NYSTCE French (121) key terms

A communicative function a speaker performs with an utterance, such as requesting, apologizing, or promising. In French classrooms, students learn the linguistic forms that realize each function appropriately.

The ability to use language appropriately in context, matching formality, indirectness, and politeness to the situation and the interlocutor. It complements grammatical accuracy in interpersonal communication.

The level of formality in language, ranging from familier through courant to soutenu. Learners must recognize which register fits a given audience, for example tu versus vous and slang versus standard vocabulary.

Use of the pronoun vous and corresponding verb forms to address one person politely or to mark social distance. Its opposite, tutoiement, signals familiarity or solidarity.

The interactive process by which speakers repair misunderstanding through clarification requests, repetition, and reformulation. It is central to interpersonal communication and to communicative language teaching.

Krashen's claim that acquisition occurs when learners understand messages slightly beyond their current level, described as i + 1. Meaning, not explicit grammar drill, drives the process.

Swain's proposal that producing language pushes learners to notice gaps and process syntax more deeply than comprehension alone. Output, especially when pushed, supports accuracy and fluency development.

An affective barrier in Krashen's model: anxiety, low motivation, or lack of confidence can block learners from taking in comprehensible input. Lowering it supports acquisition.

Apprehension experienced when using or learning a second language, often affecting speaking more than reading. Teachers reduce it through supportive error correction and low-stakes practice.

The systematic, evolving rule system a learner builds between the first language and the target language. Errors are often evidence of rule formation rather than random mistakes.

Influence of the first language on second-language production or comprehension. It can be positive (facilitation) or negative (interference), as when English word order intrudes on French.

A word that looks similar in two languages but differs in meaning, such as French librairie (bookstore) versus English library. Recognizing these prevents persistent comprehension and production errors.

A word with a shared etymological origin across languages, such as French nation and English nation. Cognates aid reading comprehension, but partial cognates can mislead learners.

The systematic study of learner errors to infer underlying rules and sources, distinguishing interlingual errors from intralingual ones. It informs targeted feedback and instructional planning.

Feedback that addresses learner errors, ranging from explicit correction to recasts and clarification requests. Research favors feedback that is timely, focused, and matched to the task.

A teacher's reformulation of a learner's incorrect utterance into the correct target form without overtly flagging the error. It is an implicit, frequently used feedback move.

Assessment used during instruction to monitor learning and adjust teaching, such as exit tickets, quizzes, and observation. It is low-stakes and feeds directly back into instruction.

Assessment conducted at the end of a unit or course to judge achievement against standards, such as a final exam. Results are typically graded and reported.

A scoring guide listing criteria and performance levels used to evaluate open-ended work such as essays or oral presentations. It makes grading consistent and transparent to students.

Students assessing one another's work against shared criteria, often using a rubric. It builds metacognition and provides additional feedback during the writing or speaking process.

A teaching orientation emphasizing meaningful interaction and real-life tasks over isolated grammar drill. Lessons organize around functions and situations rather than structures alone.

The task-based orientation associated with the CEFR, in which learners use language to accomplish authentic tasks as social actors. It extends communicative teaching toward real-world projects.

The Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues, a framework describing language proficiency across six levels from A1 to C2. It organizes descriptors for listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Temporary instructional support, such as models, sentence frames, or graphic organizers, that helps learners complete tasks they cannot yet do alone. Support is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development: the range between what a learner can do independently and what is possible with guidance. Instruction targets this range to maximize growth.

Adapting content, process, or product to varied learner readiness, interests, and profiles within one class. In language classes it often means tiered tasks and flexible grouping.

Language material created for real communication rather than for learners, such as news broadcasts, menus, or podcasts. It exposes students to natural speed, register, and cultural content.

Listening for specific information, such as a time, price, or gate number, while ignoring irrelevant content. It is a common interpretive-listening task type.

Listening to grasp the main idea or gist of a passage without attending to every detail. It typically precedes more detailed listening in a lesson sequence.

Deriving meaning not stated explicitly, using context, background knowledge, and linguistic cues. Both interpretive reading and listening tasks require it at higher proficiency levels.

A deliberate approach to comprehension such as skimming, scanning, predicting, or using cognates and context clues. Proficient readers select strategies flexibly according to purpose.

The pronunciation link in which a normally silent final consonant is sounded before a following vowel-initial word, as in les amis. It affects listening comprehension of connected speech.

Dropping a final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel or mute h, marked by an apostrophe, as in l'école. It is obligatory for certain short words.

The resyllabification of a final pronounced consonant onto the following vowel-initial word, as in une‿année. Unlike liaison, the consonant is already pronounced in isolation.

A verb category expressing the speaker's stance, including indicatif, subjonctif, conditionnel, impératif, and infinitif. Mode choice conveys attitude toward factuality, wish, or command.

A verb form locating an event in time and aspect, such as passé composé, imparfait, or futur simple. Choosing between imparfait and passé composé is a frequent teaching focus.

The way a verb form presents an event's internal structure, for example ongoing, completed, or repeated. French imparfait typically conveys imperfective aspect while passé composé is perfective.

Agreement of a past participle with a preceding direct object or with the subject depending on the auxiliary and verb type. It is a classic advanced grammar point in French.