WACE French Second Language ATAR study guide
WACE French Second Language ATAR · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
French: Second Language is a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) ATAR course for senior secondary students, administered by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). It suits students who already have some background in French and want to extend and refine their communication skills while deepening their understanding of the culture and language of French-speaking communities. SCSA describes the course as focusing on the interrelationship of language and culture, preparing students to function in a globalised society and a culturally and linguistically diverse local community, and laying a foundation for lifelong language learning. Assessment for the ATAR course includes both a written examination and a practical (oral) examination; SCSA publishes examination front covers, practical examination requirements and marking keys, and past examinations with marking keys, recording transcripts and audio tracks. The WACE French Second Language ATAR study guide has 2 sections and about 783 words.
01The WACE French Second Language Written Examination: Text Types, Register and Accuracy
The written examination tests your ability to understand and produce French across a range of text types: personal and formal letters, emails, diary entries, short articles, notices and messages. You must master text-type conventions (salutations, formulaic openings and closings, paragraphing), register (tu/vous, spoken versus written norms), tense and mood control (présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif after expressions of necessity and emotion), and cohesive devices (connecteurs such as cependant , par conséquent , d'ailleurs ).
383 words, about 2 min02The WACE French Second Language Oral Examination: Interaction, Fluency and Pronunciation
The practical oral examination usually combines a conversation with the examiner on familiar topics (family, school, leisure, future plans, issues affecting young people) and a stimulus-based discussion , where you respond to a short text or image and express, justify and defend an opinion. Assessors reward communication and interaction (initiating, responding, asking for clarification), range and accuracy of language , fluency (pace, hesitation management, self-correction) and pronunciation and intonation .
400 words, about 2 min