French for Beginner

Hello! Or should I say Bonjour? ;)

Last semester I took an elective course French Language Level 1 (TBEP 1331) in University Malaya. I've always wanted to enter a French class since semester 1, but it's either always full, or clashes with my other subject. Thankfully, there was no problem at all registering for that subject last sem. Phew! So, since I was excited (yeah, nerdy me :p) about it, I tried looking for previous exam papers at the main library and couldn't found any. I then asked my friends because they've been to the Language Faculty's library and told me the same thing. In short, we don't know what to expect for the final examination. But we just went through it and it's fine. (thanks for the help too!) heheh


What to expect from TBEP 1331?

You'll definitely have to learn from scratch. And by 'from scratch', I mean from the ABCs. You'll learn how to pronounce the alphabets, so it's fairly important that you don't miss the first few classes. Not that I'm saying it's okay to miss the classes (if you don't intend to pass- that's your prerogative, but bear in mind you'll have to repeat), if possible try not to miss it. You'll also learn about numbers (duhh), colours, directions, verbs, ,preposition, possessive adjectives, singular plural, which is the feminine and masculine word, how to ask questions, things like that. Overall, I'd say it's a fun and easy to score class. Don't worry! =)

A note about learning the verbs, if it helps, you might want to do it in a table. So you won't get confused.

My notes. I did this in 1 A4 so it's easier to refer to in times of need. :p

What about the test and the exam?

Last sem we had 2 class tests. It was doable and easy to score. Provided you listen to the lecture and do your homework. :p Oh and did I mention that completing your homework is a must? I know I'm being nerdy all over againnnn (so sue me :p) but really, some of the homework questions do come out in the test and exam. Some. Or at least similar. :p

Oral exam. We had to work in pairs. There will be 3 sections;

Section 1:
Some sort like introduce yourself. Fairly easy.
Section 2:
You'll be given a situation and you'll most likely have to make conversation with your partner.
Tips: make sure you know HOW to ask question.
Section 3:
The examiner will ask few questions to you.

For me, it was quite difficult to ask questions and to answer verbally. Must be because of my lack of exercise in my part. :p And I did miss one class, so it was quite a struggle to catch up.

The written examination, I don't know why they prepared different set of questions for students who are from their faculty and those who are not. After the exam only we found out that those students who are from their faculty had an easier questions towards the end. They only had to introduce themselves, while we had to introduce our country to our foreign friend. -.- Yeah, I know. I don't see why they must do that when we went to the same class, learnt the same thing, only to be tested differently? I don't see any gills on us? However, note that the structure of the exam MAY change from time to time. So, the structure I had may differ from the ones you had/about to have. It depends. My writing of this post is merely to give you a rough idea of what you're going to learn and how the course will be like. Also, if you like, do watch French movies or listen to French songs. Yeah, that's one of the perks of learning a language. You can have fun while learning. ;) Btw, speaking of French song, have a listen to this one!I love the beat and I love the dance! J'aime! J'aime! J'aime!









I hope those who are taking this course will enjoy learning the language. :)

Au revoir!