To succeed in the French Leaving Cert exam papers, it's crucial to not only have a command of the language but also an appreciation, for French culture. In this article, we'll explore why understanding culture is important for Leaving Cert French and how it can enhance your performance in answering exam papers.
To truly excel in the French Leaving Cert exam, it's essential to go beyond being proficient in the language. Having a grasp of culture offers a context to the language, enabling you to understand the subtle nuances, idioms and cultural references often found in exam papers. By immersing yourself in culture, you'll develop an appreciation for the language and its usage allowing you to express yourself more genuinely in your exam responses.
Le français is one of the most commonly selected languages to sit for the Leaving Cert by many secondary school students around Ireland. In fact, approximately 40% of all students sitting the Leaving Cert exam sit the French exam, which is a significant portion.
Notably, when most people hear the word “French” or “le français,” they are reminded of more than French as a language but also of French as a culture, and this is no exception for the Junior and Leaving Cert exams.
When it also comes to the word “French,” the examiners and compilers of the French exams acknowledge that French goes beyond the language and is incorporated into art, dance, theatre, history, cuisine, fashion, and many other aspects. For this reason, learning about French culture is on the curriculum for both the Junior and the Leaving Cert.
Coming into secondary school, I used to wonder what the aim of learning about French culture was since the goal was to communicate in French effectively, so why was knowledge of French culture thrown into the equation?
However, having now completed my Leaving Cert, I understand why we had to do several projects to aid in our understanding of French culture. Even in the high-profile jobs that fluency in French can help to secure, a good understanding of the French culture itself is also beneficial.
French, referred to as an ‘Indo-European Romance language’, is the official language of 29 countries and consequently, French culture has also spread to these countries to some extent.
The World Population Review notes that even in the United States, French is recognized as a cultural language in both Maine and Louisiana. It is a de facto official language and is used for education, commerce, and government services.
Learning about the different aspects of French culture is fascinating and enlightening. However, some students struggle with remembering the plentiful information about several aspects of French culture. If you fall into this category, this article will help you know what parts of French culture are useful for the Leaving Cert.
Even if you are a secondary school student facing upcoming state examinations and do not fall into this category, this article will help you understand French culture more and highlight what is important to bear in mind when answering questions about French culture for the Leaving Cert French exam. Most of this information will even be relevant for the Junior Cert French exam as well!
Why should you learn about French culture?
To truly understand and appreciate culture, it is crucial to immerse oneself in its history, artistic expressions, literature and customs. Engaging with literature, watching films, and exploring the world of French art can offer valuable insights into the cultural references that may arise in the Leaving Cert exam papers.
On top of all this, acquainting oneself with figures, from the French landscape—such as philosophers, writers and artists—can provide a broader comprehension of French culture while enhancing one's ability to analyse and interpret exam questions effectively.
Comprehending French culture extends beyond answering exam questions about it. It grants a perspective and a deeper understanding of the language itself. By immersing oneself in this milieu individuals can develop a grasp of the French language. Cultural knowledge also aids in deciphering the context and significance behind exam questions enabling insightful answers.
French is known as the ‘language of love’. It is widely known as a romantic language because of its mellifluent phonetic words. Being able to speak French fluently has its advantages in the international trade market. It will be easier to secure jobs because of your ability to communicate with the 300 million other people who speak French and secure jobs in francophone countries, and in countries that communicate with francophone countries.
If you love to see the world and travel from country to country, diving into other cultures and traditions, French is an ideal language subject to pick. Even the requirement to learn about French culture will give you a head start on exploring other traditions and cultures!
The versatility of French will give you a wider option of career paths and university courses to choose from. If you are a ‘language person’ and want to be multilingual, French is a good language to start with because of how much it intersects with other languages.
How is the French Leaving Cert exam divided up?
Fundamentally, there are three components to the French Leaving Certificate Exam, as well as the French Junior Certificate exam – the oral, the written and the aural, also known as the listening part or tape test. The Leaving Cert French oral exam is 25%, while the written part is 55% and the aural is 20% at Higher Level.
