Langue étrangère (anglais)
What the exam tests
The English paper assesses reading comprehension, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary range and written production on agricultural and environmental topics. Answers must be concise, relevant and written in correct English, not translated word for word from French.
Core rules and concepts
- Subject-verb agreement: “the data show”, “each farmer uses”; do not add -s to plural subjects.
- Articles: a/an for singular countable nouns, the for specific reference, zero article for general plurals.
- Tenses: present simple for facts and routines, present perfect for past actions with present relevance, second conditional for hypothetical present situations.
- Passive voice: “Water is pumped from the well”; useful in scientific and descriptive writing.
- Linkers: however, therefore, whereas, in addition, as a result.
- Vocabulary: irrigation, drought, yield, livestock, soil erosion, food security, sustainable farming, greenhouse, watershed.
Worked example
Rewrite: “The government launched a plan. It aims to modernize irrigation.” A concise version is: “The government launched a plan aiming to modernize irrigation.” The participle clause replaces “It aims” and avoids a short, repetitive sentence. Alternatively: “The government launched a plan which aims to modernize irrigation.” Both are correct; the participle form is more formal and compact.
Traps that cost marks
False friends such as “actually” (en fait), “eventually” (finalement) and “assist” (aider, pas assister) ; missing third-person -s ; using “informations” as a countable plural ; translating “il y a” as “it has” ; ignoring the question type ; writing long, unstructured paragraphs instead of a clear answer.