Fort Bend Independent School District Credit by Examination - French FRENCH I and II April 2009 To the Student: This Credit by Examination (CBE) for French I and II gives you the opportunity to demonstrate both your mastery of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) as outlined by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and your general reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency in French. The results of your test will count as course and grade credit on your permanent transcript in Fort Bend Independent School District. You must have had some documented formal instruction in French in order to be eligible to sit for this exam. This examination consists of five sections: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary and Structure, Reading and Writing. Section I, Listening, tests your listening and comprehension ability. Section II, asks you either to answer certain questions in French, describe a picture of series of pictures in French, or respond in a certain situation in French. Section III, Vocabulary and Structure, tests your knowledge of French vocabulary and syntactic structures. Section IV, Reading, asks you to read at the sentence, paragraph, and discourse levels. Section V, Writing, requires you to respond to questions in French and to write an essay on a given topic.. Carefully review the topics outlined below for each level and vocabulary associated with these concepts. Sample test questions are included in this letter to familiarize you with the testing formats. The examination is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for this subject and the proficiency levels are from Novice-Mid to Intermediate-High as defined by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The French textbook, Discovering French, Levels One and Two, McDougal Littell, publisher is the best source for review for both levels. Once again, the sample exam aims to give you a model of the types of questions to be on your examination, and is not intended to serve as a review sheet. French I CBE Overview The French I Credit by Exam tests to the proficiency range from Novice-Low to Novice-Mid, based on the ACTFL scale. Students at these levels are expected to be able to read short sentences and write lists and short messages. The following is a list of learner objectives that you should be able to do and will want to review as you prepare for the French I CBE: Performance Objectives: You should demonstrate an ability to:
1. Meet and greet people, talk about other people, introduce your family, say where you are from and ask where someone else is from, say hello and ask how someone feels, give your name and age and ask that same information of someone else Vocabulary: Adjectives of Nationality, Expressions with ça va, Counting 0-100, Family, Nouns and Adjectives, Basic Nouns and Adjectives, Possessive Adjectives Structure of Language: French alphabet and pronunciation, 2. Express physical needs (hunger, thirst), Talk about times and dates in the context of making plans and talking about special occasions, ask what something costs, ask a friend or adult for something to eat, Offer someone something to eat, order food and beverages in a café or restaurant, and talk about the weather. Vocabulary: Foods, Beverages, Expressions of time, Days of the week, Months of the year, Weather expressions and Seasons. Structure of Language: The Verb AVOIR, Question words and structure, Noun/adjective agreement, Gender of Nouns, Definite and Indefinite Adjectives 3. Describe daily activities, where people are, talk about plans: Vocabulary: Daily activities, expressions with FAIRE, Places, Question Words, Question words and structure, Affirmative and negative expressions, Structure of Language: Regular -ER verbs, Asking Yes/No and Information questions, Inversion structure, Negative ne pas structure, Subject pronouns and subject verb agreement, The verb FAIRE, The verb ÊTRE, Yes/No questions with est-ce que, Information questions with est-ce que, Inversion structure, Verb + Infinitive 4. Describe yourself and others, including physical appearance, personality characteristics, age and nationality. Talk about your possessions, your room. Make generalizations, get someone s attention, talk about regular events, contradict a negative statement or question, introduce a conclusion, express opinions Vocabulary: Daily activities, expressions with FAIRE, places, questions words, affirmative and negative expressions Structure of Language: Singular and plural nouns, definite and indefinite articles, the expression avoir ans, adjective formation and position, use of c est and il est, the expression il y a, the verb AVOIR, the negative article pas de, use of the definite article in general statements, impersonal c est 5. Describe your city, including streets and public buildings, places you often go and how you get around, your home (inside and out) and your family, things that can be done around your town. Ask for and give directions around town and within a building. Express doubt, surprise and disagreement. Vocabulary: City places and buildings, Transportation, Giving directions, Neighborhood, Rooms of the house, Family members, Sports and other activities Structure of Language: The verb ALLER, Contractions with à and de, Ordinal numbers, the expression chez, stress pronouns, the construction 2
