Four minutes of interaction: defending a position you only half hold
You have five minutes' preparation for a four-minute interactive speaking assessment with your teacher. The card reads: 'Le self du lycée devrait proposer un menu végétarien deux fois par semaine. Vous êtes plutôt pour, mais vous avez des réserves.' You may take one A5 card of keywords into the conversation; full sentences are not allowed. In the first minute you must state a position and ask the teacher a question. The teacher has been briefed to interrupt at least twice, once with 'Et les élèves qui ont des allergies ?' and once with 'Vous dites ça parce que vous êtes végétarien, non ?'. You must keep going for at least three minutes, use two different question forms, at least one conditional, and one expression of concession. Last term's feedback read: 'You stop dead when you don't know a word and switch to English.'
1. How should you open the interaction so that a nuanced position sounds confident rather than evasive? Give the French you would actually use.
Read the worked answer
A confident nuanced opening has three parts: position, limit, invitation.
« À mon avis, deux repas végétariens par semaine, c'est une bonne idée - à condition que ce soit bien fait. Je suis pour, mais je m'inquiète du coût et de l'équilibre nutritionnel. Et vous, qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ? »
Why it works:
- 'À mon avis' plus a clear verdict lets the assessor tick 'states a position' within ten seconds. Opening with 'je ne sais pas trop' sounds like no position at all.
- 'à condition que' + subjunctive is the nuance: it qualifies without retreating.
- The question at the end hands over the turn and satisfies the 'ask a question' requirement early, when you are calmest and least likely to swallow it.
- 'Je suis pour, mais...' is a frame you can return to after every interruption, which keeps the thread across four minutes.
Avoid stacked hedges ('peut-être', 'un peu', 'je crois que oui'). One qualifier is nuance; three is vagueness, and vagueness is what the assessment penalises.
2. The teacher says 'Et les élèves qui ont des allergies ?' Model your response in real time, in three moves.
Read the worked answer
Three moves, in this order, in about twenty seconds:
- Buy time without silence. « Alors, c'est une bonne question... » or « Laissez-moi réfléchir deux secondes. » A short filler is not penalised; dead air is.
- Concede something real. « Vous avez raison, il faut faire attention aux allergies - c'est un vrai problème. »
- Return with a condition. « Cela dit, on pourrait proposer plusieurs plats et signaler les allergènes clairement. Si le lycée travaillait avec l'infirmerie, le risque serait gérable. »
What is being assessed is the concession-plus-return, not agreement. Note the conditional 'on pourrait' / 'serait': it softens the counter-argument so it does not sound confrontational, and it ticks the conditional requirement.
Do not answer with bare 'oui, mais' - after a concession, a naked 'mais' sounds dismissive in French. 'Cela dit' or 'certes... cependant' does the same job more effectively. And if you genuinely shift your view, say so: « finalement, vous m'avez convaincu » is a legitimate interaction move that proves you were listening, not merely waiting to talk.
3. You want to say 'lentilles' and 'subvention' but don't know the words. What do you do, and what is actually being rewarded?
Read the worked answer
Do not switch to English and do not stop. Use paraphrase and circumlocution, which is precisely what an interaction standard rewards.
- 'lentilles' → « une sorte de légume sec, petit et rond, qu'on met dans la soupe ». If the teacher supplies the word, repeat it back - « ah, des lentilles, oui » - so it enters the conversation and you get credit for uptake.
- 'subvention' → « l'argent que la mairie donne à un projet », or « une aide financière ».
Three strategies, in order: (1) generic word plus relative clause ('une machine qui...', 'un aliment qui...'); (2) a near-synonym or superordinate ('un légume' for a specific vegetable); (3) ask for the word in French - « comment on dit... ? » is fine, 'how do you say...?' is not.
Repair strategies are assessed. A candidate who pauses, circles the gap in French and continues will out-score one who drops in the English word and restarts, because the second candidate has broken the interaction. Note the gap afterwards and learn the word - but that is homework, not assessment.