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Hello and bienvenu à tous! I have to apologise for my absence from this site. The last few months have been extremely difficult as a result of our current situation.
The website will be remodeled over the coming weeks and new content and updates to French B programme guides and information will be updated to reflect 2020 examinations. In addition, guides and breakdowns will be provided and included for French A and ab initio starting this summer. My hope as I work from home now that we are restricted from leaving our homes is that I will have the opportunity to provide you guys with consistent content and resources to aid in your studies and/or your teachings. This is where I need your help: EDUCATORS! What do you want to see? STUDENTS! What resources do you need? What areas of the IB French curriculum gives you the most trouble. Please I ask that you participate and leave your comments below. It will be a massive help also PDFs with resources and in depth tips, tricks, and suggestions will be available for purchase this autumn. Look forward to hearing from you! Bisous! Jules
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Bonjour à tous! I hope your study sessions have been productive. We are in the endgame now and as the days before May 2019 exams are administered become less and less the resources uploaded to the website will become more and more. Markschemes have been uploaded for several exams and more will be available in the days leading up to exam day. Markschemes are FREE but you will need to register and become a member of the community to gain access to them. On that note, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns... do not hesitate to reach out to us on here via the contactez-nous function, via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. à bientôt, Jules  Hello all! Hope all who are studying for exams next month are experiencing fruitful and productive study sessions. There will be a few changes to the 'Members Only' Resources portion of the site. There are a few past exams available via the regular members only resources page, however, I have been receiving messages from students messaging me that they are unable to access the page. That said, the issue should now be fixed and you should be able to access the resources there. Moreover, I have added a Members Only Download page where you can download markschemes and other resources that complete materials available via the public downloads page and the Members Only Resources page. I will be uploading a ton of past exams over the next few days. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me via the 'Contactez-Moi' form available on this website, via Facebook or Instagram. Happy Studying. à bientôt, Jules  Ah, the early 1990s. An epoch in human history characterised by denim vests, overalls, chokers, butterfly clips, N’Sync, floppy disks, and mom jeans. If you were lucky enough the experience the 1990s in all its glory, all you experience now is rampant nostalgia of happier and much simpler times. If you were born after-the-fact...I do not know what to tell you but I can assure you it was a wonderful time to be alive. You might be questioning what any of this has to do with writing; patience is key… there is a point to all of this. The 1990s also marked the commencement of the Information Age; a period of time during which technological advancements provided society with new options of entertainment commerce, research, employment, and communication. Yep! The advancements that came about during the 1990s made it possible for you to use that computer, or phone, you are using to read this guide. As a student of French, you utilise the internet as a valuable resource to aid your studies. You use your computer or mobile device to research. Moreover, you use your computer to WRITE! That is right, you use your computer to write. Nothing has streamlined the writing process like the computer to be completely honest. A plethora of writing programs and software are available for free and via subscription to provide you with the tools that will ensure your success during the writing process. Such programs may help generate ideas, provide you easy access to library sources, take notes, make outlines, revise, proofread, format your footnotes and bibliography, design layout, and communicate with other writers (your writing group peers). The most important of these writing tools is the word processor, Microsoft Word Processor and Google Docs come to mind, which encourages the flexibility essential to good writing. When you write by hand or with a typewriter (L O L, who uses those nowadays), your words appear on the page as you compose them; the process of composition and the appearance of the physical text are the same. In contrast, the word processor separates the two events. When you write in a word processor, the words appear on screen as you compose and can be easily and effortlessly fixed; no need for whiteout! You can change your text without making a mess of it and without having to retype the parts you do not want to change—adding, deleting, or moving a letter, paragraph, or entire sections with a key stroke or two and the help of your mouse. Your text is always stored in the computer: you can pull it up and make changes at anytime, no questions asked. The word processor gives you the endless freedom to revise your paper