noun + de, possession with de, possessive adjectives, aller + infinitive, the verb VENIR, 6. Talk about all things to do with shopping for clothes and food, including where to go, what to buy. Make a shopping list. Ask for help, find out prices, interact with vendors, decide which to choose, talk what you need and what you like, compare items, give advice. Talk about what you like and don t like, what you can, should and want to eat. Ask others to help you. Set the table. Talk about what people are wearing, whether the clothes fit, what they look like and your preferences in clothing. Vocabulary: Clothing and accessories, descriptive adjectives, including beau, nouveau and vieux, Expressions of opinion, Stores that sell clothes and places that sell food, Verbs like VENDRE, Numbers 100-1000, Money related expressions, Verbs like CHOISIR, Expressions avoir besoin de and avoir envie de, Quantities, Names of foods and beverages, fruits and vegetables, verbs of preference like PREFERER, Meals, Verbs asking for service, Place settings Structure of Language: The verbs METTRE, PREFERER, ACHETER, PAYER, VOULOIR, POUVOIR, DEVOIR, PRENDRE, BOIRE, CONNAITRE, DIRE, ECRIRE, Regular IR verbs, Partitive article, Direct and indirect object pronouns, the pronoun on, Demonstratives and the interrogative quel 7. Discuss leisure activities with friends, including sports and things you do around the house and town. Describe travel plans, Talk about events and situations in the past Vocabulary: Leisure Activities, Places, Expressions of acceptance and refusal, household chores, individual summer and winter sports, verbs of motion, periods of future and past time, divisions of time, adverbs of sequence, Structure of Language: Passé Composé of ER, -IR, -RE and irregular verbs, Passé Composé with ÊTRE, Quelqu un and quelque chose and their opposites, the verbs VOIR, FAIRE De + sport, Expressions with AVOIR and Ne jamais. 8. Express an understanding of cultural perspectives on such things as education, leisure activities, families, food, clothing, shopping, and celebrations. French II CBE Overview The French II Credit by Exam tests to the proficiency range from Novice-Mid to Novice High. Students within this proficiency range are expected to be able to read paragraphs and write postcards, notes, and simple sentences. The following is a list of objectives that you should able to accomplish and will want to review as you prepare for the French II CBE: 3
Performance Objectives: In addition to the performance objectives from French I, the student should demonstrate the ability to: 1. Provide personal data and describe family and other people, giving information about professions, age, feelings and needs, looks and personality, nationality. Talk about where people are going, coming from and going to do and talk about how long they have been doing something. Vocabulary: Family and friends, professions, expressions with depuis. Expressions with avoir and faire. More adjectives of nationality. Structure of language: The verb être, c est and il est, regular and irregular adjectives, the verbs AVOIR, ALLER, VENIR and FAIRE, inverted questions, the present tense with depuis 2. Talk about weekend plans, past weekend activities and getting around town (in Paris and France as well) Vocabulary: Going out with friends, helping around the house, domestic and other animals, expressions of present, past and future time, getting around by subway. Structure of Language: The verbs METTRE, PERMETTRE, and PROMETTRE, VOIR, SORTIR, PARTIR and DORMIR, PRENDRE. Passé Composé with AVOIR and ÊTRE, Impersonal expressions: quelqu un, quelque chose, personne, rien, Il y a + elapsed time 3. Plan a meal, go out to a café, talk about where to go to eat, set the table, order in a café or restaurant, discuss food preferences and wants, shop in a market, discuss what one should buy or do, ask for specific quantities. Vocabulary: Meals, place settings, café foods and beverages, common quantities and expressions of quantities, mealtime foods and beverages. Structure of Language: The vers BOIRE, PREFERER, VOULOIR, ACHETER, DEVOIR an POUVOIR, the partitive article and expressions of quantity with de, the expression il faut, the adjective tout. 4. Plan for free time activities by extending, accepting, and turning down invitations, talk about concerts and movies, describe people and places you know, read and write about daily events and things that happened in the past, ask for assistance Vocabulary: Places to go and things to do, types of movies, Structure of Language: The verbs CONNAÎTRE and SAVOIR, ÉCRIRE, LIRE and DIRE, Object pronouns in the present and passé composé 5. Discuss sports, fitness and health, one s daily activities in the present and past tense. Vocabulary: Individual sports, adverbs of frequency, expressions of opinion, parts of the body and health, daily occupations, hygiene and personal care and common activities. Structure of Language: The verb COURIR. The expressions faire du, avoir mal à, definite articles with parts of the body, reflexive verbs in the present tense, passé compose, imperative and infinitive construction. 6. Talk about where you live, including specific location within a neighborhood or town and complete descriptions, rent an apartment or house, read classified ads, 4
