Sec. V English as a Second Language (Core Program) Exam: How to Prepare

The final English as a Second Language exam assesses two skills (Core ESL program only):

• C1 – Interacts orally in English
• C3 – Writes and produces texts

These are two separate assessments. The first (C1) takes place at a time chosen by the teacher, between mid-May to early June, and the second takes place on a set date established by the Ministère de l’Éducation every year.

The C1 assessment takes 15 minutes and is a sustained group discussion between four students. Here, students are given the opportunity to deepen their understanding about the subject upon which they will produce their written text. The C3 assessment takes 2 hours and consists of writing an opinion piece of at least 225 words.

The uniform examination in English requires the student to mobilize of several skills. A rubric is used to give the student points based on the following criteria:

• participation in oral interactions (C1, interacts orally in English)
• the content of the message (C1, interacts orally in English)
• articulation and precision of the message (C1, interacts orally in English)
• text structure (C3, writes and produces texts)
• content of the message (C3, writes and produces texts)
• articulation of the message (C3)

During the compulsory ESL examination, your child will be allowed to use the following materials:

To prepare for the exam, your child should read the texts in the Preparation Booklet. This will allow them to get familiar with the topic and some related vocabulary. Students must read the Preparation Booklet individually. Then, in teams of four, students discuss the texts they read in English to gain a better understanding of the topic. The preparatory task is not part of the evaluation.

For the oral evaluation, remind your child to do the following: 

• take the time to breathe and relax
• interact in English only
• address their teammates regularly (ask questions and listen to their answers)
• state their opinion and support it with examples

For the written evaluation, remind your child to do the following: 

• clearly state their opinion about the topic given
• come up with two or three arguments to support their opinion 
• structure their text in four or five paragraphs
• take the time to revise their text, simplify sentences that might be too long, and use their dictionary

To help your child prepare for the exam and ensure they have a good grasp of the various concepts learned in class, you can encourage them to review the following resources:

• Alloprof’s featured tools
• Crash Lessons