and should help you achieve your writing goals more efficiently than you can with paper revisions. (Paper revisions are still an essential component of the writing process!) Many word processors are capable of producing accent marks and other foreign language characters. In addition, most word processors have search commands to help you find a single word in a text; the capability of moving or erasing whole chunks of text at once; the list is endless! Although you can type and revise your paper using only a few of your word processor’s capabilities, the more functions you are familiar with, the easier writing with a computer will be. Whether you save your work directly on your computer or upload it onto a cloud storage service, make sure you upload your work on a removable hard drive or thumb drive just in case. Technology is not always reliable and issues may arise; hard drives crash, no internet access to access your documents saved on the cloud etc., The nice thing about living and writing in 2019 is that your work is automatically saved for you as you type on many programs and if an unexpected shortage causes your computer to lose power, your work will be restored upon startup; this feature would have been nice when I was a student years and years ago. To prepare your computer-written essay for group discussion in your writing groups, I would suggest uploading your document on Google Drive for example, there you can read, re-read, discuss, and edit your paper as many times as you would like. As you read, think about the aspects of your essay that you would like the group to discuss. Insert your own questions or comments into the text in the appropriate places using the notes function available on the majority of word processors; if using an older program, write using capital letters to distinguish the edits/notes from the original text. Get the complete Writing With a Computer Guide by visiting our Atélier d'Écriture downloads page.  Bonjour les élèves et bienvenus! Merci de m’avoir rejoint! Today’s word of the day is ‘câlin’ in the adjectival form of the word. The word translates to ‘cuddly’ or ‘affectionate’ en Anglais! ’Câlin’ can also be used as a masculin noun and means ‘hug’ or ‘cuddle’ when used in that sense. Stay tuned, an in depth look at this word of the day on our word of the day page! Also make sure to follow us on Twitter @ibfrench and on Instagram @ibfrenchsurvivalguide  Bonjour les élèves! As promised, the first of many French ab initio papers have been uploaded to the downloads store for free download. Five Hundred (500) PDF files per exam file will be available for download. Each download allows you the opportunity to download that particular PDF file up to three (3) times if you so choose! You can visit the French ab initio store by clicking on this sentence! French ab initio students, more resources will be available for you in the coming days and weeks! Worry not!  Bonjour les élèves! Today I have uploaded a French writing checklist that should aid in your writing process. You can click here to download for FREE! An English version of this checklist will be available by clicking HERE! As you can tell writing is a big focus here at IB French Survival Guide this week! Next week we will focus on listening and speaking activities. Throughout the month of February, new past IB Papers will be uploaded and available for download! Markschemes will be available for free to students who register and will be available under Member Only Resources! Happy studying!  Bonjour les élèves! As promised, the commenting guides for editing your written tasks are now available! You can click here if you want to download a free PDF of this commenting guide. Or you can click here if you want to see the online version of this commenting guide. I would also like to take the opportunity to say that listening activity guides will be up shortly with some sample exercises as well as a guide with tips and tricks to help prepare you for that! More IB French B and IB French ab initio past papers will be posted tonight or tomorrow!   Bonjour à tous! Today I would like to talk a little bit about the stages of writing as it relates to writing, revision, and rewriting. In writing, many of the stages are solitary- you sit alone at your desk, at a coffee shop or in a library, with your thoughts and your pen and paper (or keyboard)- but it is also a very social activity. When you write you write for other people; there is a specified audience. Take this piece for example, I am writing to you, a user of IB French Survival Guide, looking for guidance and help in French. When you write an essay or paper, you are writing for your teacher, instructor, or professor. The best way to ensure that you are communicating successfully is to try your work out on real readers. Professional writers for example, share their writing all the time. They share their work with friends, family, colleagues, mentors before they submit their work for publication. In French class, you already have a group of readers who can offer you the one thing you do not have: a fresh perspective on your own writing. Your classmates can tell you if they are confused by your sentence structure, delighted by your examples, or curious to know where your argument will lead you to next. Best of all, they can give advice, suggesting the perfect word for your analogy, a new sequence for your argument, or an idea to put into