1. Allez, un dernier coup de reins avant les examens externes!

2. Predict B4 listening
Think of the vocab related to the question (eg: if it’s about the weather, what words associated with the weather can you think of?)
Draw on your knowledge of the world (eg: if it’s a question about the weather in Nice, France, what would it be like in general? Answer: warm as the South of France is usually warmer)
Draw on your common sense

3. Summarise in key words what the questions are in the listening boxes provided
So you don’t have to flick over the page to see what section the information you hear is related to

4. Write 1 or 2 words max. in the listening boxes while listening
So you are fully focused on the listening; you can’t write and listen at the same time!

5. Write more detailed information during the pauses in the listening boxes
If you haven’t finished when the next passage is read out, don’t panic because you have plenty of time at the end of the listening part
As You have plenty of details in your listening boxes, you will make connections and remember what to answer
Some students write out all their answers when the listening exam is over, so here you go!

6. If the question requires a top-down approach (attending to the overall meaning),
Like giving your opinion, summarising, recommending, clarifying, concluding, …, then you need to back up your answer with evidence
And use expressions such as “which shows/implies, although, on the one hand, on the other hand, …” to force you to give evidence

7. If the question requires a bottoms-up approach (focusing on the words and phrases),
Asking for specific information like a flight number, a time, … then you need to have plenty of specific details in your answer

8. At the end of the 3 readings for each passage,
Write out your answers in the spaces allocated:
Neatly
In full sentences
Cross out your notes from your listening notes as you go along to make sure you haven’t left out any details
Proofread to make sure your answers make sense and relate to what the questions are asking

9. For the reading comprehension exam in particular,
When you don’t recognise a word, work out its cognates (different bits that make up the word) eg: can you work out what the longest word in French is: anticonstitutionnellement?
Have an educated guess to see if you can replace the word you don’t understand by another one!

10. Make sure you:
Revise numbers because they are in everything and there’s no excuse for not understanding times, phone numbers, dates, …!
Recognise the tenses of the verbs in the questions because you don’t want to answer something in the future when the question requires you to use the past tense for instance!
Understand: adverbs (eg: lentement, …), intensifiers (eg: vraiment, …), quantifiers (eg: trop, un peu, souvent, d’habitude, assez, …)