Cameroon GCE Advanced Level French common mistakes
Cameroon GCE Advanced Level French · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In compréhension orale, the candidate writes down the first word or number heard and stops listening to the rest of the recording, then answers the question with a detail that was later corrected or contradicted (for example noting 'dix heures' when the speaker then says 'non, plutôt dix heures et demie').
Candidates treat the listening as a dictation and panic at the speed of authentic Cameroonian French, so they latch onto the first recognisable token instead of tracking the whole message; they have rarely practised listening to connected speech with hesitations, self-corrections and background noise.
What to do instead
Train with authentic audio (radio, interviews, announcements) at full speed. On each listening, take notes in a two-column grid: 'what I hear' vs 'what it means for the question'. Listen once for gist, once for the specific answers, and check whether the speaker corrects or qualifies a figure before writing it. Practise identifying markers of correction (en fait, plutôt, je me suis trompé, c'est-à-dire).
In compréhension écrite, the candidate copies a sentence from the passage as the answer even when the question asks the candidate to explain in their own words, or answers 'vrai/faux' without justifying by quoting or paraphrasing the line that supports the choice.
Under time pressure, copying feels safe and looks like evidence of understanding. Many candidates have never been shown the difference between locating information and reformulating it, and they underestimate how much the mark depends on justification.
What to do instead
For every vrai/faux item, force yourself to write the line number and a short paraphrase, not a copy. Practise the 'find–reformulate–justify' routine: locate the relevant sentence, close the text, write the idea in your own words, then reopen and check. Learn set reformulation patterns (l'auteur affirme que…, selon le texte…, cela s'explique par…).
In grammaire et lexique, the candidate answers discrete items by ear or by what 'sounds right', choosing forms like 'si j'aurais su' or 'après qu'il soit parti', and ignores agreement rules in complex noun phrases (e.g. 'les efforts que j'ai fait' instead of 'faits').
The candidate has memorised chunks without the underlying rule, and spoken French habits (including Cameroonian usage) can conflict with the written standard tested. There is often no systematic revision of the concordance des temps or the accord du participe passé.
What to do instead
Build a rule-card for each tested structure (hypothèse avec si, concordance des temps, accord du participe passé with avoir/être, subjonctif after conjunctions). For each practice item, write the rule that justifies the answer next to it. Drill the accord du participe passé with COD placed before the verb using short contrasting pairs (les lettres que j'ai écrites / les heures que j'ai passées vs j'ai passé deux heures).
In expression écrite, the candidate produces a composition or essay with no clear plan: the introduction restates the topic without announcing a position, paragraphs mix several ideas, and the conclusion introduces a new argument instead of closing the debate.
Candidates write directly onto the answer sheet and run out of time, so structure is improvised. Many have not internalised the thèse/antithèse/synthèse or the plan dialectique expected at this level, and confuse 'writing a lot' with 'arguing'.
What to do instead
Spend five minutes on a skeleton before writing: problématique, two or three parts, one idea per paragraph. Use explicit connectors (d'une part… d'autre part, en revanche, par conséquent, en définitive) and a fixed introduction formula (accroche, problématique, annonce du plan) and conclusion formula (bilan, ouverture). Practise timed 250–300-word essays with the skeleton checked before drafting.
In thème et version, the candidate translates word for word, producing calques such as 'prendre une décision' rendered literally into English word order or English idioms transferred into French ('je suis en accord avec' for 'I agree'), and leaves tenses and register mismatched between source and target.
Candidates treat translation as substitution of one word for another rather than transfer of meaning, and they lack stock equivalents for common idioms and for French/English tense conventions. Register (formal vs familiar) is rarely checked.
What to do instead
Translate by sense units, not words: read the whole sentence, note its function, then write a natural target sentence. Keep a personal glossary of non-literal equivalents (il s'agit de = this concerns/it is about; enjeu = issue/stake; réussir un examen = to pass an exam). After translating, re-read only the target text and check tense sequence, register and collocations before comparing with the source.
In civilisation et littérature, the candidate answers questions about Cameroonian and Francophone culture with vague generalities ('un grand écrivain africain', 'la colonisation a eu des effets') without naming authors, works, dates, institutions or concepts, and confuses authors with their characters or with other writers.
Candidates revise from scattered notes or hearsay rather than a structured corpus, and the syllabus is broad (negritude, post-independence novel, theatre, oral tradition, Cameroonian institutions). Under exam pressure they retreat to safe generalities.
What to do instead
Build a one-page fact sheet per major figure and movement: name, dates, key works, one signature idea, one quotation. Cover at least the négritude movement, the postcolonial novel, Cameroonian theatre and orature, and national cultural institutions. Test yourself with matching exercises (author–work–theme) and practise writing precise two-line identifications rather than vague praise.
In expression orale, the candidate reads a prepared text aloud or recites a memorised answer, avoids interaction, and freezes when the examiner asks a follow-up question or asks for an opinion.
Preparation is done in writing and rehearsed as a monologue, so the candidate has no practice in spontaneous reformulation, turn-taking or defending a position. Fear of grammatical error leads to silence or to a script.
What to do instead
Practise speaking from keywords only, never from a full script. Record yourself answering a question in 90 seconds, then replay and note one grammar point and one pronunciation point to fix. Do paired role-plays with follow-up questions (Pourquoi? Et si…? Que pensez-vous de…?) and rehearse functional phrases for buying time and giving opinions (à mon avis, certes… mais, ce que je veux dire, c'est que…).
Across all papers, the candidate misreads the instruction rubrique - answering in the wrong person or tense ('racontez' answered in the third person), ignoring a word limit, or answering only part of a two-part question (e.g. 'décrivez et justifiez').
Candidates skim instructions to save time and assume all composition tasks are the same. Word limits and multi-part prompts are often treated as decoration rather than marking criteria.
What to do instead
Before writing, underline the command verbs and constraints in the prompt (racontez, argumentez, comparez, en 200 mots, à la première personne). Convert them into a checklist at the top of your draft and tick each one before handing in. In practice sessions, mark your own scripts against the rubric so you see where partial answers lose marks.
In compréhension orale and compréhension écrite, the candidate answers questions about tone, intention or implied meaning with a literal restatement of content, missing irony, nuance or the author's stance (e.g. treating a critical passage as neutral description).
Candidates focus on decoding vocabulary and facts and are not trained to identify stance markers (modal verbs, evaluative adjectives, irony, concessive structures). Higher-order questions are therefore answered at the literal level.
What to do instead
Practise annotating texts and transcripts for stance: highlight evaluative words, modal verbs, connectors and punctuation that signal irony or reservation. For each passage, write one sentence on 'what the author thinks', distinct from 'what the author says'. Compare neutral and committed versions of the same sentence to see how stance is encoded.
In expression écrite and thème et version, the candidate leaves systematic surface errors that cost accuracy marks: missing accents (ou/ où, a/à), wrong gender, unconjugated infinitives after a subject, and inconsistent use of vous/tu or passé composé/imparfait within the same text.
These errors are fossilised from fast writing and from spoken habits, and candidates rarely reserve time to proofread. Accents and agreement are often treated as cosmetic rather than meaning-bearing.
What to do instead
Reserve the last five minutes of every paper for a targeted proofread with a fixed checklist: accents, subject–verb agreement, participle agreement, gender, tense consistency, register. Keep an error log from marked work and review the three most frequent errors before each practice. Do short dictées and rewriting drills that isolate one error type at a time.