In order to improve your key language skills and level in a subject like the French language can take a lot of studying and hard work, and it certainly doesn't happen overnight! Even those students who are naturally gifted academically, athletically, musically or creatively have to dedicate time to learning and growing.
Learning a new or second language is an incredibly exciting subject to study, as you will learn all about interpersonal and communication skills as well as different French-speaking cultures around the world.
Today we will take a look at how you can practice your written and oral answers in French for any question on a test, assessment or exam that could be thrown at you such as;
- English and French written responses
- Reading comprehension text
- Listening to audio files
- Answers to French oral questions
- Key knowledge about topics for the course content
You may be a Year 11 or 12 student who has chosen French as a second language and is beginning to feel a bit nervous leading up to exam time, keep reading this article to find out how practising with past exams is a great resource to help prepare you for exams and grow your confidence in:
- Writing
- Speaking
- Reading
- Listening
The main purpose of this article is to direct you to your specific state or territory's curriculum website and show you how past exams can develop your study skills, prepare you for a number of topics, and develop your written responses.
Year 12 level of study is a time at school where it may feel like you constantly have an upcoming assessment or test, so doing an extra test or exam may be the last thing you want to do. We're here to talk about how although it might not sound exciting; past exams are some of the best ways to revise!
We've got plenty of other helpful articles for Years 11 & 12 French students, explore all of our helpful study tips, learn more about exam revision and more.
A Note on Taking Exams and Exam Structure
If you are a student who has clicked on this article and are reading because you are determined to do your best on your French language exams, let's have a quick discussion about learning how to sit exams is an essential learning skill.
For many students, their love of learning can diminish with the stresses of constant tests and exams. Often it isn't emphasised enough for high school students that learning how specific subjects have common exam structures, and learning how to sit them requires:
- Time management: Knowing how much time should be spent on each question, and being aware of where marking/scoring with will have the most weight
- Reading comprehension: Understanding what the exam questions are asking you to respond to
- Familiarity with course content/key areas of study: Knowledge about specific topics and subjects that could appear in exam questions or audio files for listening tests
Once you have a good understanding of how your exam will be structured and what type of question or reading text to expect for each section, it doesn't seem so scary. Knowing what to expect and understanding what knowledge you will need is half the battle, preparation is one of the best gifts you can give yourself as a Year 12 VCE, SACE or NTCE French student.
So now we've gone over exam structure and how it can help your revision and exam preparation let's check out how you can incorporate; past exams, sample audio from listening tests and reviewing written responses into your study.
Here is where you can find the most effective french lessons near me in Australia.
Where to Download Past Exams, Listening Audio and Answers
You may be wondering where to find all of these past exam French papers and audio files. As we've mentioned in our other articles about preparing for Year 12 level French in Australia it is important that you visit your state or territory's curriculum website.
For VCE you can head to the VCAA website, for HSC you can head to the NSW ESA website and so on to find archived and saved PDF versions of past exams. In most states and territories you should be able to access these papers and download any PDF file that could be of use to you.
Given that education and the way we teach is always changing and evolving, so too are the way exams are written and created. Here we'd like to give you some advice, you can find out with just a few quick searches for the most updated and current curriculum study designs.
This is a helpful tip to figure out whether a VCE or WACE exam from 6 years ago with a totally different study design is going to be a good resource for your study or not.
However, if you do make your way through the most updated practice exams which are updated and relevant to you the older and out of date exams can still serve as a helpful learning tool in terms of grammar and vocabulary practice.
Browsing through past examinations for the French written exam is a good way to explore different topics and vocabulary or grammar which might be expected in some of your written or oral responses.
Looking at responses and answers from completed exams is also a great way to develop your understanding of examination scoring and marking, and what type of content you should focus on when completing practice questions.
Other Exam Resources
There are some organisations such as the Alliance Français which provide French courses Sydney and elsewhere where you can sit the DELF examination and gain access to other resources such as a test on a specific topic that could be related to your exam content.
Learning and speaking a second language is a wonderful journey to undertake, it could be your dream to travel to a French-speaking country one day and create new and exciting connections with people you may otherwise have not met!
Remember to also consider working with your own private French language tutor, as you can target specific exam questions and improve your level in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
It can be beneficial to study with your own French tutor as they can provide you with lessons tailored to your needs. Working with a tutor provides you with additional time to go over and clarify:
- Assessment Criteria
- Key Areas of Study
- Study Outcomes
- Course Content: written and oral exam course content
- Exam Marking and Scoring
You could spend time with your French tutor going over your written or oral response to sample exam questions, with their marking and feedback you can learn where you need to improve and do your best for the written and oral examination.
Here at Superprof we have a great range of French tutors all across Australia who would be able to support you in your studies. They may even be able to provide you with additional resources such as an engaging reading comprehension text to help improve your grammar and vocabulary.
For example, French reading comprehension and grammar may not be your favourite topic to study but having a tutor to help work through some additional questions together can make a great difference.
Check out some of the profiles of our fabulous tutors and improve your key listening, speaking, reading and writing skills together.
Organising your French Study Resources
Now that we've given you some advice of where to access past examination papers which are specific to your year level and state or territory, you might be wondering what the best way to organise all of these sample exam questions so you can pull them out at anytime.
There a few different options on how to do this depending on what type of learner you are, if you're a student who prefers to hold an exam paper in your hands and enjoy writing notes you could:
- Print out: having a few copies of past exam papers means you can make mistakes and try again, learning is a process!
- Organise into a folder: create sections in your folder; sample written questions with English/French responses and oral exam discussion phrases
Remember that on the Year 11 and Year 12 level French written exam there will most likely be some questions which will require you to answer in French and some in English. Finding both types of sample questions is a great way to practice a written or oral response to a variety of topics and subjects.
If you prefer to study using a computer then you can apply some of the same organisation tips we just provided, but digitally.
- Download and save: either a PDF file or audio file of a past or sample exam question
- Create folder: label the PDF or audio file you've downloaded and drag it into your study folder on your computer's desktop
We hope that you have taken away some useful information today, and remember to check out our other articles about how you can best prepare for your upcoming French Year 11 or Year 12 exams.
Refresh your knowledge with French classes Melbourne here on Superprof.
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