PREPARATION FOR IO – ORAL ASSESSMENT

FRENCH (LANGUAGE ACQUISITION)

-Ms. Ilakshi Talwar Sharma

The curriculum is structured around specific themes( identities, experiences, human ingenuity,social
organization,sharing the planet) that allow students to engage with the target language through reading written texts,
audio -visual stimuli, written and oral expressions.

Why is your French IA important & how to prepare?

Aside from the obvious reason that it constitutes 25% of your final IB grade for the language, it is an important
indicator of your proficiency level in the language needed to make informed choices about further studies and/ or
career prospects.

1. Prepare!

It may sound like the usual advice you get from everyone else but give me a moment to explain. Ideally, your
preparation should start from the very moment you choose to pursue a second language (maybe even before, but
that’s stretching it a bit). Depending on how much time you have to prepare, immerse yourself in the language as
often as possible during your leisure like music, movies, videos, etc.
When you see different images in classroom/texts studied on any theme being covered, classify them according to the
prescribed themes and guiding principle they fall under. You could also take the liberty to google random themes and
find images that evoke one or two of the optional recommended topics.

2. What next?

Take one theme and one of the optional recommended images:

What do you see at first glance?

• Describe the general nature of the photo prompt: Number of people, colors, gender, activities, etc. Use expressions
like :
« il s’agit de », « Dans cette photo je vois », « C’est une photo de », etc.

You may also highlight specific features of the image like color, size, etc. which you deem relevant to the theme. To
introduce these specific features, you can use expressions:
« Plus précisément », « En plus je remarque »

• What does the image represent?

What social question does the image prompt raise? You may use expressions like :
« cette image représente », « Cette image parle de », « Aujourd’hui / dans nos jours, il est question de »

Keep in mind that the social question will be linked to the prompt so if the image you pick is about air pollution, the
social question could be as follows: what are the causes of air pollution, what are the effects? How do we save our
planet?

• Give at least 3 points in response to your social question. Make sure that you know how to express reason, cause,
and effect. You may practice by preparing social, educational and economic points. For example, for the prompt on
pollution, if you choose the causes of pollution, you could give social reasons why pollution is increasing as well as
economic and educational reasons. The same works for effects and solutions as well.

• What is your opinion?

Learn to express your opinion in French! A key feature of communication is the expression of one’s preferences,
tastes, opinions, etc. Learn expressions like
« Je préfère », instead of using « j’aime » all the time which when used in social discussions may appear too
subjective. You may also use « à mon avis », « je pense que », « selon moi », etc. to express your opinion on the
subject.

• End with an open- ended question

This is often a tricky thing to do and since it is optional you may skip it. An open-ended question allows the discussion
to continue in the “minds of people”. This means after you have offered your opinion assess it by finding a counter
question. For example, again about pollution and global warming, you may end your presentation with the question:
Is there an urgent need to save the planet? Is global warming a world threat? Why do people claim global warming is
false? Is saving the planet more important than living on it?

3. Conclusion

After you have done the same for all the themes, you would have prepared for your oral presentation. Finally, on the
day of your exam, once you receive the image prompt write down all the key verbs and expressions you have mastered
for each of the steps I enumerated before (general description, detailed description, social question, responses to the
question and the open-ended question. This will help guide you while you describe your image. Pay attention to verb
tenses and subject-verb agreements because they will be evaluated.
Lastly, do not write down full sentences because they tend to be difficult to read under exam conditions and do not
show the mark of an evolved speaker. Limit your ideas to points in the form of key words.
Bonne chance!

What criteria will be used to mark your IB exam?

There are 3 aspects to bear in mind as to how your work will be marked

Criterion A: Language (12 marks)

To score highly, the student should demonstrate an effective and mostly accurate command of the
language. Vocabulary should be varied and appropriate, with a variety of basic and more complex
grammatical structures. Pronunciation and intonation should be consistent and clear.

Criterion B1: Message - visual stimulus (6 marks)

The presentation should be consistently relevant to the stimulus, drawing on explicit and implicit details,
with a clear link to the target culture.

Criterion B2: Message - conversation (6 marks)

The student’s responses to the teacher should be relevant to the question, show development, be
appropriate, developed, be broad in scope and depth, and attempt to engage the teacher.

Criterion C: Interactive skills - communication (6 marks)

The student should demonstrate sustained comprehension and interaction.

CLICK ON THE LINK : THEME WISE EXAMPLES AND STRUCTURE :

AUDIO REFERENCES :
IB FRENCH - Describe an Image - Sample

IB DP French B SL | Oral B - Theme - Ingéniosité Humaine (Human Ingenuity) | How to get 7 in French