your conclusion. Your classmates’ expertise as readers is an important resource to utilise. Everyone has different styles of reading and techniques for analyzing that they have developed over the years; use that to your advantage and focus your discussions on the ideas, organisation, and style of your paper. Because your classmates may not be experts in French grammar, I highly recommend you seek out your instructor or a grammar guide for assistance with grammar related questions. If you are still reading, it means you are really serious about advancing and elevating your writing in French. I now challenge you to create a small writing group with two or three other classmates. By creating this writing group, you will be giving yourselves an advantage over your other classmates all the while developing better writing skills. In your writing group, take turns reading each other’s drafts; giving one another the opportunity to be the writer and sometimes the editor. As a writer, you gain the direct evidence of your audience’s needs; as an editor, you become more skilled at analysing drafts, a talent you can apply to your own writing. Although the reason for sharing your drafts with your classmates is to give each other suggestions for revision, you get the additional benefit of conversing with each other in French. L’ATELIER D’ÉCRITUREOnce you have formed your writing group, make sure to schedule a time and place to hold your very own atelier d’écriture (writer’s workshop). Print out three (3) to four (4) copies of your writing assignment: paper, piece, story, exposé, article, whatever it may be. Exchange your written pieces so that everyone in your writing group has a copy of everyone’s written work. If you have the time, exchange papers the day before meeting to allow your group members to take home your written sample so that they have time to read and write comments on them. On the day you meet, your group will discuss one written piece at a time, with each author leading the discussion of his or her own paper. Be sure that you actually talk with one another and provide additional feedback to what is already written on the drafts you exchanged with one another. These ateliers d’écriture function best when members are supportive and when each one takes responsibility for improving all the drafts of the group. Collectively, the group needs to come up with the strategies for improvement, not simply criticisms. That is not to say you should give false praise or ignore obvious problems, but you should ask questions about what the author is trying to do and make concrete suggestions for revision. It is one thing to say, ‘ your writing sucks, sorry, too bad’. BE a supportive group member and instead say, ‘your writing is terrible, but here is how you can fix it. Instead of…. you can say….’. The most important thing to remember is that there is no such thing as a bad draft, only an unfinished one. Unlike a reviewer, whose job is to announce the strengths and deficiencies of a finished product, an editor helps the writer shape a working draft. Think of yourself as a collaborator rather than a judge. Be honest but be helpful. When you do not understand what you are reading, or something seems wrong or out of place, ask questions.
Guidelines for writers
Guidelines for editors
That is all I have for you all today! I hope you take the time to read an implement some of these strategies into your own writing process. I will be uploading a free commenting guide to the store which will also be available under the 'Ecriture' section of this site. Stay tuned for more! Merci et à bientôt! Bonjour à tous! I have uploaded Papers 1 & 2, including texts, for the May 2015 exam session to the 'Past Examination Papers' page of the site. Markschemes for Papers 1 & 2 will be available later on this week in 'Members Only Resources' so register today! French B SL and French ab initio past papers will be uploaded tomorrow!  Writing well in any language is hard word, but it can be especially intimidating writing in a second language. When writing in a second language you cannot always rely on your ear for what sounds correct, as you do in your native tongue, and searching for the right words may seem like a daunting task. Speaking from personal experience, as a student of languages, I sometimes feel limited in what I can say and express, and usually question if what I even wrote down made any sense. You will undoubtedly make mistakes in your French writing, but like with anything else in life, practice makes perfect. You have to come to terms with the fact that it is okay to make mistakes! That was the hardest struggle I had to overcome when I began my studies in foreign languages. By allowing myself to make mistakes I became a better writer, a better learner, and a better student. Moreover, though you use your grammar skills when you write, good writing in French does not come automatically from grammar and vocabulary exercises, though they do help, or even from being fluent in French. Effective writing in any language, comes from finding ideas worth saying, explaining them carefully, and arranging them in order that makes them clear to the reader. Your writing experience in English will help you as you write in French. The more strategies you have to choose from, the better your writing will become. Having these strategies will no doubt aid in finding a writing process that works for you. I would love to share some writing strategies that I have adopted that have allowed my writing in French to blossom into something greater than anything I would have ever imagined when I was a student in IB French courses in secondary school.  