Study Guide

Field 120: French 
Sample Selected-Response Questions

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Test Directions for the Selected-Response Questions

This section of the test is a reading section with selected-response questions, each of which has four answer choices. Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the  start uppercase ONE end uppercase  best answer.

Try to answer all questions. In general, if you have some knowledge about a question, it is better to try to answer it. You will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be penalized for guessing.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

 start bold Lisez le passage suivant extrait des  start italics Lettres de Madame de Sévigné end italics  puis répondez aux questions. end bold 

À Madame de Grignan

À Paris, ce mercredi 8 décembre (1688).

Le petit fripon footnote 1 , après nous avoir mandé qu'il n'arriverait qu'hier mardi, arriva comme un petit étourdi avant-hier, à sept heures du soir, que je n'étais pas revenue de la ville. Son oncle le reçut et fut ravi de le voir; et moi, quand je revins, je le trouvai tout gai, tout joli, qui m'embrassa cinq ou six fois de très bonne grâce ; il me voulait baiser les mains, je voulais baiser ses joues, cela faisait une contestation : enfin je pris possession de sa tête, je la baisai à ma fantaisie ; je voulus voir sa contusion ; mais comme elle est, ne vous déplaise, à la cuisse gauche, je ne trouvai pas à propos de lui faire mettre chausses bas. Nous causâmes le soir avec ce petit compère ; il adore votre portrait, il voudrait bien voir sa chère maman ; mais la qualité de guerrier est si sévère, que l'on n'oserait rien proposer. Je voudrais que vous l'eussiez entendu conter négligemment sa contusion, et la vérité du peu de cas qu'il en fit, et du peu d'émotion qu'il en eut, lorsque dans la tranchée tout en était en peine. Au reste, ma chère enfant, s'il avait retenu vos leçons, et qu'il se fût tenu droit, il était mort ; mais suivant sa bonne coutume, étant assis sur la banquette, il était penché sur le comte de Guiche, avec qui il causait : vous n'eussiez jamais cru, ma fille, qu'il eût été si bon d'être un peu de travers.

 footnote 1 Le marquis de Grignan, petit-fils de Madame de Sévigné

Competency 0003 
Demonstrate literal comprehension of a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

1. Dans les deux premières phrases de ce passage, Madame de Sévigné explique que son petit-fils :

  1. est allé chez son oncle bien qu'il devait aller chez elle d'abord.
  2. est arrivé plus tôt qu'il devait sans prévenir du changement.
  3. a fait une visite imprévue à cause d'une blessure de guerre.
  4. se comporte comme un étourdi ce qui lui cause du chagrin.

Correct Response: B. The grandson was supposed to arrive on the day before the letter was written, on Tuesday "hier mardi", but he actually showed up a day before ("arriva… avant-hier"). The phrase "comme un petit étourdi" conveys the idea that the grandson forgot to tell his family about his early arrival.

Competency 0004 
Infer meaning and analyze information from a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

2. Au début de ce passage, l'expression « Le petit fripon » est utilisée par Madame de Sévigné pour signifier un sentiment :

  1. de surprise.
  2. d'indignation.
  3. d'affection.
  4. de gêne.

Correct Response: C. It is logical to assume that Mme de Sévigné would be happy to see her grandson. That idea is conveyed by the way she describes their reunion. He wants to kiss her, she wants to kiss him back ("il me voulait baiser les mains, je voulais baiser ses joues"). In French, when "petit" is used in front of a noun to describe a person, it reinforces the meaning of the noun and can either convey a positive or a negative feeling. Knowing that Mme de Sévigné is happy to see her grandson, it is possible to conclude that the term "le petit fripon" is used as a term of endearment to signify her affection for her grandson.

Competency 0004 
Infer meaning and analyze information from a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

3. Qu'est-ce qui a sauvé son petit-fils d'une mort certaine selon Madame de Sévigné ?

  1. le fait qu'il était mal assis comme à son habitude
  2. la bravoure du comte de Guiche qui l'a protégé dans la tranchée
  3. le fait qu'il avait bien appris les leçons de sa mère
  4. l'insouciance qu'il démontre toujours en présence du danger

Correct Response: A. In her letter to her daughter, Mme de Sévigné mentions her grandson's injury. She explains that if he had listened to his mother and had sat up properly, he would be dead: "Au reste, ma chère enfant, s'il avait retenu vos leçons, et qu'il se fût tenu droit, il était mort." Mme de Sévigné's conclusion, "suivant sa bonne coutume, étant assis sur la banquette, il était penché sur le comte de Guiche, avec qui il causait : vous n'eussiez jamais cru, ma fille, qu'il eût été si bon d'être un peu de travers", supports, somewhat ironically, the idea that the grandson was saved due to his bad sitting habit.

