How To Get A Distinction In Junior Cycle French
HOW TO GET A DISTINCTION IN JUNIOR CYCLE FRENCH
Students often ask me the question, ‘How To Get A Distinction In Junior Cycle French’, I hope the following tips will be of help.
First and foremost, the key to doing well in any of your subjects is to be consistent with your study. The old system of A’s B’s C’s etc is now obsolete. There is a new grading system in place:
- We call the highest grade a Distinction and is awarded to candidates who score between 90% and 100%.
- A Higher Merit equates to between 75% and 89%.
- A Merit is given to students who achieve between 55% and 74%.
- If you get between 40% and 54%, you are deemed to have achieved.
- Students who score between 20% and 39% have ‘Partially Achieved.
- A student scoring under 20% is given an NG (Not Graded)
Every year, regardless of the grading system, students who do really well are the students that perform consistently well through all of the linguistic tasks on the paper.
HOW TO GET A DISTINCTION IN JUNIOR CYCLE FRENCH
The following are what you should be doing if you would like a Distinction in Junior Cycle French or any paper for that matter…
Attendance
It is important to attend as many classes as possible during the school year. If you miss a class in French, you may miss an important grammar rule, that the teacher will not necessarily come back to in the same detail.
Homework
It’s important that you do your homework the day your teacher gives it to you. Some students are happy to write ‘No Homework’ into their journals, if there is no written work. This is a mistake that could easily cost you a distinction. Working on your French vocabulary and re-visiting what was done in class is proven to help with language learning.
Exam Papers
Make sure that you know the layout of the exam paper, and that you have a good idea of how much time to spend on each question. (Separate blog on timing)
Grammar
The corner stone of any language is its grammar system. Students think that French is a very difficult language. This is a myth! Once you realise that all nouns are either masculine or feminine, you are half way there! I suggest that you also go over the key tenses, which are..
- The Present
- Passé Composé
- Imperfect
- Future and Conditional
If you recognise the endings and learn the irregulars, you should have no problem at all with your writing.
Writing
The written section of the Junior Cycle French Exam is where the weaker students usually fall. The stronger candidates will attempt all of the written section, and do quite well. It is all about practice!
Vocabulary
Acquiring new vocabulary is what language learning is all about. My advice: Divide your vocabulary pages in two: on one side, write the masculine nouns, and write the feminine nouns on the other side. Keep going through your vocabulary and test yourself regularly.
I will be writing separate blogs on each section of the Junior Cycle French Exam, so please keep an eye out for these.
For More…
Finally, Keep up to date on Junior Cycle French tips and tricks, on Frenchnotes Instagram & Frenchnotes Facebook
OurFrench Notes Junior Cycle French Sample Paragraphs Bundle , in this booklet you will find a sample paragraph written in French and translated into English.
Sample Paragraphs Bundle includes..
- My house
- My area
- My school