HSC French Beginners study guide
HSC French Beginners · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
HSC French Beginners is a New South Wales Higher School Certificate course and external examination for students who are new to, or have limited prior experience with, the French language. It suits candidates who want a formal senior-secondary qualification in French without the pace and literary demands of the Continuers or Extension courses. The HSC French Beginners study guide has 5 sections and about 1,758 words.
01The Personal World: Talking About Yourself and Others
The Personal World domain asks you to describe yourself, your family, your friends, your home, your school day, your daily routine and your leisure interests. You need accurate present-tense verbs, especially être and avoir , plus regular -er , -ir and -re verbs.
365 words, about 2 min02The French-Speaking Communities: Culture, Places and Customs
This domain covers France and the wider francophone world: Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec), North and West Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. You should know key places and their features - Paris and its monuments, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the TGV, the regions of France, and the fact that French is spoken on five continents by hundreds of millions of people.
372 words, about 2 min03Listening and Responding: Strategies and Sound Patterns
Listening tasks in this course use short announcements, conversations, weather reports, directions and phone messages. You must catch key information - times, prices, names, places, numbers - and respond in English or French as instructed.
342 words, about 2 min04Reading and Responding: Skimming, Scanning and Inference
Reading tasks include notices, menus, timetables, emails, advertisements and short articles. You need to skim for gist and scan for detail.
335 words, about 2 min05Writing in French: Structure, Accuracy and Range
Writing tasks range from a short message or postcard (about 50 words) to a longer email or description (about 100-150 words). You must fulfil the task: cover every bullet point, use the correct text type and register, and organise ideas with connectives ( d'abord , ensuite , puis , enfin , cependant , par contre ).
344 words, about 2 min