1. Start by writing down everything. Write until you cannot think of anything else to say, even if it does not seem related to the topic you have in mind. You can always go back and change it or throw it out; there is no rule that states that your French writing has to be perfect when it first hits the paper, or in our digital age, our keyboards. 2. Write even if you do not know what you want to say. Often times writing helps you discover your thoughts. The process of writing may reveal to you, ideas and opinions that you did not know you had, not to mention things that you did not know you could express in French. 3. NEVER write in English, translating later into French. Do all of your writing, even the roughest drafts, in French. If you write in English first, your French will sound like “franglais”-- more English than French. 4. Do your writing in stages. When you work on a paper, divide the task into smaller subtasks. Doing so will help you feel less stressed and less overwhelmed with the task at hand. Do not feel like you have you proceed in a straight line from introduction to conclusion. Jot down ideas as they occur to you. Later you can organise them and add examples and details to explain them. If you try to generate your ideas and organise them at the same time, the task will seem insurmountable, but if you take it one step at a time, it will become manageable, even fun! Once I started doing this at uni, I no longer waited until the night before a paper was due to get started lol. 5. REWRITE. Rarely will you get it perfect the first time in English, let alone in a second language. The rewriting often lets you articulate an idea you had earlier but could not express at the time. As your revise, you may also want to consult a dictionary, grammar text, verb book, or your instructor to answer specific questions about the French language. These are some of the strategies I use when I write whether it be an academic paper, exposé, or blog post for this website. Every language learner is different and what may work for me may not work for you. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk, mdr, I am just joking. Let me know in the comments below what strategies you use, I may add them to the writing section of this site in the future. Happy studying! Bonjour à tous! New French B HL exams have been uploaded and are available under the 'Past Examination Papers' tab. In order to download them, you will need to register to the site and allow a bit of time to pass the spam check. That said current papers located under 'Member Only Resources' will find themselves transferring over to the new Past Exam Papers section of the site. A valid email address will be necessary to download the PDF documents as you will receive the PDF documents instantly electronically via email. The reason for this change is for better visibility and to determine which group of students utilizes the resources available the most. Worry not, I have been working with a dedicated team to provide more content in the coming weeks and months. Five Hundred (500) PDF files per exam file will be available for download. With each download, you are given the opportunity to re-download that particular PDF file three times. Bundles with all exam papers and markschemes will also be available but for a set price. Tutoring services via skype and revision services via email will also be posted.   Bonjour à tous et bienvenus ! Merci de m’avoir rejoint! Je suis tellement ravi de vous revoir. The word of the day for 09 janvier 2019 was ‘diriger’. Origin: This word’s first recorded usage in French dates back to the 14th century. It first appeared during the The Great Schism of 1378 in the year 1381. The Great Schism of 1378 was the split within the Roman Catholic Church that lasted from 1378 to 1417. During this period of time, the papacy was split between three men who claimed to be the true pope. The word came to fruition in order to describe the idea of leading the people in a certain direction, in other words, «faire aller dans un certain sens». To conclude this mini history lesson, the Great Schism of 1378 ended with the Council of Constance, which was held between 1414 and 1418. They agreed to set their differences aside and elected one true pope (this is the condensed story of what happened). Today, the word is very commonly used and is amongst the 4000 most commonly used words in the French Language according to Collins Dictionary.  Jan Hus at the Council of Constance Karl Friedrich Lessing 1839 Etymologie: The word derives from the Latin dīrigō, dīrigere meaning ‘to direct’, simplified into a first conjugation French verb. Translation: Collins Dictionary translates ‘diriger’ to mean the represent the following meanings in English:
Definition: The word diriger is defined as the following by Le Dictionnaire:
