Study Guide

Field 055: World Languages—French
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Objective 0001
Language Structures (Standard 2)

Which of the following sentences correctly combines the two sentences below?

On a retrouvé l'homme. La police cherchait cet homme partout.

  1. On a retrouvé l'homme qui cherchait la police partout.
  2. L'homme que la police cherchait partout a été retrouvé.
  3. On a retrouvé l'homme où la police cherchait partout.
  4. La police a retrouvé l'homme qui la cherchait partout.
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate understanding of the interrelationships among the morphologic, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic features of French. One correct way of combining the two sentences is by introducing a relative pronoun and a subordinate clause. "L'homme" is the subject in the main clause but the verb has to be in the passive form to keep the meaning of the original sentence (the man was found.) In the subordinate clause, the subject is "la police" (the police were looking for the man and not the other way around.) The relative pronoun "que" is the direct object. The relative pronoun's antecedent is "l'homme" ("the man whom the police were searching everywhere for.")

Objective 0001
Language Structures (Standard 2)

Which of the following verbs correctly completes the sentence below?

Les légumes pousseront pourvu qu'ils ________ assez d'eau et de soleil.

  1. aient
  2. fassent
  3. sont
  4. aillent
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate understanding of the morphological and syntactic features of French. "Pourvu que" is a subordinating conjunction that is always followed by the subjunctive. In this case, the only verb that makes sense in the context is "avoir". Since the subject pronoun "ils" is in the third person plural, the correct conjugation of "avoir" in the subjunctive present is "aient."

Objective 0003
Interpretive Communication Skills (Standard 3)

Lisez la note suivante puis répondez aux deux questions.

Cher Monsieur Bastien,

Veuillez excuser l'absence de mon fils Antoine hier. Il a attrapé la coqueluche et le médecin lui a ordonné de rester à la maison pour le reste de la semaine. Il va repasser le voir vendredi. Antoine va donc manquer beaucoup de classes ainsi que le foot après l'école. Je crains qu'il ait quelques difficultés quand il reviendra. Serait-ce possible de lui faire parvenir ses devoirs tous les soirs? Vous pourriez les donner à son camarade Florian qui habite à côté de chez nous. Son père est d'accord. D'ailleurs ses leçons occuperaient Antoine, je n'aime pas qu'il regarde la télévision toute la journée. Pourriez-vous aussi prévenir l'entraîneur de l'équipe de foot ? C'est Monsieur Boutard. Je vous remercie d'avance et vous souhaite une bonne semaine.

Maryse Boucher

Qu'est-ce qui inquiète le plus l'auteur de cette note ?

  1. Antoine va prendre du retard dans la classe.
  2. Antoine s'ennuie de ses copains.
  3. Antoine va rater son cours de foot.
  4. Antoine doit retourner chez le médecin.
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply literal and inferential comprehension skills to identify or infer essential information from written messages. The author fears that because her son will miss class, he will fall behind. In her note, she states that, "Je crains qu'il ait quelques difficultés quand il reviendra," and asks for her son's work to be sent home with the neighbor's son.

Cette note s'adresse vraisemblablement à:

  1. un entraîneur.
  2. un enseignant.
  3. un voisin.
  4. un médecin.
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply literal and inferential comprehension skills to identify or infer essential information from written messages. It may be inferred from the content of the note that it is addressed to a child's teacher, asking the teacher to excuse the child's absence due to an illness.

Objective 0003
Interpretive Communication Skills (Standard 3)

Lisez le passage suivant extrait de Madame Bovary (1857) de Gustave Flaubert puis répondez aux deux questions.

L'air du bal était lourd ; les lampes pâlissaient. On refluait dans la salle de billard. Un domestique monta sur une chaise et cassa deux vitres ; au bruit des éclats de verre, Mme Bovary tourna la tête et aperçut dans le jardin, contre les carreaux, des faces de paysans qui regardaient. Alors le souvenir des Bertaux lui arriva. Elle revit la ferme, la mare bourbeuse, son père en blouse sous les pommiers, et elle se revit elle-même, comme autrefois, écrémant avec son doigt les terrines de lait dans la laiterie. Mais, aux fulgurations de l'heure présente, sa vie passée, si nette jusqu'alors, s'évanouissait tout entière, et elle doutait presque de l'avoir vécue. Elle était là ; puis autour du bal, il n'y avait plus que de l'ombre, étalée sur tout le reste. Elle mangeait alors une glace au marasquin, qu'elle tenait de la main gauche dans une coquille de vermeil, et fermait à demi les yeux, la cuiller entre les dents.

Parmi les phrases suivantes, laquelle résume le mieux ce passage ?

