How to do well in IB French B?

Question

I cannot understand a word from my teacher it is so frustrating.

I have been using duolingo improve my vocab.

I have been reading french books as recommended by my teacher.

Answer 1

Hey! I am a seasoned IB teacher.... are you still in the program? I recommend two things to ALL of my kiddos:

1) TALK TO YOURSELF, outload, whenever possible. You need your brain, ears and mouth to do more work and that will help you so much.

2) Find a podcast (or even an old CD at half-price books) that goes over learning French conversations. Listen to the same ones over and over (start with one or two at first) until you have it memorized, much the way you would song lyrics if you listened to a song over and over. That helps you to internalize what you hear and incorporate it into your daily French speaking.

HOpe that helps!

Answer 2

Hi :)

I learned English by watching movies I knew extremely well in French first. Then I'd watch them again with French audio and English subtitles, then English audio with English subtitles and finally only English audio.

You'd be surprised how many phrases, expressions and words you retain and learn.

Plus, it's also really fun!!

PS: I started with all the Disney classics because I knew the key taglines and songs by heart in French already!

Answer 3

Rebonjour

Try using children's song and lessons in French, and yes, use English sous-titres (sub-titles) si nécessaire. A good place to look is on YouTube, but there are good French sites made particularly for children, too, such as momes.net

Also, check out the international news; since many of the events are "current" and have vocabulary that you will recognize (e.g., le coronavirus!), you will find news stories easier to understand, and multimedia news sources will use des présentateurs who are easier to understand, since they must speak slowly and clearly for un grand public. Good ones are tv5monde and lemonde.fr, as well as lehuffpost

Surround yourself by un peu de français every day.

For grammar practice, one of the best resources that I use en classe is Tex's French Grammar, which offers lessons and practice, as well as lots of interactivity: https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/

Do well! You will have fun.

Answer 4

It sounds like you might want to spend some time with a French tutor. From what I have been reading from the IBO, your final grade will be based on the following:

Assessment at a glance

Type of assessment Format of assessment Time (hours) Weighting of

final grade (%)

External 70%

Paper 1 Text-handling exercises on

four written texts 1.5 25

Paper 2 Written productive skills

through one writing exercise 1.5 25

Written assignment Written exercise and

rationale based on

intertextual reading 20

Internal 30%

Oral work Individual oral presentation 20

Interactive oral activities 10

It sounds like you will have to be able to analyze French texts (that's why your teacher suggested reading French books), produce written French, and speak French (oral presentation & interactive oral activities).

Besides getting a tutor, here are some other things you can try:

1. form a study group, or at least have a study buddy from your class
2. try talking to students who have taken and already passed the course to get some inside tips
3. keep reading, not just books but try the online newspapers like Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Canard Enchainé, ...
4. listen to French language programming, look for RF!, TF1, France 2 or France 3, TV5 or TV5 Monde, ...
5. Watch films in French, you can turn the English subtitles on to help check your understanding.

Just try and stay with French from France, unless your coursework already has French from the greater francophonie in it.