French CLEP

[NAP]

Hi, I came by this website and saw some useful information I really need. Since French is my native language, I am interested in the clep French, but I have no idea how it works! I am currently situated in NYC, and I've been told that I can take it at the NYU which is very expensive compared to other places (If anybody can suggest me a place that would be very nice!) anyway...I just wanted to know, it's been like a year I haven't wrote like essays or even read books in French, so do u suggest that I have a certain textbook? What do I have to review for the test? How long is the test? Can you tell me what it contains ? thanx so much!

Welcome to the forum!

Since you are a native speaker, I would not expect you to have any problems with this exam. However, I think it is helpful to know what is covered on the exam, so I would suggest finding a copy of the Official CLEP Study Guide (lots of sample questions) and looking at their website:

CLEP: French Language

It says it is a 90 minute test with 120 questions. 40% of the exam is listening. There are no essays to write.

Also, since you are a native speaker, I would suggest looking at the other exams that are available, like ACTFL. You may be able to get more credits or upper-level credits. (You’ll need to check with your school.)

http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...-lots.html

[tbradford1]

Hi guys, just wanted to let you know that the Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative has two levels of French offered for free via their website. So far it seems pretty cool. I haven't gotten too far into it but it definitely has potential.

Open Learning Initiative

[noel355]

Hey everyone,

I just passed the French CLEP test and am leaving some feedback to the other brave souls who will try it.

For background, I have taken French the first two years of highschool (I am a high school senior) and a couple years even before that. I was by no means an expert at it, though. I have taken the 1st and 2nd courses for Rosetta Stone French, but wouldn't recommend those programs for cramming for the test. They take a long time and I don't think they are the best resources for studying for the CLEP test, though they are great for just learning basic French.

To prepare for this test, I studied the book Contacts: Langue and Culture Francaises by Valette and Valette (7th Ed. w/ 19 CD's). This book was a great resource and could even help you get started from scratch. The CD's were very important as well.

I also bought Barron's AP French 2008 with CD's. I do recommend this book if you want some good practice for the test. Lots of the listening portions on the AP test seem quite similar to the ones on the CLEP test. It should be noted, however, that this book seems to be quite advanced (ie. everything, including instructions, is in French). I would not recommend this book for a beginner. The practice tests in the AP book were a bit harder than the CLEP tests, but it was an invaluable resource to study for the CLEP exam.

Those were my two main study resources, but I also rented some books on French from the library and read French articles and short-stories online. (Tip: read a French article, see what you can understand, then copy and paste it into the Google Translator box to see what words you don't know. Often it isn't perfectly accurate, but close enough.)

As to the test, first read the description on the College Board website. For the audio portions, the actual French wasn't that hard, it was just remembering what was said and understanding the speakers that was difficult. For the reading, there was a passage about a woman living in America writing her mother. Another passage was about a young man who stole something and hid it.

There were quite a few questions where you would see a picture of some French advertisement and have to answer stuff like, "You would be interested in this advertisement if you: A. Wanted to buy a boat. B. Needed to hire a taxi. C. Wanted to go for a cruise. C. Wanted an appartment by the sea."

Besides that, it is really important to just know your grammar (the verb conjugations and how to use qui, que, de, le, les, etc.)

It was a pretty difficult exam and I really wouldn't recommend someone who has never taken French before to attempt it without several months or more of intense study.

However, it is possible! Good luck if you try. I hope this helps.

[NAP]

Fantastic! Congratulations Noel!

I'm glad you like the AP book for this exam. I am going to try the one by REA.

This is good news! Great job!

[margotsara]

I took French for 4 years in hs also (though this was only 2 years ago)..

French in Action is an EXCELLENT resource to use for brushing up on vocab and grammar skills you probably learned in your first one or two years of HS or college French class.

I did not buy the text or workbook, but I did watch every single one of the video episodes on the Annenberg site.

You can use MIT OpenCourseWare French I, II, III to supplement these videos if you want.

I would also suggest getting a French / English dictionary if you don't already have one and brushing up on verb conjugations, verb meanings, and idiomatic expressions. You will need to be familiar with fairly-casual spoken French for the listening sections.