The Placement Test

Bonjour tout le monde!

So today is probably the least active Sunday I have had during my stay in France.  Typically, Sundays are devoted to family life.  For example, with my host family, we typically go on hikes or small day trips.  However, this weekend, I was left at home and had to cook for myself (Yikes!).  

I’ve been here for three weeks now, and I really can’t believe that it’s been that long.  Some days, time seems to pass very slowly, while others are gone within the blink of an eye.  This week has been rather uneventful, so I guess I’ll describe the situation regarding the courses I am taking.  

The Placement Test

Upon my arrival in Grenoble, I had to take a placement test which is given to all international exchange students at the university which I am intending, the Université Stendhal—Grenoble 3. 

Now one thing I have found out in my life is that I am absolutely awful at any form of standardized testing.  If the test is for a grade in my courses, I typically pass with flying colors.  But as soon as someone hands me a piece of paper which has a greater impact on my future, of course I choose this time of all times to perform poorly.  

So about that test… it was AWFUL.  And by awful, I mean pretty ridiculously terrible, and I had no idea what was going on for most of it.  

The first part of the test was an interview with a professor at the university to assess my oral production skills.  Prior to leaving for France, I would have assumed that this would have been my weakness, but it turns out that I’m not half bad at speaking the language.  I got my point across, and still remain confident that I performed well during the interview.    

And then, the written test began, with 35 minutes worth of oral comprehension.  An audio tape of “episodes” was played, and each episode was played twice.  After each episode, the questions became a bit more difficult, and by the end of the audio tape, we were listening to a full-blown French interview, during which the only word I could actually understand was l’eau.  At this point during the test, I remember distinctly thinking to myself, fantastic job Mike, fantastic.  Out of the hundreds of words spit out during this interview, you understood one?  

Then, FINALLY, the writing section was given.  This section I felt fairly confident in, although it was a bit tricky.  I can write fairly well if I am given the topic to start with, but I am absolutely awful at finishing other people’s sentences.  And sure enough, that’s what I had to do.

My Placement Ordeal

After the test was over, we received our results the next day.  I was placed in Niveau B1.3, which was much lower than I had expected.  Here is a brief explanation of how the Nieveaus work:

A1- Low Beginner

A2- High Beginner

B1- Low Advanced

B2- High Advanced

C1- To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what this level is actually called, because barely anyone ever tests into it.  At this point, students start taking classes with actual French students, instead of being isolated with the other exchange students.

C2- For all intents and purposes, you are essentially fluent at this level.

Now I knew that I had not performed as well as I would have liked at this point, but I was expecting a little bit higher.  After two days-worth of sitting through the most BORING classes of my life, during which our teacher repeatedly drilled les adjectifs, le passé compose, et l’imparfait  into our heads, I spoke with her and asked if I could change levels.  Sure enough, they moved me up into B1.5, which is a much better fit, although still not as challenging as I would like.

Well, I guess I’ll describe the classes at some other point, seeing as this entry has become much longer than I had intended.  Jusqu’à demain, mes amis!