By analysing these exam papers and understanding each section's requirements, you can tailor your preparation accordingly. For instance, when tackling the reading comprehension section, having an understanding of culture will aid you in unravelling the context and meaning behind texts, making it easier to answer comprehension questions accurately.
At Ordinary Level, the oral is 20%, the aural is 25% and the written is also 55%. This article will focus on the topic that comes up heavily in all three components, namely the topic of ‘French culture.’ Even in the Junior and Leaving Cert French examinations, French culture is examined in both the oral and written components.
In the listening exam for the Junior and Leaving Cert, in many past papers, you will hear people having a conversation that involves various aspects of French culture. For example, one of the speakers could be listing examples of French cuisine, which could be one of the answers and you would be expected to know how to spell it in French.
A reading comprehension could be based on some aspect of French culture or the last section of the Leaving Cert French written exam could ask students to write a letter, message, postcard, email, diary entry, opinion piece, or answer a general question about some aspect of French culture.
To find out how the French curriculum is laid out, specifically how the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment want you to approach the topic of French culture in the Leaving Cert, read the article about a guide to Leaving Cert French. It will guide you in the various areas of Leaving Cert French, further outlining the topics that are covered in the exam.
How can an understanding of French culture help in your exam?
To effectively incorporate cultural knowledge into your exam responses, it is important to first understand the specific requirements of each question. Analyse the question carefully and identify any cultural references or contexts that may be present.
French culture is so diverse that many topics come up surrounding French culture, such as school life in France, French cuisine, music, fashion, and festivals. In the oral, you could be asked about the difference between Ireland and France, which invites you to draw in various aspects of French culture because of the broad nature of this question.
You could also be asked to write about French music. For example, the postcard question might state that you are going on a trip to France with your friend and you plan on going to ‘la discothèque’ which is the club, and you might be asked to describe your favourite type of music that you want to hear in the club.
Your oral exam could go down a number of different avenues. If you are asked about French cuisine in the oral exam, the examiner might ask you to describe the type of French cuisine you first mention.
Luckily, Irish music and French music types are similar, so there is not much to learn here but this gives the chance to name the different types of music styles in French, like ‘le hip hop, la techno, le rap, le reggae, le rock’. To enhance your answer, you can even mention famous French songs and French artists which makes your answer stand out and shows your rich knowledge of French culture.
Draw upon your knowledge of French culture to provide relevant examples, insights, and perspectives. By incorporating cultural elements into your answers, you not only showcase your understanding of the language but also demonstrate a deeper appreciation for French culture, which can greatly enhance your overall exam performance.
The listening part of the exam could be based on celebrating festivals in French. Thus, you would need to be able to remember keywords relating to festivals in French. The first speaker could be talking about how they spent their Halloween and then the second speaker could come on later to talk about how they spent their Easter.
If you don’t know the words for these festivals, you could even get them mixed up by guessing. Even if you guess the right word, you could mix up the keywords associated with these holidays because it is possible for one speaker to talk about the French way of celebrating both festivals in alternating sentences and it would be up to you to know which sentences refer to a particular festival.
Incorporating knowledge of French culture into your exam responses will impress examiners while allowing you an opportunity to express enthusiasm for the language!
Learn more about French culture with a tutor from Superprof
If you're looking for guidance and support to master Leaving Cert French, there are options available to assist you. You can find courses and resources, on platforms at language institutes or through private tutors. These programmes are designed specifically for the requirements of the Leaving Cert exam papers.
They offer lessons, practice materials and expert guidance to help you improve your language skills and gain an understanding of French culture. Take some time to explore these choices and select the one that suits your learning style and preferences best.
As a tutoring and academic website, Superprof has millions of tutors worldwide and numerous tutors are joining the website continuously.
Not every French teacher has actually been to France, so their knowledge of French culture is limited by what they read in textbooks or see on the internet. Even the ones that have been to France have limited knowledge as they do not live there and they only know what most students would learn in the Junior and Leaving Cert curriculums.
The Superprof tutors that live in France, and speak French fluently, are immersed in French culture every day and each of them has a unique experience with French culture.
As most students will have general notes about French culture, these tutors will give you information to make your exam stand out, that you can use in the oral and written exam. Gain insight from the tutors, which most students would not even know about when it comes to French culture.
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