HSC French Continuers study guide
HSC French Continuers · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
HSC French Continuers is a Stage 6 course and external written examination offered within the New South Wales senior secondary curriculum. It suits students who have studied French for several years and want credit for sustained, real-world proficiency rather than beginner vocabulary. The HSC French Continuers study guide has 6 sections and about 1,720 words.
01The Individual and the Community: Personal Identity, Family, Friends, Daily Life, Education and Work
This domain asks you to talk about yourself and the people around you in accurate, natural French. You need a reliable set of reflexive verbs (se lever, s'habiller, se dépêcher, s'entendre avec, se disputer), family vocabulary including less obvious terms (un demi-frère, une belle-mère, un couple marié, vivre en concubinage), and school and work lexis (une filière, le bac, un stage, un apprentissage, un CDD, le chômage).
321 words, about 2 min02The French-Speaking Communities: Contemporary Life, Traditions and Cultural Diversity
You must be able to describe France and the wider francophone world: la métropole and les DOM-TOM, la laïcité, les fêtes nationales (le 14 juillet, la Fête de la Musique), religious and civic celebrations (Noël, Pâques, la Toussaint, l'Aïd, Hanoukka), and regional identities (la Bretagne, la Corse, l'Alsace). Beyond France, know the geography and status of le Québec, le Sénégal, la Côte d'Ivoire, le Maroc, la Belgique, la Suisse romande and la Polynésie française.
284 words, about 1 min03The Changing World: Social Change, Technology, Environment and Global Issues
This domain covers contemporary issues: le réchauffement climatique, les énergies renouvelables, le recyclage, la pollution, la biodiversité, l'empreinte carbone; technology topics such as les réseaux sociaux, le cyberharcèlement, la protection des données, l'intelligence artificielle, la fracture numérique; and social questions including le chômage des jeunes, l'égalité des sexes, l'immigration, la pauvreté and la solidarité. You need structures for cause, consequence, concession and proposal: à cause de, en raison de, donc, par conséquent, bien que + subjunctive, cependant, il faudrait que + subjunctive, on devrait, afin de + infinitive.
272 words, about 1 min04Listening and Responding: Comprehension of Spoken French
Listening texts in this course are usually conversations, interviews, announcements or short reports. You must extract gist, specific detail (names, numbers, times, places), attitude and purpose.
306 words, about 2 min05Reading and Responding: Comprehension of Written French
Written texts include articles, blogs, letters, advertisements, notices and short literary extracts. You must identify the type of text, its audience, its purpose (informer, convaincre, divertir, avertir) and its tone.
262 words, about 1 min06Writing in French: Text Production for Audience, Purpose and Context
You must produce several text types: une lettre formelle, un courriel, un article, un blog, un journal intime, un discours and une critique. Each has conventions.
275 words, about 1 min