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Study Guide

Field 175: Bilingual Education Assessment—French
Presentational Speaking: French Sample Assignments

Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."

This study guide includes three sections for the Presentational Speaking section of the test:

In this study guide, two sample assignments are provided to assist an examinee in preparing for the actual test. On the actual test, there will be one Presentational Speaking: French assignment to which the examinee will have to provide a response.

Competency 0008  
Presentational Speaking: French

Presentational Speaking: French
Sample Assignment 1

[Note: All text will be presented in English; only the candidate response is in French.]

[The examinee will see on screen the following directions:]

You may take up to 5 minutes to review the assignment below and to prepare your response. Then, the screen will automatically advance and recording will automatically begin. The assignment will remain on the screen during recording. You may take up to 3 minutes to respond to the assignment. Begin reviewing the assignment and preparing your response now.

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

In your opinion, should students be required to go to school during the summer?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in French, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you are ready to record your response.

[If the examinee clicks "Next" before the preparation time has ended, the following warning appears in a pop-up: "You have chosen to begin speaking before your 5 minutes of preparation time has ended. If you click "Yes" below, the screen will automatically advance, and recording will automatically begin. Are you sure you want to begin speaking now?"]

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

Begin to respond in French at the sound of the tone. You may take up to 3 minutes to complete your response.

In your opinion, should students be required to go to school during the summer?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in French, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is in progress. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the 5 second mark and a total of 3 minutes of recording is allowed.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you have finished recording your response.

[After 3 minutes of recording, the recorder box will change to "Complete," and the examinee is automatically advanced to the next screen.]

Presentational Speaking: French
Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 1

Having trouble with the audio player? Right-click and download the .mp3 .

Enter to expand or collapse transcript. Transcript expanded

[Note: In the transcript below, two dots indicate that the speaker paused. The three-dot ellipsis indicates that the speaker omitted text when quoting from the article. Errors in emphasis are indicated in brackets.]

Je ne pense pas que quiconque devrait aller à l'école pendant l'été. C'est une saison pour les élèves de faire l'expérience de la vie sans les exigences de l'école et sans leurs responsabilités de devoirs. Les étudiants se sentent plus en contrôle de leur temps et de leurs décisions en été..... et ils peuvent explorer de nouvelles possibilités.

Je me souviens de l'excitation de l'été ! J'ai toujours eu hâte d'être à la maison et avec mes amis pendant de plus longues périodes. C'était génial de se réveiller plus tard le matin et.... Pensez à la façon de passer la journée. Je ne peux pas imaginer la vie ennuyeuse sans vacances d'été loin de l'école ! . . . Il est bien connu que les vacances .....été sont un bon moment pour ... créer des liens avec les gens que vous aimez... tels que les frères et sœurs, les parents, . . . et d'autres parents. Les familles ont la chance de partager du temps en faisant des choses ensemble ou en jouant à un jeu ensemble..... sans se soucier des responsabilités scolaires. En renforçant ces relations, les enfants créent des souvenirs dont ils se souviendront toute leur vie !

En plus d'établir des relations avec la famille et les amis, les vacances d'été loin des manuels, des projets scolaires et des tests,.... permettent aux élèves de faire des activités différentes de celles qu'ils feraient normalement pendant l'année scolaire. La possibilité de choisir quoi faire en fonction de leurs intérêts..... les aide à s'explorer..... ce qui est une partie importante de la croissance. Je suis un défenseur des vacances d'été pour les jeunes !

Note: The sample strong response for the presentational speaking assignment is an example of a response that a candidate might record. While the sample response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills, it could contain typical errors that candidates may produce when speaking in French. Please see the rationale below for more details.

Presentational Speaking: French
Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 1

The response effectively communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, few pauses, intelligible pronunciation and appropriate intonation. Minor errors and pauses do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include some inconsistency in the flow of speech and a few pauses.

The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with two of the candidate’s own relevant ideas and examples based on the benefits of summer vacations on the life of the students. For example, during the summer children bond with their relatives and friends and enjoy activities other than those related to school projects and tests.

The response effectively uses language, style and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate effectively uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames and sentence structures. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.

Presentational Speaking: French
Sample Assignment 2

[Note: All text will be presented in English; only the candidate response is in French.]

[The examinee will see on screen the following directions:]

You may take up to 5 minutes to review the assignment below and to prepare your response. Then, the screen will automatically advance and recording will automatically begin. The assignment will remain on the screen during recording. You may take up to 3 minutes to respond to the assignment. Begin reviewing the assignment and preparing your response now.

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

In your opinion, can using contests in class promote student learning?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in French, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you are ready to record your response.

[If the examinee clicks "Next" before the preparation time has ended, the following warning appears in a pop-up: "You have chosen to begin speaking before your 5 minutes of preparation time has ended. If you click "Yes" below, the screen will automatically advance, and recording will automatically begin. Are you sure you want to begin speaking now?"]

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

Begin to respond in French at the sound of the tone. You may take up to 3 minutes to complete your response.

In your opinion, can using contests in class promote student learning?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in French, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is in progress. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the 5 second mark and a total of 3 minutes of recording is allowed.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you have finished recording your response.

[After 3 minutes of recording, the recorder box will change to "Complete," and the examinee is automatically advanced to the next screen.]

Presentational Speaking: French
Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 2

Having trouble with the audio player? Right-click and download the .mp3 .

Enter to expand or collapse transcript. Transcript expanded

[Note: In the transcript below, two dots indicate that the speaker paused. The three-dot ellipsis indicates that the speaker omitted text when quoting from the article. Errors in emphasis are indicated in brackets.]

À mon avis..... les concours ne devraient pas être utilisés pour promouvoir l'apprentissage des élèves. Les salles de classe doivent créer un sentiment d'appartenance et d'acceptation .....où chaque élève se sent à l'aise pour faire de son mieux. L'une des raisons pour lesquelles les concours ne devraient pas être utilisés est qu'il... Crée... Réactions différentes chez les étudiants. Certains se sentiront au sommet du monde lorsque le professeur annoncera un concours.... Parce qu'ils pourraient aimer gagner et battre d'autres personnes dans les compétitions. Mais il y aura d'autres étudiants qui rentreront chez eux en se sentant mal..... sachant qu'ils sont perdants dans ces concours. Cela ne semble pas être une bonne stratégie d'apprentissage pour tous les élèves. De plus... les mêmes étudiants gagnent souvent ! Loin de promouvoir l'apprentissage et la coopération entre les étudiants.... Cette négativité pourrait nuire à leurs relations en tant que camarades de classe.

Une autre raison de ne pas utiliser les concours en classe est que certains élèves se sentent nerveux et anxieux lorsqu'ils participent à des concours. Ces étudiants craignent de laisser tomber leur équipe parce qu'ils pourraient penser qu'ils n'en savent pas autant que les autres. Mais en réalité... Il se peut que ces élèves n'aiment pas se produire devant les autres ou être sur place devant tout le monde dans la classe. Une anxiété élevée ne favorise pas l'apprentissage des élèves !

Note: The sample strong response for the presentational speaking assignment is an example of a response that a candidate might record. While the sample response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills, it could contain typical errors that candidates may produce when speaking in French. Please see the rationale below for more details.

Presentational Speaking: French
Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 2

The response effectively communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, few pauses, intelligible pronunciation and appropriate intonation. Minor errors and pauses do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include some inconsistency in the flow of speech and a few pauses.

The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with two of the candidate’s own relevant ideas and examples. The response effectively considers the reasons why contests should not be used in class as they are not a good learning strategy for all students.

The response effectively uses language, style and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate effectively uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames and sentence structures. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.