Can You Use It In A Sentence? Le prof de Français a décidé que pour le débat de la semaine prochaine, les élèves du classe vont diriger la conversation.  Bonjour tout le monde! Our chanson du jour today is Charly by French pop singer Christophe Maé. The song is about a little girl, 8 years of age, that he knew that passed away as a result of complications from a brain tumour. The song is dedicated to her and there are sweet elements including melodies and lyrics that allude to that. I chose this song because it deeply impacted me and once you hear Christophe belt out those melodies you will feel butterflies in your stomach. Charly is a song from Christophe Maé's fourth album; it is available for purchase and streaming on all major music platforms. As always, the purpose of IB French Survival Guide's Chanson du jour is to provide you with opportunity to develop your aural comprehension while developing a larger vocabulary; it is also a wonderful way to expand your music library. 1.) Listen to the song twice! Really pay attention to the words, pinpoint in your mind the ones you know and make note of any new words you hear. 2.) On the third listen, grab a journal, notebook, laptop, even a piece of paper to write down the lyrics that you hear. It is okay to miss some words, you will not be able to jot all of them down at first. The wonderful thing about songs is they repeat. So you will have multiple opportunities to write down the lyrics. Do not stress, you will listen one more time. 3) Listen to the song one final time and fill in any gaps and use the paroles provided below the video to see how well you did. Hey Charly Dis c'est comment chez toi Tu sais c'est bien triste ici Depuis que l'on rit sans toi Hey Charly Dis c'est quand qu'on se voit Je te chanterai la vie Même sans voix Et dans mon coeur je t'entends encore jouer à la marelle Et 1, 2, 3 soleil Et puis te voilà au ciel Combien de temps Combien de temps on devra Regarder nos enfants partir Là-haut dans tes bras Oh mais dis-le moi Combien de temps Combien de temps on aura Avant de te revoir sourire Et nous serrer dans tes bras Et nous serrer dans tes bras Hey Charly J'ai plus de nouvelles, tu vois J'espère que tout baigne là-bas Et que les anges rient avec toi Hey Charly On est plus fort que tu crois La vie a donné, a repris C'est comme ça Et dans mon coeur je t'entends encore jouer à la marelle Et 1, 2, 3 soleil Et puis te voilà au ciel Combien de temps Combien de temps on devra Regarder nos enfants partir Là-haut dans tes bras Oh mais dis-le moi Combien de temps Combien de temps on aura Avant de te revoir sourire Et nous serrer dans tes bras J'allume une flamme sous la lune Et mon coeur se rallume Se rallume pour toi J'allume une flamme sous la lune Et mon coeur se consume Se consume pour toi Combien de temps Combien de temps on devra Regarder nos enfants partir Là-haut dans tes bras Oh mais dis-le moi Combien de temps Combien de temps on aura Avant de te revoir sourire Et nous serrer dans tes bras Combien de temps Combien de temps on devra Regarder nos enfants partir Là-haut dans tes bras Oh mais dis-le moi Combien de temps Combien de temps on aura Avant de te revoir sourire Et nous serrer dans tes bras Ouais et nous serrer dans tes bras Vas-y danse Danse pour moi Oui danse pour moi (Merci Marie. pour les paroles) Paroles trouvées ici : https://www.parolesdeclip.fr/charly-christophe-mae.html  Bonjour à tous et bienvenus ! Merci de m’avoir rejoint! Je suis tellement ravi de vous revoir. The word of the day for 08 janvier 2019, yesterday, was ‘aventure’. Origin: The word’s first recorded usage in French dates back to the 11th century. It first appeared in Vie de saint Alexis or Chanson de saint Alexis, a collection of medieval poems and hagiographies (writings of the lives of saints) that told the life story of Saint Alexis of Rome. The word first appears in quartet 89 and reads: Français Médiéval : «A! lasse, cum oï fort aventure!» Traduction Français Moderne : la bonne aventure. Today, the word is very commonly used and is amongst the 4000 most commonly used words in the French Language according to Collins Dictionary. Etymology: The word derives from the Vulgar Latin *adventura, which derives from the Late Latin adventurus from the Latin adventus.  Translation: Collins Dictionary translates ‘aventure’ to mean ‘adventure’ in English. Definition: The word adventure is defined as the following by Collins Dictionary:
Can You Use It In A Sentence? Et, sans faire le vain, mon aventure est telle, Que de la même ardeur que je brûle pour elle Elle brûle pour moi. -MALHERBE, François. Stances. 1609  Bonjour à tous! Today's song of the day is Jalousie by Angèle, a francophone pop music singer, song-writer and musician from Belgium. Jalousie is a song from her debut album Brol; it is available on all major music platforms for purchase and streaming. As always, the purpose of IB French Survival Guide's Chanson du jour is to provide you with opportunity to develop your aural comprehension while developing a larger vocabulary; it is also a wonderful way to expand your music library. 