How French Blogging temporarily put me off English Blogging

Hi, I am back. I had to start blogging again and chose to start with the auspicious Yuletide season. I was taken aback by people who wrote in to ask why I had stopped but that gave me the necessary to push to be here again. I literally had to say ‘Adieu English blogs’ five months ago because I was pursuing my last level of French (Level C1). My professor, Mr. Bhushan Thapliyal, got us also blogging in French, keeping contemporary trends in mind. Wow, I never imagined that blogging would be homework someday!!! Anyway, our professor Bhushan, trained us for the writing section of the DALF C1 exam by making us blog our brains out. This is because he is pursuing his Ph.D. on the use of blogs as a pedagogical tool. Cool! Who could have thought about that?

The ‘blogging for school’ brainwave came to Bhushan about three years ago when he was teaching school kids in the 12-15 age groups in France. French kids these days don’t write correct French and have made argot, verlan and the SMS lingo their standard language, even in exam answer sheets! This new way of writing and talking French is equivalent to babble for their parents, teachers and the French society at large. The purists are of the opinion that this phenomenon is an unprecedented crisis for the French language. Bhushan wanted to get his students to write correctly. It was only a question of how. The students refuse to fall in line. Now most of these innovative, stubborn scholars are internet junkies who have lost even the most miniscule interest in TV. Bhushan decided to encroach on the virtual space to fix things.

With the assistance of Université Stendhal Grenoble III, he introduced blogging into the curriculum. School essays on various issues were to be written and posted on the blogs of students which they created specifically for class. Students responded in the most astonishing manner. People actually started writing correct, traditional French with all the accents, grammar and vocabulary right. Students were not being adamant about using argot on blogs. You see, the whole world has access to blogs and hence these students wanted to keep their blogs comprehensible and coherent so that everyone and anyone who understands French can read them. Argot wouldn’t work. Mission accomplished.

Bhushan decided to duplicate his experiment in India. He came to the Alliance Française de Bombay. eHere, blogging was a newxperience for roughly everyone in class. I was in his second batch of guinea pigs for the C1 level. He even got the other teachers ofAlliance to unleash the blogging wave on their classes. We would discuss French current affairs in class with the help of 3 news articles related to each theme. That took care of our reading and speaking skills. We would then scrutinize and reorganize the ideas in these articles to write argumentative essays or to write a synthesis or summary with the maximum word limit of 250 words. That exercise greatly helped to improve my French writing skills and also my ability to simultaneously use articles about the same subject from different sources.

I received the result for our DALF C1 last week. I passed. That’s what counted. I was fairly satisfied with my performance. The French blogging did help a lot for the writing section because we had to respect the time and word limit for that essay. We thoroughly enjoyed our coursework. Introducing blooging in studies helps make people tech-savvy and it is surely fun ‘When blogging enters the curriculum’. It is high time that MS Word adds 'blogging', 'blog' and 'blogger' to its dictionary. Blogs are here to stay.

DELF B2!

My DELF B2 exam got over yesterday. What a relief! I slept peacefully. I desperately need that certificate and I think its coming. The hard work of the last 4 months seems to be paying off. I was just eating, drinking and sleeping French for the last 4 months. I have lost count of the number of magazines I read, the number of websites I used for French audios and the number of French movies I watched in the past 4 months. My fear of not being able to talk for the 20 minutes session of ‘Speaking’ section had nearly driven me out of my mind in August. But I did speak for 20 minutes and how! The decision to pursue DFA 1 and B2 part 1 together was a good gamble. I was advised it would prove tough but it has worked in my favor! The writing section turned out to be very easy; thanks to the exercises we did during DFA 1.

Finally my thanks to all the resources materials that helped me in my preparation for the big day:

1. Le Français dans le Monde. The magazine and the accompanying audio cds are a must for any French language student. More information on http://www.fdlm.org/
2. Radio France Internationale. The daily news broadcasts and interviews with authors, film-makers, politicians and people from diverse fields immensely help you to acquire the requisite listening skills for level B2. More on http://rfi.fr, the radio http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/pages/001/accueil.asp and French language http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/statiques/accueil_apprendre.asp
3. At the B2 level you are also expected to understand the Canadian accent very well, in that case Radio-Canada, http://radio-canada.ca.
4. France 1, for all the information about all that goes on in France. http://www.tf1.fr/
5. TV5 Monde. For the help needed related to French exercises similar to the questions of the DELF exams http://www.tv5.org/
6. Alliance Française de Bombay. http://afindia.org/bombay
7. Alter Ego 4, Campus 4 and Café Crème 4. The best textbooks possible!

