad French background is to grab a French grammar workbook from a book store. Once you can handle the grammar, you need to do vocab building. You should do something you're interested in in French. I listen to music and analyze the lyrics the most. You pick up a lot of vocab that way, as well, I look at the news from Montreal. I also do some personal colloquial study, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you aim to reach fluency, and not just finish French B.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Sinoco

[Sabs44]

Most important thing is grammar, from there you can learn more and more vocabulary and build your knowledge up!

[msb143]

Can someone explain more about the French Exams?

[rFumachi]

Can someone explain more about the French Exams?

Paper 1:

Section A) Reading Comprehension:

30-40 questions based on 3 texts (Texts A, B and C). Question types include true or false with a justification, looking for synonyms, inserting conjunctions, identifying which noun a pronoun refers to, matching titles with paragraphs, multiple choice, identifying the main purpose of the text. All answers should be exact words lifted from the text; do not try to explain or paraphrase.

Section B) Written Response:

There will be one question related to Text D and candidates are expected to write at least 100 words. There is no word limit, but it is advisable not to go over 200 words as in this task it is important to be concise. The objective is to select details from the orginal text that are pertinent to the question and re-write them in a different format. You should look for about 7-10 details from the text, then link them together coherently. You can use words from the original, but not whole sentences, as the point is to demonstrate your understanding of style and register.

Paper 2:

You will have to write a text based on one question of the paper. HL students have a choice of 6 questions covering different topics and types of text and are required to write at least 400 words. SL have a choice of 4 and are required to write at least 250 words. You will be marked based on Language, Cultural Interaction and for Message.

Edited January 2, 2012 by rFumachi

[emmanem]

Read it, write it, speak it, hear it, even sing it. The more forms you use, the better you will learn it.

I would suggest buying a lower level textbook and reading through it, then circling/highlighting everything you dont know. Review it.

Also, translate things constantly. Bored in History? Try and talk about the subject in French (in your head, of course). It will make it easier for you to just flip that switch on.