Tough French comprehension exam challenges Leaving Cert students

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Leaving Cert students required a high standard of vocabulary and a "careful, methodical approach" to tackle a challenging French reading comprehension on this year's paper.
The Leaving Cert exams continued Wednesday morning, as students sat the French exam.
The Junior Cycle also progressed with the 2025 Home Economics exam.
This morning's Leaving Certificate Higher Level French paper was overall fair, according to Barry Hennessy, ASTI subject spokesperson and teacher at Coláiste Éanna, Dublin.
There was a wide variety of familiar topics in the written production section, most of which students would have prepared for in class, he added.
While the reading comprehension passages were generally "fine," students faced some challenges with Question 2.
"The literary text in particular," he said.
"The journalistic reading comprehension, question 1, was on the growing popularity of scouting and the text was overall accessible with lots of familiar vocabulary especially to do with outdoor pursuits and household chores."
He added: "As always, some questions required a greater amount of grammatical manipulation or deeper reading of the text, however, this is normal and aims to reward candidates of differing abilities.
"The French marking scheme always awards pretty generous partial marks to those whose attempts fall short of grammatical perfection."
Question 2 focused on an author who wanted to write a book about an elderly woman he met by chance, Mr Hennessy said.
"Students here needed to read the full text and the questions very closely, both of which were very nuanced at times."
"Students in the middle ground are likely to have found this passage and the questions quite challenging."
"Specifically, students were asked to find a verb in the passé composé past tense as opposed to just the past participle of the verb concerned, meaning that they ideally should have included the auxiliary verb but not the subject to achieve full marks."
He reassured students that the marking scheme may be more "lenient" in this area.
"Overall, a high standard of vocabulary and a careful, methodical approach were necessary to do well on this question."
"However, it must be pointed out that the marking scheme will be carefully designed and, if necessary, modified to ensure that candidates are rewarded for valid attempts, even where these fall short of full marks."
He also believed the written production section would have been well received by candidates, with questions on topics such as the benefits of club membership, treatment of older people, a diary entry about whether to cancel a party due to a red weather alert, drug use among young people, and political involvement.
"All well-prepared candidates should have found sufficient choice in this section."
Ordinary Level
The Ordinary Level paper was "fine overall," Mr Hennessy said.
"Candidates and teachers will have been pleased to see the recent pattern of the popular form-filling question in written production focusing on applying for a job."
"Candidates will have been well-prepared for and reassured by this question."
Junior Cycle
Meanwhile, Megan Friel, Studyclix subject spokesperson and teacher at Mercy College, Sligo, said she believed this year's Junior Cycle Home Economics paper was 'very doable, fair, and relatable to students' lives.'
'All the short questions were very straightforward with no tricks or curveballs,' she said.
As predicted, themes like sustainability and smart technology appeared in the short questions, she added.
'The inclusion of the Return Deposit Scheme, also seen on some mock papers , was likely a welcome relief for students.' 'Overall, the exam featured very topical and student-friendly questions that were manageable and free of unpleasant surprises — sure to bring a smile to both students and teachers.'