Worries About French!

[harmonie]

I will be starting Year 1 of the Diploma program this September and I am worried, especially about my second language. I will be taking SL French, and I was just wondering if anyone has ever taken it. If you did, what did you think of it? Any tips? My teacher this year was horrible so I didn't learn a lot. I like French, but for some reason, I'm just not good at it.

[Drake Glau]

Bonjour!

Combien d'annes est-ce que vous avez suivit les cours de francais. Quoique, l'anne passee, vous avez eu un prof mauvais de francais vous pouvez apprendre plus pendant l'ete. C'est bon que vous apprenniez le francais en votres temps libre. Peut etre pratiquez vous avec une amie?

Seriously though...just practice french during the summer. Look over grammar points because they grade heavily on grammar during orals and papers. When you have a solid grasp on grammatical aspects then you may expand to vocabulary. Because the SL languages are slowly starting to get their own textbooks, your professor will most likely focus on specific sections of vocab so you needn't worry about that aspect. GRAMMAR GRAMMAR GRAMMAR.....

GRAMMAR...

that said, excuse my french grammar

[Summer Glau]

I haven't taken the IB exam yet but I finished the course. My teacher for grades 9 and 10 wasn't very good either. Fortunately I had a good teacher for grade 11 and 12 so I learned more. It depends on what your French is like before starting the course, your teacher, and how much effort you put in during the course.

The first bit of advice I would give you is to make sure that your basic grammar is good (like Drake mentioned). If you can't conjugate avoir correctly in the present tense, then you'll probably screw up the future tense. If you're not sure how to use sophisticated stuff, don't use it! It's better to be simple and be understood than try to be fancy and nobody knows what you're saying. Even something like "J'ai un chat. Il s'appelle Max. J'aime mon chat." Yes it's pretty simple but you understand the ideas; I have a cat, his name is Max, I like my cat. The message is very clear. The IB likes it more when you are clear and simple rather trying to be sophisticated and sounding like a complete mess.

Also, expose yourself to French outside of class. Listen to music/watch TV to pick up pronunciation, read news articles, etc. If you want a 6 or 7 in French, this will really help you get there.

Also, have you heard of Explore? It's basically a 5 week program where you go live in a French part of Canada and pick up the language through classes, extracurricular activities and weekend trips =D I went last summer and it was the best summer I ever had I went kayaking, ziplining, canoeing, camping, and did a bunch of other cool stuff and learned more French at the same time. Plus, you can get a governemnt bursary for $2000 which will cover most of the cost of the program (accomodation, meals, etc).

Apply! Trust me, you won't regret it! Here's the link: http://www.myexplore.ca/en/

[harmonie]

Thank you, both of you!

I've been taking French since I was six because it's mandatory in Ontario. That said, the first eight years are more of vocab than actual grammar stuff.

I had a excellent French teacher in grade nine and I think my basics are pretty good. I'm pretty good with my past/present/future tense, but I'm hopeless when it comes to conditional tense and just putting everything together, haha.

Nonetheless, I'll keep everything you two told me in mind. I'll review all my grammar points and watch more French TV. I'll also look into the summer program - thanks for the link!

[Victorious]

One thing you should really concentrate on is conjugation. You can also build your vocabulary while you're at it. Practice conjugating verbs fromt present to past tense and future tense.

[Jayesaphine]

Honestly, I'm fluent in french, and I really don't think SL is that hard at all. I'm doing it, but it's too easy for me and so I'm just about to change to HL.

Basically it's a lot of comprehension. Don't do it if you're not good at written french. You will get lots of papers with pieces of text and then answer booklets asking questions like 'according to paragraph 3, why was jean-claude apprehensive about starting the bac?' etc. You will also have to write the odd essay on things like 'My opinion of animal testing' and 'pro's and con's of abortion.' Every now and again you will also have a vocab test, and eventually an oral. If your speaking french isn't as strong as your understanding of it, take it anyway! You'll push yourself and at least that way you'll learn to speak it a lot faster!

Good luck xxxx

[ShootingStars]

If your grammar, basics and vocab are good, you'll be fine and so don't be worried at all.

First, you want to try and expand your knowledge of grammar , so learn the conditional/subjonctif etc and once you've done that, just start practicing writing essays (past paper questions), practice really does make one perfect. I never thought I would be able to put everything together either, but just do as much practice as you can and you'll gain confidence over time. The words will just come to you quicker, and that's an amazing feeling haha. There are some great resources online to help with learning grammar as well.

Ooh and I think the syllabus has changed to include literature, I'm not sure about it but I've definitely heard that sl French will get a little harder from 2013 onwards. But don't let that worry you, like someone above said immerse yourself in French (try watching your favourite tv shows in French, watch french movies, read in french) so that your understanding of the language improves.

[Andyboi]

I would just like to add on that SL Languages such as french are not meant to be reading literature. Only HL language classes are meant to be reading literature (2 works of literature as stated in the syllabus) so don't worry about reading!

[Tony Stark]

You've been learning French since you were six? You'll be fine, the French B course is designed for those who have approximately 3 years of pre-IB French experience.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Saurav Das

[Victorious]

You've been learning French since you were six? You'll be fine, the French B course is designed for those who have approximately 3 years of pre-IB French experience.

Lol, I've had six years and I still suck at it.

But it's a wonderful language. I only wish I knew more of it. :/

[Lydia]

It really helps to be exposed to an environment consisting of as much French as possible. Try watching French TV shows that interest you, or perhaps re-watch movies or TV shows that you're familiar with in French instead. Sure it takes away some of your free time and what not, but watching French TV shows and listening to French radio shows really helped me prep for my French oral exam

I'm currently working towards the written exam, so I'm starting to practice writing stuff like speeches, reviews, and journals. Reviewing grammar and vocab also helps

French is definitely a beautiful language, but like all languages, practice is absolutely necessary

[Vridhi Goyal]

heyy, im doing my first year in IB, and ive taken french ab as its the first time im learning the language

i make silly mistakes in grammar and i need regular tests and practice

im in a boarding school so i do not have any other help except for my teacher, who is a day boarder and goes back home everyday after school ends

need some help!

[HiggsHunter]

heyy, im doing my first year in IB, and ive taken french ab as its the first time im learning the language

i make silly mistakes in grammar and i need regular tests and practice

im in a boarding school so i do not have any other help except for my teacher, who is a day boarder and goes back home everyday after school ends

need some help!

While working in India I dropped in to some of the Alliance Française centres in the country. If you live in any of the 16 Indian cities that have such a centre, you will find it easy to make friends with native French speakers there.

http://www.afindia.org/