Alliance Francaise//VCAA oral exam discussion

[alondouek]

Thanks!! Does anyone know if 'avoir la gueule de bois' is too informal too use in an oral?

It's definitely not too informal in terms of language use (we were specifically told to work in French colloquialisms and turns of phrase where possible), however it might be a difficult one to work into general conversation and I'd advise more formal language if it's part of your étude approfondie.

[Vermilliona]

Thanks for that - how difficult it would be to work into your general conversation depends on what your loisirs consist of, if you get my gist But nah I was just thinking if they ask me about schoolies I can be like nah qld isn't my scene je ne jouie pas d'avoir une gueule de bois tous les matins

[alondouek]

Haha, fair enough! Just make absolutely sure your usage of colloquial phrases is correct because they like to pick people apart on things like that, or it could be a bit embarrassing. For example, "Je ne jouie pas d'avoir..." could colloquially be construed as having a fairly, well, inappropriate dual meaning lol.

Other things that you always need to watch our for is correct usage and pronunciation of le/la/les and un/une AND ALSO you need to make sure that you throw in a couple of mistakes to immediately correct (I'm pretty sure self-correction was still part of the assessment).

[Vermilliona]

Hah, no I know that jouir de can get a bit awkward, but surely if I used it in a context like that it wouldn't be misconstrued as having a sexual connotation, like it has a normal meaning outside that so? Idk, their fault s'ils ont des sentiments sales.

Merci pour les conseils, je vais m'en servir!

[alondouek]

Pas de problème!

The issue might arise if you try to combine a colloquial phrase with more standard language in the one sentence when the standard language also has colloquial connotations haha! I'm certain they'd get what you mean (and I'm 100% sure they wouldn't call you out on that phrase), but I personally wouldn't mix colloquial and standard interpretations of phrase in the one sentence. If you do, you might like to clarify for them and show off your language skills even more!

[vox nihili]

It's very risky business being colloquial at all. My strength in French was certainly in speaking and particularly doing so in an informal manner, but even with that in mind, I was completely reluctant to use idiom. They want you to be charming and to be polite. Making cheap jokes is something I would advise against.

For example, in my oral they asked me what aspects of French cuisine I liked the most and I remarked "but this is only a 15 minute interview..." and they loved that kind of "wit". Incidentally, it was also a good way to get out of a question I had absolutely no answer for haha

[Vermilliona]

Yeah idk that makes sense, sometimes idioms are just a better/more interesting to express something though, they're not necessarily cheap jokes. But ok wait I was thinking of this today, coz I was doing a practice with my lonely self and I said at one point "je veux faire ca parce qu'il faut mordre la vie à pleines dents pendant qu'on a des dents avec lesquelles la morde" so would it be ok to use a line like that? Idk if it constitutes cheap joke, i just think it's mildly amusing? (but I am a bit delirious à cause des examens donc)

[alondouek]

je veux faire ca parce qu'il faut mordre la vie à pleines dents pendant qu'on a des dents avec lesquelles la morde

Haha that's a great turn of phrase! I think this would be fine IN CLEAR CONTEXT because it i) fulfils the cultural language component and ii) is pretty clear and unambiguous. If you do use this sort of thing though, use it sparingly and correctly otherwise you'll look a bit silly.

And I agree in part with Travis, have a bit of banter with the examiners because they're more likely to mark you favourably if you liven things up a bit for them.

P.S. Never, NEVER ask them a question in return. People have done this in the past et ils ne la regardent pas favorablement du tout. The setting may be conversational but it's important not to entirely forget that there are expectations and criteria to be met.


Alors, je pars bientôt, donc meilleurs voeux (à tout le monde!) pour demain

[vox nihili]

Yeah idk that makes sense, sometimes idioms are just a better/more interesting to express something though, they're not necessarily cheap jokes. But ok wait I was thinking of this today, coz I was doing a practice with my lonely self and I said at one point "je veux faire ca parce qu'il faut mordre la vie à pleines dents pendant qu'on a des dents avec lesquelles la morde" so would it be ok to use a line like that? Idk if it constitutes cheap joke, i just think it's mildly amusing? (but I am a bit delirious à cause des examens donc)

God I'm glad Alon got to that before me, because I have no idea what that means. Unfortunately, my French has suffered quite a bit since I left year twelve because I haven't spoken it at all. Silly me!

In my mind though, the examiners want to see that polite, kind and witty youth who is going to restore their faith in the youth of Australia. If you aim for that, they'll love you. I wouldn't try to preplan exactly what you're going to say too much as well. Focus more on just getting the opportunity to talk and practise (which it looks like you are). Personally, I just used to go for chats with our Physics teacher (who was Egyptian French). They'd start off on what we were meant to be doing, but then he got board and decided to try to debate me on anything and everything...mainly about whether I thought our school was doing a good job actually haha! I think that prepared me really well for the oral exam

[catnus]

I second T-Rav... talking about having la geule de bois is very risky in the exam situation you are in, not just the phrase but the subject matter itself. I understand that in context, you were trying to distance yourself from that scene, but it is a risk that you might not want to take when every little bit counts. Par contre, j'aime bien cette tournure: mordre la vie à pleines dents pendant qu'on a des dents avec lesquelles la mordre. You've found une facon to show off your skills and playing with (and not just using) french expressions will speak favorablement about your confidence, aisance avec la langue and your intellegence.

Je dirais bonne chance mais, d'apres ce que je vois, tu n'en as pas besoin

P.S. Sorry about the franglais...

[Vermilliona]

Merci à tous, tout s'est bien passé! They asked me the 'what would you do if you won a big sum of money' question, so I'm taking that as a sign that I wasn't too much of a bumbling fool.. Hopefully.. Glad to have it over and done with early!

Edit: s'est lol

[Vermilliona]

Was standing at the traffic lights and I started crying because I was regretting not putting my 'dents' line in during the oral, what is vce doing to me, vie de merde

[vox nihili]

Merci à tous, tout c'est bien passé! They asked me the 'what would you do if you won a big sum of money' question, so I'm taking that as a sign that I wasn't too much of a bumbling fool.. Hopefully.. Glad to have it over and done with early!

That type of question is a relatively good sign