Testing time at the DEFLE
We had to report at 9h15 for oral tests, then 13h15 for written tests to establish what level of class to put us in.
Well the building was packed with people from all over the world - Turks, Chinese, Koreans, Americans, Ukrainians and at least two Brits.
Our names were all listed and we were sent to various doors behind which our tests would take place. Pat was listed as Hodgson (epou Davey). Then we waited. While we waited I chatted to some Turks and a Ukrainian. Pat found some Americans and an Englishwoman. So we waited. And waited.
Eventually I went in to be seen by my lady. I had to read a piece which contained some words that were unfamiliar to me, but it was basically about people hanging little bells on themselves at carnival time to ward off evil spirits! She asked me about my work, what kind of church I was in, how long I intended to stay in France and so on. Then it was over. 5 minutes at most. Pat's test was very short, too, about historical antiques.
Pat's English friend, Margaret, accompanied us to Macdonalds. Then we went back for our written tests.
Well - HARD? They were REALLY hard. First we had a written comprehension exercise based on animal rights. It was quite interesting, really. Basically French law divides all ones goods and chattels into two kinds - movable (biens meubles) and immovable (biens immeubles). Hence the French word for furniture (meubles) and for estate agent (immobilier). Animals fall into the "goods movable" category because you can move them. The text told us that the French are considering introducing a third class of goods and chattels - "good sensitive", being household animals. Well the questions were really very hard indeed.
Then there was a test of oral comprehension. The lady read out various sentences and we had to tick the one she had read. Then she read out five statements form a conversation, and we had to work out the context from a given list. Then she read out three statements relating to a picture of a mugging, and we had to write out the statements that accurately reflected the picture. Everything was read only once.
Then the last one was a test of writing skills, where we had to describe a picture, write a dialogue containing a question, a refusal, an advice and a command, and lastly write an essay of unspecified length on the future of the environment, using the phrases "tellement ... que", "bien que", "lorsque", another phrase and the verbs "nettoyer", "s'inquieter", "pouvoir" and another verb in some conjugated form.
Now remember that some of the people there are going to go into a beginners' section. Some of them didn't really understand the instructions, let alone the questions they were set.
It was HARD!
Results go up on Tuesday, telling us what group we are assigned to. Courses start on 17th October. (Oh no - another week of waiting to start)
Well the building was packed with people from all over the world - Turks, Chinese, Koreans, Americans, Ukrainians and at least two Brits.
Our names were all listed and we were sent to various doors behind which our tests would take place. Pat was listed as Hodgson (epou Davey). Then we waited. While we waited I chatted to some Turks and a Ukrainian. Pat found some Americans and an Englishwoman. So we waited. And waited.
Eventually I went in to be seen by my lady. I had to read a piece which contained some words that were unfamiliar to me, but it was basically about people hanging little bells on themselves at carnival time to ward off evil spirits! She asked me about my work, what kind of church I was in, how long I intended to stay in France and so on. Then it was over. 5 minutes at most. Pat's test was very short, too, about historical antiques.
Pat's English friend, Margaret, accompanied us to Macdonalds. Then we went back for our written tests.
Well - HARD? They were REALLY hard. First we had a written comprehension exercise based on animal rights. It was quite interesting, really. Basically French law divides all ones goods and chattels into two kinds - movable (biens meubles) and immovable (biens immeubles). Hence the French word for furniture (meubles) and for estate agent (immobilier). Animals fall into the "goods movable" category because you can move them. The text told us that the French are considering introducing a third class of goods and chattels - "good sensitive", being household animals. Well the questions were really very hard indeed.
Then there was a test of oral comprehension. The lady read out various sentences and we had to tick the one she had read. Then she read out five statements form a conversation, and we had to work out the context from a given list. Then she read out three statements relating to a picture of a mugging, and we had to write out the statements that accurately reflected the picture. Everything was read only once.
Then the last one was a test of writing skills, where we had to describe a picture, write a dialogue containing a question, a refusal, an advice and a command, and lastly write an essay of unspecified length on the future of the environment, using the phrases "tellement ... que", "bien que", "lorsque", another phrase and the verbs "nettoyer", "s'inquieter", "pouvoir" and another verb in some conjugated form.
Now remember that some of the people there are going to go into a beginners' section. Some of them didn't really understand the instructions, let alone the questions they were set.
It was HARD!
Results go up on Tuesday, telling us what group we are assigned to. Courses start on 17th October. (Oh no - another week of waiting to start)
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