Competency 0005 
Apply knowledge of the process of language acquisition and how it relates to the language learner in the classroom.

4. In their studies of second-language learners, Stephen Pit Corder and Larry Selinker used, respectively, the terms "idiosyncratic dialect" and "interlanguage" for:

  1. an individual learner's systematic and evolving understanding of the target language.
  2. the addition of borrowed lexical items that occurs in multilingual communities and workplaces.
  3. a set of strategies that native speakers develop for communication with nonnative speakers.
  4. the simplified form of the target language that teachers and students use in a classroom.

Correct Response: A. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Pit Corder worked with error analysis to develop hypotheses about second-language acquisition. He coined the term "idiosyncratic dialect" to represent a language learner's mastery of a new language at a given point in the language acquisition process: idiosyncratic in that it was unique to the individual learner and a dialect in that it possessed many characteristics of the target language. Selinker introduced the term "interlanguage" in a 1972 article, further developing Pit Corder's work on cognitive theory of language acquisition. Response A is an accurate summary of both concepts.

Competency 0005 
Apply knowledge of the process of language acquisition and how it relates to the language learner in the classroom.

5. At the beginning of the school year, a student who participated in a French immersion program in elementary school in another state joins a first-year French class at a new middle school. The new student speaks French comfortably but performs poorly on the first few written assignments and assessments. Which of the following strategies would best help the student succeed?

  1. recommending that the student move into a first-year class in a different language
  2. asking the student to model correct pronunciation for the rest of the class when new material is presented orally
  3. presenting techniques to improve writing to the whole class and then following up individually with the student
  4. requesting that the student be evaluated for learning differences as soon as possible

Correct Response: C. Response C describes the best approach because it applies understanding of patterns of language acquisition and the role of affective factors in language learning. Since the student's prior experience in French was at an elementary-school-age level of cognitive development, it is to be expected that the student has a stronger mastery of spoken French. This disparity is not evidence of a learning difference or of an inability to build on prior knowledge of French. The teacher should work with the whole class on writing at the level expected in the course and follow up with students who need extra help in order to meet expectations in any case.

Competency 0006 
Select and apply teaching and assessment strategies that provide students with opportunities to communicate in the target language in meaningful and authentic ways and that promote students' ability to make connections and comparisons and to participate in community life.

6. The teacher of an intermediate-level French class at the high school level wants to help students learn to negotiate meaning in real-life situations. Which of the following activities would best allow the teacher to promote the development of this aspect of communication?

  1. having students write and perform role-playing skits in which they play tourists asking for directions
  2. leading a "20 Questions" type activity in which students must ask questions and guess the identity of a fellow classmate
  3. having students take turns interviewing their classmates about weekend plans and favorite activities
  4. leading an in-class discussion about common questions that are used to get information or clarify meaning

Correct Response: C. In the process of talking with each other about their weekend plans and favorite activities, students must not only communicate information to their classmates but also use questioning and clarification strategies in order to get information from their classmates. In this situation, they are using their communicative skills to negotiate meaning with one another in a situation that resembles one they might encounter outside of the classroom.

Competency 0006 
Select and apply teaching and assessment strategies that provide students with opportunities to communicate in the target language in meaningful and authentic ways and that promote students' ability to make connections and comparisons and to participate in community life.

7. In an intermediate-level French class, students analyze the report card for a student in a high school in France, noting the grading scale and comments that the student received for each course as well as any instructions given to the student or families on the report card. Once the students have shared their observations, they speculate about the reasons for features of the document that they found surprising or puzzling. Which standard from the Oklahoma Standards for World Languages does this activity promote?

  1. Presentational Communication
  2. Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives
  3. Interpersonal Communication
  4. Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives

Correct Response: D. A school progress report is a document—a product—that contains evidence of cultural perspectives and values. During their analysis, the students will encounter comments and styles of communication as well as evaluative criteria that are unfamiliar and may seem unusual or illogical. The process of seeking to understand these aspects of the document should reveal perspectives that influence the form, style, and content of this product of French culture.