LEAVING CERT FRENCH:THE LEAVING Cert is much criticised for learning by rote and regurgitation of facts in exams, but there was little scope for this in the higher and ordinary level French papers yesterday morning, according to teachers.
At higher level, the exam opened with a comprehension extract from Le Figaro about the reform of the drivers licence.
“This was a testing question,” said TUI representative, Mary Costello. “It was long enough and required students to really gain a global understanding of the article,” she said.
“As well as the usual identification and quotation in the comprehension, there was a lot of manipulation of language and information required,” said ASTI representative Beth Cooney. “Much more so than we would normally expect.”
A literary comprehension was friendlier but still challenging, according to Ms Costello. “Some of the vocabulary used would have stretched the students,” she said.
“The prose in that text was quite literary and challenging,” agreed Ms Cooney.
“Both comprehensions required the students’ full attention,” Ms Costello said. “They would have had to think on their feet and draw on their own resources to answer the questions on both.”
The compulsory question in the written expression section referred back to the comprehension texts but was described as “fair” by Ms Cooney.
A diary entry about having to cancel a New Year’s Eve celebration because of snowy weather was well within students’ abilities, according to Ms Costello. The other option on that question, asking students to write an e-mail, included various points specified in the question. “I don’t generally encourage students to do that option,” Ms Costello said. “If you don’t give exactly what is required you don’t get the marks.”
In the final section of the paper students had to write an opinion about a particular topic. “There was something there for everyone,” said Ms Cooney. “Fast food, volunteering, fashion and whether students should be paid to attend school were the topics.”
The aural exam was as expected. “It was fine really,” said Ms Cooney. “The speakers were clear and well paced . . . overall it was fine.”
Ordinary level students should have been fairly pleased with their exam, teachers said, although the paper was no walkover.
Corinne Gavernda, French teacher with the Institute of Education, said: “A broad range of vocabulary was required to respond to the first two comprehension questions. Candidates with a narrow vocabulary would have struggled to respond to the questions.”
However, she praised the structure of the second comprehension which saw it divided into distinct paragraphs. “This aided candidates’ ability to answer the relevant questions.” The third and fourth comprehension texts were pitched at an appropriate level and drew no complaints.
The productive writing section was in line with what came up in previous years. “There was a great choice for students there,” said Ms Cooney.
Again the aural exam was praised as being well paced with a good choice of topics for students.
“Both higher and ordinary level papers rewarded those candidates that had done significant work for the oral examination in April,” said Ms Gavernda.