I am so happy! Vive la Francophonie!

French Language Exams

There are exactly four examinations of French that are recognized all over the world. They are:

1. DELF-DALF
2. TCF
3. TEF
4. TFI

DELF-DALF

The DELF-DALF exams are conducted by the CIEP, Centre International d’études pédagogique and awarded by the Ministry of National Education of France. DELF stands for Diplôme d'études en langue Française and DALF stand for Diplôme approfondi de langue Française. DELF and DALF have been consistent with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages since 1 September 2005

The DELF-DALF diplomas are 6 in number, DELF A1, DELF A2, DELF B1, DELF B2, DALF C1 and DALF C2, each corresponding to the respective level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

These tests are meant for non-French people who would like their French language skills recognized either for education, employment or for personal reasons. The DELF and DALF diplomas are independent, so you can appear for the examination you choose. You can also attempt the examinations for multiple diplomas during the same examination session. Contact the Alliance Française in your country to find out the examination centers in your country or click here. Have a look at the sample papers here. For information on fees, contact the examination centre where you would like to take the diploma(s). Address your queries to delfdalf@ciep.fr

TCF - Test de connaissance du français

The TCF are conducted by the CIEP, Centre International d’études pédagogique and awarded by the Ministry of National Education of France. Like the DELF-DALF every non-French person can appear for the TCF. All candidates obtain a certificate of results that grades them at one of six levels (from A1 to C2) on the competency scale defined by the Council of Europe (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). This means that it is not possible to fail the TCF. There are 4 types of TCF depending on your reason for appearing for the TCF.

1. General TCF
2. TCF for Future students who plan to do their studies in France or in any French speaking country. TCF DAP for Bachelors courses and TCF for Masters.
3. TCF for International Bodies (International Relations)
4. TCF for Quebec: For those who wish to immigrate to Quebec, Canada

Contact the Alliance Française in your country to find out the examination centers in your country and the cost of the exam or click here. It is also advisable to contact the Embassy of Canada in your country if you plan to appear for TCF Quebec. Address your queries to delfdalf@ciep.fr

TEF - Test d'Evaluation de Français

The Test d'Evaluation du Français is awarded by the CCIP (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris/Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris) This certificate is valid for one year from the date the exam was taken. The TEF can be attempted for the following reasons:

1. Higher studies in France or Canada
2. Emigration to Canada
3. Emigration to Quebec

To find out the exam centers for TEF in your country and the exam fees, click here. To attempt the TEF in India or just for more detailed information, click here. Address your queries here.

TFI – Test de français international

The Test de Français international evaluates the French level of non-francophones. This multiple choice test assesses a candidate's ability to understand, speak, read and write French as it is used in the international workplace. It is conducted by ETS Canada, the same body that conducts the GRE and TOEFL.

This exam can be attempted for educational, professional and personal purposes. The score obtained on the TFI can be used on the resume to indicate your French language proficiency. Look here to see what the scores mean. Contact the following offices to know the centers in your country or contact the TOEFL centers in your city to know if they conduct the TFI also. In case if you plan to give the TFI in Europe, click here.

Head Office/Siège Social Educational Testing Service Canada Inc. 212-133 Princess Street Kingston, Ontario K7L 1A8 Tel: (613) 542-3368 Toll Free: 1-800-615-8666 (Canada & U.S.)

Québec Office/Bureau du Québec Educational Testing Service Canada Inc. C. P. 69044 Laval, Québec H7X 3M2 Tél: (450) 689-3151 / 1-888-689-3151 Téléc: (450) 689-2790

The scores obtained on the DELF-DALF, TCF and TEF correspond to each other. Have a look at the following website to find the equivalences in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

http://www.alliancefrmarseille.org/en_cours_cadre_europeen.html

It is best to prepare for these exams by pursuing French courses at the Alliance Francaises in your country.

All the best!