  1. Un domestique brise une fenêtre pour que les gens puissent mieux voir le bal ce qui indigne les danseurs.
  2. Une dame cherche à se cacher dans l'ombre pour éviter qu'on la voie en train de manger une glace.
  3. Un domestique invite les danseurs à aller dans la salle de billard pendant qu'on aère la salle de bal.
  4. Une dame se rappelle sa jeunesse en voyant des paysans qui regardent le bal par une fenêtre brisée.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply literal and inferential comprehension skills to identify or infer essential information from written messages. The passage states that "Mme Bovary tourna la tête et aperçut dans le jardin, contre les carreaux, des faces de paysans qui regardaient. Alors le souvenir des Bertaux lui arriva." Throughout the passage, the narrator uses words such as souvenir, revoir, passée, and vécue, which highlight the fact that Mme. Bovary is remembering something from her past.

Quelle est l'attitude de Madame Bovary dans ce passage ?

  1. Elle est ennuyée qu'on ait cassé les carreaux.
  2. Elle regrette que son père soit si loin.
  3. Elle s'applique à jouir du moment présent.
  4. Elle veut qu'on la laisse déguster sa glace tranquille.
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply literal and inferential comprehension skills to identify or infer essential information from written messages. Regarding Mme. Bovary, the narrator states that "sa vie passée, si nette jusqu'alors, s'évanouissait tout entière, et elle doutait presque de l'avoir vécue." It can be inferred that Mme. Bovary looks to separate herself from and abandon her old life in the country. Returning to the present, she is able to resume her contented state, undisturbed.

Objective 0004
Cultural Understanding (Standard 5)

Following World War II, political crises in French colonies in Indochina and North Africa most contributed to which of the following developments in France?

  1. the fall of the Fourth Republic and establishment of the current political system
  2. high levels of immigration from overseas territories
  3. growing support for socialist and communist policies in government
  4. the country's withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate understanding of major historical events related to the French cultures and their influence on the development of the French cultures. The Fourth Republic had been weak since its establishment in 1946, and it collapsed following the Algiers crisis in 1958 and decolonization movements taking place in other French colonies. Charles de Gaulle came back to politics to lead the government and a new constitution was drafted which gave executive power to a president who would be elected for a seven-year term. The new constitution was approved by a majority of voters in the referendum of September 28, 1958. This new constitution established France's Fifth Republic.

Objective 0004
Cultural Understanding (Standard 5)

The expulsion of French colonists and farmers from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick between 1755 and 1763 most contributed to:

  1. the establishment of a French-speaking merchant class in Haitian society.
  2. the presence of francophone métis communities in Alberta.
  3. the emergence of demands for language-based sovereignty in Québec.
  4. the development of the unique Cajun cultural region in southern Louisiana.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate understanding of ways in which the French cultures have influenced cultures of the United States. Following the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which ceded the former French colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, also referred to as Acadia, to Great Britain, groups of Acadians continued to be deported (deportation actually started earlier) and migrated to Louisiana, still a French territory at the time. The word "Cajun" is an American English adaptation of the word "Acadian," referring to this specific group.

Objective 0005
Language Acquisition (Standard 1)

According to Stephen Krashen's Input Hypothesis, a world language teacher would best promote the development of students' vocabulary in the target language by:

  1. using new words along with words that students know.
  2. posting lists of frequently used words in the classroom.
  3. emphasizing accurate pronunciation of new words.
  4. having students look up new words in a dictionary.
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate understanding of major theories of first- and second-language acquisition. Stephen Krashen's Input Hypothesis stresses the importance of having language input that is slightly more advanced than the level of the learner's current competence. When a teacher uses new words that students may not know in addition to words that they already know, students have the opportunity to learn new vocabulary through the process of determining meaning through context.

Objective 0006
Instruction and Assessment (Standard 6)

At the beginning of the semester, a high school world language teacher divides the class into small groups and has each group pick a different country or geographical area where the target language is spoken. Throughout the semester, the students present news of events that have happened in that area and research what regional linguistic differences exist. This approach improves students' understanding of the relationship between language and culture by:

  1. demonstrating to students the geographical and demographic expansion of the target culture along a period of time.
  2. providing opportunities for students to practice culturally appropriate interpersonal communication in the target language.
  3. allowing students to better understand and identify with the target language in a specific cultural context.
  4. encouraging students to do research on a relevant cultural topic for an academic presentation.
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting students' understanding of the target cultures, ability to make comparisons between the target cultures and their own culture, ability to make connections between the target language and cultures and other disciplines, and participation in target-language communities within and beyond the school setting. Providing students with the opportunity to do their own research and present news and current events in a particular area would best help students to have a deeper, richer understanding of the culture within the unique regional contexts that languages exist.

Objective 0006
Instruction and Assessment (Standard 6)

In a beginning-level world language class, the teacher can best facilitate an immersion experience for the students by:

  1. providing dictionaries for use during class.
  2. having speakers of the target language visit during class.
  3. penalizing students for using their primary language.
  4. responding to all students' questions in the target language.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of major methods, approaches, and tools used in world language instruction and assessment. Language immersion is a method in which as much classroom instruction and interaction as possible takes place in the target language. The focus of a language immersion experience should be to emphasize the use of the target language in all possible contexts. The best way to provide that experience in a beginning-level world language class would be to use the target language whenever possible, such as by providing responses to students' questions in the target language.