1.) Listen to the song twice! Really pay attention to the words, pinpoint in your mind the ones you know and make note of any new words you hear. 2.) On the third listen, grab a journal, notebook, laptop, even a piece of paper to write down the lyrics that you hear. It is okay to miss some words, you will not be able to jot all of them down at first. The wonderful thing about songs is they repeat. So you will have multiple opportunities to write down the lyrics. Do not stress, you will listen one more time. 3) Listen to the song one final time and fill in any gaps and use the paroles provided below the video to see how well you did. [Intro] Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Jalousie, jalousie [Couplet 1] Nuance avec parano, de pas grand chose Mais pourquoi s'entremêler entre lui et moi ? C'est, c'est plutôt déplacé Et frustrant, car jalousie Ton nom est bien trop joli [Refrain] Mais c'est qui cette fille sur la photo ? Jalousie me dit qu'elle est belle, qu'elle est belle Elle te veut, je crois, ça se voit Jalousie me dit qu'elle est là, qu'elle est là [Couplet 2] Écrasons les premières étincelles Jalousie, c'est pas rien Tu nous rends malades, oh, oh Quand le doute roule sur nos épaules, campe dans nos têtes Et prend un rôle, c'est là que tu agis [Refrain] Mais c'est qui cette fille sur la photo ? Jalousie me dit qu'elle est belle, qu'elle est belle Elle te veut, je crois, ça se voit Jalousie me dit qu'elle est là, qu'elle est là [Pont] Oh, oh, jalousie, jalousie Jalousie, jalousie [Refrain] Mais c'est qui cette fille sur la photo ? Jalousie me dit qu'elle est belle, qu'elle est belle Elle te veut, je crois, ça se voit Jalousie me dit, qu'elle est là Mais c'est qui cette fille dans tes messages ? Jalousie me dit qu'elle est seule, qu'elle est seule Seulement moi, j'ai peur que tu l'aimes Jalousie me dit, qu'elle est là, qu'elle est là [Outro] Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Tu nous tues, tu nous tues Bonjour à tous! The French word of the day for 8 January 2019 is 'aventure'. An in depth look at the meaning, etymology, and usage of the word will follow later today. 'Aventure' translates to 'adventure' in English.  Bonjour à tous et bienvenus! I apologise for the late word of the day >.< Merci de m’avoir rejoint, je suis tellement ravis de vous revoir. As I play around with the ‘French Word of The Day’ component of this website, I will eliminate and play around with the format as well. That said, I want to introduce a definition section where you can find definitions in both French and English. Let us move forward and expand our French vocabulary with yesterday’s French word of the day…‘Certitude’!  Origin: The word’s first recorded use in French dates back to the 16th century in the year 1581 by financial expert Nicolas Fromenteau. The following quote is the first literary documentation of the word found in Fromenteau’s third Finances book on page 389. « Tellement que qui voudroit representer la certitude de l'interest qu'a supporté chacun diocese, pour raison d'icelle surcharge…, » Today the word is very commonly used and is one of the 4000 most commonly used words in the Collins Dictionary.  https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/certitude Etymology: The word ‘certitude’ derives from the Middle French ‘certitude’, borrowed from Late Latin ‘certitūdō’ which itself was derived from the Latin word ‘certus’ which meant “sure” and the suffix -tūdō for noun of state. This later evolved to –tude in contemporary French. Our word of the day today has no prefix and is only comprised of a root and a suffix. The root of the word is ‘certi’ which derives from the Latin ‘certitūdō’ to mean ‘sure’. The suffix of the word –tude which derives from the latin –tūdō which is represents a “noun of state”. **State as in state of being, not regional location. ** If we combine the root and suffix of the word we get the following: certi + tude (sure + state of being) to be sure of. What is the direct translation? Keep reading to find out. Translation: Collins dictionary translates ‘certitude’ as ‘certainty’. Definition: The word certainty is defined as the following by Collins Dictionary:
Can You Use It In A Sentence? Condamnés à la mort, condamnés à la vie, voilà deux certitudes  Bonjour à tous! Merci beaucoup for your continued support this past year! You are all amazing and I am thankful for the opportunity provided to me in assisting this wonderful community of French Language learners in their studies. Because of each of you and your continued support, 2019 will be a huge year for IB French Survival Guide. As you may have already noticed, the website is no longer IB French B SL & HL Survival Guide. In 2019 the website will expand to provide students who are enrolled in IB French A1 & A2 SL and HL courses as well as IB French ab initio courses with the appropriate resources and materials to aid their language learning. If you see that a resource or page is no longer available, please message me and I will provide you with those resources as the layout of the website changes.  2019 is also the beginning of a new era for IB examinations. Certain components that were crucial in the assessment of your final exam grade will no longer be administered; more on this in a few weeks time. Talking about exams, the 2019 May and November examination schedules have been released. French A, B, and ab initio will observe their examinations on the same day in May 2019; November 2019 exam sessions on the other hand will see different dates for French A, B, and ab initio. May examination sessions will take place on the afternoon of 23 May 2019 and the morning of 24 May 2019 for the first round of 2019 exam sessions. November examination sessions will take place on the afternoon of 11 November 2019 and the morning of 12 November 2019 for French B and ab initio students. French A students will observe examinations on the afternoon of 19 November 2019 and the morning of 20 November 2019 respectively. See the table below for more information or download the Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet for more information.  