ask about a rental, talk about the past what you used to do in the past and when, ongoing past actions and give background information about specific past events. Vocabulary: Location of home, rooms of the house, furniture and applicances, prepositions of time. Structure of Language: The verb VIVRE, relative pronouns qui and que, the imperfect and the passé compose. 7. Talk about clothes and shopping in more detail, rank items in a series and compare one item to another, say who or what is the best among several items, describe and compare how things are done Vocabulary: Clothes, accessories, colors, fabric, design, materials, types of clothing stores, sizes, looks and price, numbers 100-1,000,000, descriptive adjectives and common adverbs Structure of Language: Ordinal numbers, comparatives and superlatives, adverbs ending with ment and comparison with adverbs, pronouns lequel? and celui. 8. Talk about future travel plans, buying tickets, checking schedules. Talk about what you would do in certain circumstances and future plans, setting forth conditions. Vocabulary: destinations, lodging, travel documents, foreign countries, at the train station and airport, verbs followed by infinitives. Structure of Language: Prepositions with names of countries, the verbs RECEVOIR and APERCEVOIR, the use of the conditional tense to make polite requests, the constructions verb + à + infinitive and verb + de + infinitive, the future and conditional tenses, the future and conditional with si-clauses and the future with quand. 9. Discuss what has to be done. Vocabulary: Il faut que and Je veux que Structure of Language: Present of subjunctive, regular and some irregular forms. Sample Credit by Examination Items for French I, II, III Structure of Language/Vocabulary: Select the most appropriate answer. All levels will be similar to the following level I items: 1. Je n ai pas ordinateur. a. d b. de c. un d. une 2. Pour téléphoner, j ai. a. un ordinateur. b. un crayon. c. un portable. d. un baladeur. 5
Reading: Read the following selection and respond to the questions that follow: All levels will be similar to the following level I items. The reading selections for each level will be progressively longer and involve more vocabulary, appropriate to the level and proficiency expected: Bonjour, Je m appelle Charlotte Lalande. J ai quatorze ans. J habite à Tours. Se suis élève au Collage Saint-Grégoire, une école secondaire privée. J ai un frère, mai je n ai pas de soeur. Mon frère s appelle Christophe. Il a quinze ans. Il nést past toujours très gentil avec moi. J ai aussi un chien. Il s appelle Bruno. Il est blanc et jaune. Il est mignon et il est très gentil. C est mon meilleur copain! Charlotte 3. What type of school does Charlotte attend? a. a technical high school b. a private middle school c. a college d. a culinary school 4. What do we know about Charlotte s family? a. She is an only child. b. She has an older brother. c. She has a younger sister. d. She has a younger brother. 5. Who is Bruno? a. Charlotte s dog b. Charlotte s cat c. Charlotte s brother d. Charlotte s boyfriend Listening: Select the most appropriate answer. All levels will be similar to the following level I items although some variety in the format may occur at the higher levels. Items are not repeated at the third year level. You will hear a short conversation. Look at the corresponding questions below. After you have heard each conversation the second time, select the correct answer and mark the corresponding letter. Listen to the conversation between Marc and Delphine. 6
6. Question: How does Delphine identify her bicycle? a. By its color. b. By its make. c. By its size. d. By its condition. Script: Marc: Delphine: Marc: Delphine: Tu as un vélo? Oui, bien sûr. C est ton vélo là-bas? Non, mon vélo est rouge. Speaking At both levels, students may be asked to either respond to personal questions, participate in a situational dialogue, describe a picture or any combination of the three tasks, at the appropriate level of proficiency. Writing At both levels, students may be asked either to write a letter, email, or other type of written communication on any of the topics listed. Students may also be asked to respond to simple personal questions or questions about a reading selection, in complete sentences and in French. Answers for above questions: 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. a 7