MTEL French (26) cheat sheet

French oral vowels: /i, e, ɛ, a, ɑ, ɔ, o, u, y, ø, œ, ə/; nasal vowels /ɛ̃, ɑ̃, ɔ̃, œ̃/ occur when a vowel is followed by a single n or m (e.g., 'vin', 'grand', 'bon', 'brun').

The schwa /ə/ (e.g., 'le', 'ce') is often dropped in casual speech ('je suis' → [ʃɥi]), but must be pronounced in careful or formal registers.

Liaison is obligatory after determiners (les amis), pronouns (nous avons), and monosyllabic prepositions (chez elle); forbidden before 'et', after 'et', and before aspirated h (les hiboux).

Enchaînement differs from liaison: a pronounced final consonant links to a following vowel across word boundaries (une amie [yn‿ami]) without a change in pronunciation.

Intonation patterns: yes/no questions typically rise at the end; wh-questions often fall; statements fall on the final syllable of the rhythmic group.

Register markers: 'tu' vs 'vous' (solidarity vs formality), 'on' replacing 'nous' in informal speech, and dropped 'ne' in negation ('je sais pas').

Formal oral production: use 'nous' as subject pronoun, keep 'ne' in negation, avoid slang, and structure discourse with connectors ('par ailleurs', 'en revanche').

Phonetic distinction /y/ vs /u/ (tu/tout) and /ø/ vs /œ/ (peu/peur) is tested; minimal pairs help confirm perception and production.

French orthography: accents (é, è, ê, ë, à, â, ï, î, ô, û, ù, ü, ç) mark vowel quality, distinguish homographs (ou/où, a/à), or reflect historical letters.

Verb conjugation groups: -er verbs (regular, ~90%), -ir verbs (some regular like finir, others irregular like venir), and -re verbs (irregular patterns).

Passé composé uses avoir or être as auxiliary; être is used with pronominal verbs and a closed set of motion/change-of-state verbs (aller, venir, partir, sortir, naître, mourir, etc.), with past participle agreeing with the subject.

Imparfait vs passé composé: imparfait for background, habitual actions, and descriptions; passé composé for completed, punctual events.

Subjunctive triggers: expressions of doubt, necessity, emotion, and conjunctions (bien que, pour que, avant que) require the subjunctive in the dependent clause.

Written registers: passé simple and imperfect subjunctive appear in literary texts; formal correspondence uses 'vous' and formulaic openings ('Madame, Monsieur,').

Punctuation and spacing: French uses a space before ; : ! ? and inside guillemets (« »); decimal comma instead of decimal point.

Text structure: introduction (thèse), développement (arguments with connecteurs: 'd'abord', 'ensuite', 'enfin'), conclusion (synthèse).

Article system: definite (le, la, les), indefinite (un, une, des), partitive (du, de la, des) for mass nouns; partitive becomes 'de' in negative sentences (je ne bois pas de café).

Pronoun order before the verb: me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en (e.g., 'Il me le donne', 'Je lui en parle').

Adjective agreement and placement: most adjectives follow the noun; short common adjectives (beau, joli, grand, petit, jeune, vieux, bon, mauvais, nouveau) precede it.

Relative pronouns: 'qui' (subject), 'que' (direct object), 'dont' (de + antecedent), 'où' (place/time), 'lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles' (after prepositions).

Conditional structures: 'si + présent' → futur simple; 'si + imparfait' → conditionnel présent; 'si + plus-que-parfait' → conditionnel passé.

Negation patterns: ne + verb + pas/plus/jamais/rien/personne; 'ne … que' means 'only'; 'ni … ni' replaces 'et' in negative coordination.

Verb tenses: present, futur simple, imparfait, passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé simple, conditionnel, subjonctif présent, impératif.

Vocabulary domains tested: education, family, work, travel, health, environment, technology, and francophone cultures; false friends (actuellement = currently, éventuellement = possibly).

France: Fifth Republic, semi-presidential system; president elected for five years; bicameral Parliament (Assemblée nationale, Sénat).

Key French holidays: 14 juillet (Fête nationale), 1er mai (Fête du Travail), 8 mai (Victoire 1945), 11 novembre (Armistice 1918).

Francophone world: 29 countries have French as an official language; major communities in Canada (Québec), Belgium, Switzerland, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, and Madagascar.

Cultural icons: 'laïcité' (separation of church and state), 'terroir' and gastronomy, 'exception culturelle' in film and music policy.

Education system: 'école maternelle' (ages 3–6), 'école élémentaire' (6–11), 'collège' (11–15), 'lycée' (15–18), then 'baccalauréat'.

Literature periods: Moyen Âge (chansons de geste), Renaissance (Rabelais, Montaigne), Classicisme (Molière, Racine), Lumières (Voltaire, Rousseau), Romantisme (Hugo), Réalisme (Balzac, Flaubert), Surréalisme (Breton).

Regional languages: breton, occitan, corse, alsacien, basque; protected but not official under the Constitution.

Media and daily life: 'Le Monde', 'Le Figaro', 'Libération'; 'France Inter', 'RFI'; 'TGV', 'SNCF', 'Métro' in Paris.

ACTFL proficiency levels: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished; sublevels Low, Mid, High.

Communicative competence components: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic, and pragmatic competence (Canale & Swain).

Backward design (Wiggins & McTighe): identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, plan learning experiences and instruction.

Formative vs summative assessment: formative informs instruction during learning; summative evaluates achievement at the end of a unit.

Interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes of communication are the three ACTFL modes; each requires different task types.

Target-language use: 90%+ in the classroom is recommended by ACTFL; scaffold with visuals, gestures, and comprehensible input.

Rubrics for presentational writing/speaking typically address task completion, comprehensibility, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural appropriateness.

Differentiation: tiered tasks, flexible grouping, and scaffolded authentic texts (e.g., menus, schedules, short articles) to support varied proficiency levels.