Thank you once again! Check back soon for more updates, more exams, more resources! 2019 will be epic!
 Bonjour à tous et bienvenus! Je suis content de vous revoir. Let us expand our French vocabulary with today’s word of the day, ‘Désespoir’! Origin: The word’s first recorded use dates back to the XII century. Trends in word usage suggest that 1734 was the beginning of this word’s rise in popularity; this of course is based on estimations by Collins dictionary. ‘Désespoir’is one of the 4,000 most commonly used words in the French Language today.  Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/d%C3%A9sespoir Etymology: The word ‘Désespoir’ derives from the latin spērāre, which is the present active infinitive of spērō. Spērō can be defined as follows:
Contrary to our other ‘Word of the Day’s thus far, the word ‘désespoir’ is formed from a prefix and root but does not contain a suffix.
The prefix of the word originates from the Middle French des-, which originated from the Old French des-, which originated from the Latin dis-, which in turn originates from the Proto-Indo-European *dwís. Proto-Indo-What-now? I know! I know! Let us pause for a second to explain what all of this means. As students of French and even students of your mother language; at some point in time you realised that words originate from other languages. Latin and Greek are the two that often come to mind. Linguistics is like a surprise cookie; you never know what flavour you will get, but it is amazing nonetheless. A proto-language is essentially a hypothetical and undocumented parent language from which modern languages are derived from. These are languages that began from oral tradition by our ancestors thousands and thousands of years ago. Think of a proto-language as a sort of cavewoman mother language. That said, the Proto-Indo-European language group is the common ancestor of French, English, Latin, Greek, Russian, Gaelic, Hindi, and many other languages spoken in Europe and India. I decided to explain this now because our future words of the day will also feature Proto-Indo-European prefixes and suffixes and do not want to explain it again down the road. Anyway... the prefix des- essentially represents the reversal of sense of the succeeding word. In ‘désespoir’ the succeeding word is the root ‘espoir’. The root is a deverbal word, meaning a word derived from a verb, espérer which holds the following meanings:
Now that you have this information, do you think you can guess the meaning of this word? No? Let’s try together. Combine the Prefix and the root: Dés- + espoir. Let me remind you that the root of today’s word of the day, dés-, means the reversal of sense of the succeeding word, espoir, which means to hope. Despair should as a result mean the reversal of hope. Translation: Collins dictionary translates ‘désespoir’ as ‘despair’. Breaking this down a bit further, despair is defined as “the feeling that everything is wrong and that nothing will improve”. Can You Use It In A Sentence? Depuis la fin de sa rélation amoureuse avec son amant, M. Niney ne ressentait que le désespoir. Il s’est rendu compte qu’il est tombé amoureux d’elle.  Bonjour à tous et bienvenus! Je suis content de vous revoir. Let us expand our French vocabulary with today’s word of the day, ‘Ralentir’! Origin: It is estimated that ‘Ralentir’first appeared in oral tradition beginning around 1711; in written text the word first appeared in the year 1837. Louis Viardot, French author, art historian, art critic, theatrical figure, and translator first used the word in his French translation of the Spanish novel El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The word appears in Volume I, Chapter XXXIII: «... Lothaire commença à ralentirpeu à peu, par réflexion, ses allées et venues dans la maison de son ami.»  Source: https://www.akal.com/libro/el-ingenioso-hidalgo-don-quijote-de-la-mancha_35166/ Etymology: The word is derived from the archaic and now obsolete French word ‘alentir’.
The prefix originates from the Old French, a-, which stems from Latin, ad-, which denotes entering a state or making progress toward a goal, etc., The root originates from the Old French, lent, which comes from the Latin lentus. The word lent in turn translate to ‘slow’ in English. Collins Dictionary defines the word slow in the following ways:
The suffix -ir is used to denote that the word’s ending denotes that the word is a verb that may be conjugated in any of the French tenses. Now that you have this information, do you think you can guess the meaning of this word? No? Need a little help? Try this! Lets use arithmetic equations to assist us…well not necessarily, but let’s use the structure of formulas to help us with this. [R]a- + lent. + -ir (toward) + (slow) + (verbal suffix) If I had to guess based off this equation alone, I would say that the word means to move slowly towards something or to slow down. Am I right? Keep reading to find out. Translation: Collins dictionary translates the French verb ‘ralentir’ to mean “ to slow down”. Can You Use It In A Sentence? Victor ralentissait sa vitesse quand la pluie commence à tomber. Bonjour à tous! To give you a taste of what you are missing by not signing up, here is a sample Paper 2 from the examination session May 2001. Sign up and join our community of French Learners. 
