If you're preparing for your French Junior Cycle CBAs, you're in the right place! We want to help you by making the process as easy as possible. Naturally, language subjects can be somewhat of a challenge for many students. That's why Emer, an experienced teacher of French, has composed this French CBA guide to help you! Check out some extracts from the complete guide below:
In your first CBA, which takes place in 2nd year, your oral communication will be assessed. This is an opportunity to show how well you can speak. The purpose of this CBA is to develop and improve your ability to speak French and communicate information clearly through French. After all, languages are meant to be spoken so this is an important part of your learning!
This second CBA will be a compilation of documents you've been collecting throughout 2nd and 3rd year. These documents are examples of your work and proof of your learning. It's therefore so important to keep your work in a safe place, be that physically in a folder of work or else digitally in a file. The documents can also be recordings of you speaking French on topics and work you've covered in class. Some students will be encouraged to re-do these pieces of work by your teacher to improve them, so patience is a virtue with this CBA! Each of the documents you choose will also require you to write a note reflecting on it.
When you're preparing for your first CBA you need to consider a number of skills. The first skill is pronunciation, ask yourself, "can I say words correctly in French?". Pronunciation takes time to develop so you must practise this. Then consider clearly communicating, will your teacher and classmates understand what you plan to talk about? Clear communication is crucial! Finally, language is fundamental for this CBA. Is your grammar correct and are you planning to use a wide variety of vocabulary? Focusing on these three elements of CBA1 will help you prepare a great CBA!
This oral CBA can be done in various styles. For example, you may do an interview, a role-play, a presentation followed by questions and answers, or else perhaps a conversation in response to stimulus. Some students will choose from these formats whilst others will be instructed by their teacher which one they must use. You may also complete this individually or else as part of a group, depending on what your teacher instructs. Either way you'll be speaking French for 3-4 minutes regardless of the format!
When you're preparing your first CBA it's important to practise how you will present the CBA. You must have a clear plan in place, possibly create some cue cards for the actual day but keep them simple, avoid overloading them! Perhaps try a dry run with family or friends to get a feel for the presentation, they would be the perfect people to give you some feedback! On the actual day, take a deep breath, stand up straight & confidently with your shoulders back, if you have notes read them as little as possible. Trust in all the planning and practice you'll have done beforehand!
Your final CBA2 portfolio will include three texts chosen from your collection of work. This work is from 2nd and 3rd year and must include one oral text/recording, one text about French culture or language and finally a text that you have complete freedom to choose! All these texts must include drafts so keep these as you alter the documents. Finally you will include a reflection on each document.
Both your CBAs require you to reflect, a skill that you must develop as part of the Junior Cycle curriculum. When reflecting on the CBAs ask yourself what did you learn from the CBA, what did you do well and what could you change to improve the presentation or documents if you were to re-do it all again? For CBA1 this could be that you presented confidently and clearly but maybe you would expand your vocab if you were to re-do it. For CBA2 maybe you learned how to conjugate different tenses in a written document and in an oral document you might improve your pronunciation of certain words. This reflection is a space to reflect on all your progress!
We hope these tips will help you to prepare for your French CBAs! To read Emer's full CBA French guide, click below.
Good luck with both your French CBAs! We know they'll be great!
If you're looking for help with your French exam, check out our 'How to get a Distinction in Junior Cycle French' guide here.