Bonjour à tous! Bienvenus! I have posted May 2014 Examination Papers 1 & 2 without markschemes. If you are interested in the markschemes please send me a message via email at julesfranco@ibfrenchsurvivalguide.com and we can discuss further. Furthermore, I would like to announce that IB French B SL & HL Survival Guide will no longer be branded under that name. Come December 15 2018, the website will relaunch under IB French Survival Guide. What is the difference? Currently the website serves students all around the world studying the French B SL and HL curricula. Beginning next month, I will be adding materials, resources, and past papers that students studying the curricula of French AB Initio and French A SL and HL students can utilise for their studies. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns... leave them down below. N'hésitez pas de m'envoyer un message sur Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr ou même ici! à bientôt! -Jules Bonjour à tous et bienvenus! Je suis content de te revoir. I must apologise for the lack of content being posted as of late. I have been busy with a few projects and will be launching some new exciting features and experiences to this website. Enough on that let us get to today's word of the day which is 'embaumer'. Origin: The word embaumer's first recorded use dates back to 1711! Over the years, the popularity of the word has declined. But what does it mean?  Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/french-english/embaumer Etymology: The word embaumer's etymology is comprised of the following:
The prefix originates from the Old French en- which stems from the Latin in-, meaning ("in, into, on, onto"). The prefix can also denote that the word at hand will have something to do with covering or causing. The root originates from the Old French, basme, which comes from the Latin balsamum which borrows from Ancient Greek's βάλσαμον (bálsamon). This word translates to 'balm' in English. Collins Dictionary defines the word balm as the following: 1. any of various oily aromatic resinous substances obtained from certain tropical trees and used for healing and soothing 2. any plant yielding such a substance, esp the balm of Gilead 3. something comforting or soothing 4. any aromatic or oily substance used for healing or soothing The suffix -er is used to denote that the word is a verb that you can conjugate. Okay. I know you're thinking to yourself, "Why do I need to know any of this"? I will tell you. If you start to understand what the prefixes and suffixes of words are and mean, you will be able to guess the meaning of a word simply by looking at it. This proves rather helpful when you are in the exam room and you come across a word that you are unsure of its meaning or context in relation to the rest of the text. The image below will visually present to you all the information I have provided you thus far.  Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/embalm Translation: Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll please! The moment you have all been waiting for and by now may have already guessed... THE TRANSLATION! The word of the day, embaumer, translates to "embalm" in English. Collins dictionary defines the word embalm as follows: 1. to treat (a dead body) with preservatives, as by injecting formaldehyde into the blood vessels, to retard putrefaction 2. to preserve or cherish the memory of 3. to give a sweet fragrance to Can You Use It In A Sentence? The following is a short excerpt from chapter eight of Antoine De Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince. In this excerpt the Little Prince talks about never trusting the flowers on his home planet and furthermore expressed the distress he felt from the sweet fragrance the flowers provided him and his planet. I can go on and analyse this more but this is not a literary lecture. So here you go! "J'aurais dû ne pas l'écouter, me confia-t-il un jour, il ne faut jamais écouter les fleurs. Il faut les regarder et les respirer. La mienne embaumait ma planète mais je ne savais pas m'en réjouir. Cette histoire de griffes, qui m'avait tellement agacé, eût dû m'attendrir..." Il me confia encore: "Je n'ai alors rien su comprendre! J'aurais dû la juger sur les actes et non sur les mots. Elle m'embaumait et m'éclairait. Je n'aurais jamais dû m'enfuir! J'aurais dû deviner sa tendressse derrière ses pauvres ruses. Les fleurs sont si contradictoires! Mais j'étais trop jeune pour savoir l'aimer"  Source: Antoine De Sainte-Exupéry Bonjour à tous! New HL Papers are up on the members only section! :) Happy Studying! |
Jules FrancoFrench Language and Culture enthusiast, fashion trend-setter extraordinaire. My goal is to provide students with resources, materials, and insight that will help French Language acquisition less intimidating and more enjoyable. Archives
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