Épreuve
Production orale
Level
A1
Time
7 min
Marks
/25
The speaking test, step by step
Ten minutes of preparation, then five to seven minutes with one examiner. Here is what happens in each of the three parts, and what it pays.
By the end of this lesson
- Name the three parts of the speaking test, how long each one lasts, and what it pays.
- Spend your 10 minutes of preparation on parts 2 and 3, because part 1 gets none.
- Open and close the role-play with the polite formulas the examiner listens for.
- Keep speaking when a word is missing, with a definition, another answer or a gesture.
The speaking test is the shortest of your four papers. Five to seven minutes with one examiner, and 25 points are decided. Most of the points lost in that room have nothing to do with grammar. They come from not knowing what happens next.
This lesson walks you through the whole appointment. You'll see the three parts and what each one pays. Then you'll see the ten minutes of preparation and how to split them. After that, the polite words the examiner is listening for, and your plan for the moment a word won't come.
Three parts, 25 points
You sit with one examiner. That person explains each part before it starts, speaks slowly, and tells you when a part is over. You never have to guess where you are.
| The part | What you do | About | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Entretien dirigé | You answer questions about yourself | 1 min | 4 |
| 2. Échange d'informations | You ask the examiner questions | 2 min | 4 |
| 3. Dialogue simulé | You play a customer and you buy something | 2 min | 4 |
| Your French, across the three parts | 13 | ||
| Total | 5 to 7 min | 25 |
The three names sound harder than the tasks. An entretien dirigé is a guided interview about your own life: your name, your age, your family, what you like. An échange d'informations is an exchange where you do the asking, for once. A dialogue simulé is a role-play: you're the customer, and the examiner plays the shop.
Now look at the fourth row, because it's the biggest number on the table. Thirteen of your 25 points never depend on your ideas. They reward your French itself, across all three parts. Five points go to vocabulary (lexique), four to grammar (morphosyntaxe), and four to pronunciation (phonologie). Vocabulary is the single heaviest criterion on the grid. More than half your marks are for the French itself. So a short correct sentence pays better than a long one that breaks.
Each part then carries one task mark of its own, out of 4 points. The grid describes four levels: nothing, below A1, A1 itself, and A1+. A solid A1 performance scores about 2.5 of those 4. Full marks reward the extra polish of A1+.
All three parts weigh the same. The role-play is still the longest task you prepare, which is why your notes go there. Politeness no longer has a score of its own. It lives inside the role-play task, where the examiner listens for basic social contact. Your bonjour, your s'il vous plaît, your merci and your goodbye are what carry that task to full marks. They fit on one line of your notes, and they never change.
Point d'étape 1/4
0 / 3
Q1Part 3, the role-play, is worth how many points?
Q2Where do the other 13 points of the speaking test come from?
Q3In part 3, what does the examiner judge inside the task mark?
The ten minutes before you speak
You get 10 minutes of preparation and a sheet of scratch paper. They cover parts 2 and 3 only. Part 1 has no preparation at all. It starts as soon as you sit down, because it's about your own life and needs no plan. So don't spend these minutes writing sentences about your family.
Cut the ten minutes in two, about five for each part.
For part 2, the examiner hands you six keyword cards, drawn at random. Each card carries a single word, something like Sport, Famille or Voyage. Prepare one question per card, and change the question word each time. Ten identical openings cost you on vocabulary and grammar.
For part 3, the examiner gives you a card with a situation on it. It says where you are and what you have to do. You also get images of coins, banknotes and a bank card, and you pay with those at the end.
Sujet type · dialogue simuléA1 · partie 3 · 4 points
Vous êtes à Nantes. Vous entrez dans une boulangerie. Vous achetez du pain et deux gâteaux. Vous demandez les prix, puis vous payez. L'examinateur joue le vendeur.
ENYou are in Nantes. You walk into a bakery. You buy bread and two cakes. You ask for the prices, then you pay. The examiner plays the shopkeeper.
A card like that hands you your preparation. Write your first line, then your last line. Between them, jot three or four expressions you know you'll need: je voudrais, s'il vous plaît, c'est combien. Openings and closings are where the examiner hears your social contact, so they're the ones worth writing out in full.
Point d'étape 2/4
0 / 4
Q1Which part of the speaking test gets no preparation time?
Q2How many keyword cards does the examiner give you for part 2?
Q3What does the examiner hand you for part 3, on top of the scenario card?
Q4What belongs on your scratch paper during the prep for part 3?
The politeness the examiner listens for
You say vous to the examiner from the first word to the last. You've never met this person, and vous is the form French uses with a stranger. A tu in the middle of the role-play costs you marks that were already yours.
| The moment | What you say |
|---|---|
| You come in | Bonjour Madame. / Bonjour Monsieur. |
| You ask for anything | ... s'il vous plaît. |
| You get an answer | Merci. |
| You didn't understand | Pardon, vous pouvez répéter, s'il vous plaît ? |
| It's going too fast | Vous pouvez parler plus lentement, s'il vous plaît ? |
| You leave | Au revoir Madame. / Au revoir Monsieur. |
The last two rows matter more than they look. Asking the examiner to repeat, or to slow down, is allowed and costs you nothing. It's what any speaker does in a real conversation, and a real conversation is exactly what this paper measures. Silence costs you points. A polite question doesn't.
Three small habits finish the picture. Look at the examiner while you speak, because in France that reads as attention and respect. Leave your pen alone on the table. And no chewing gum, since it blurs every sound you make, and 4 of your 25 points are for sounds.
Point d'étape 3/4
0 / 3
Q1You did not catch the examiner's question. Does asking for a repeat cost you points?
Q2Which form do you use with the examiner, and for how long?
Q3Which line names three real exam-day habits for the speaking test?
When the word won't come
It will happen, and it happens to everyone at A1. Your plan for that moment is four moves, and not one of them is stopping.
- Explain it with other words. You've lost one word, not the whole sentence. Say what the thing is for, or what it looks like, in the easy French you already own.
- Answer something else you can say. The examiner asks about your hobbies and the word you wanted is gone. Name a hobby you can say instead. It's a true answer, and a true answer in simple French beats a perfect one you never produce.
- Use your hands. Gestures are allowed and they help the examiner follow you. Keep talking while you point, because the points go to the words, not to the hands.
- Link with three small words. Et, alors and aussi turn two short answers into one connected one. Linked sentences sound like speech, and they show the grammar the examiner is grading.
Modèle · quatre façons de continuer à parler
Je ne connais pas le mot. C'est un petit objet pour ouvrir une porte.
Explain it with other words. You wanted the word clé and it didn't come. A short definition keeps you in French. The examiner sees a speaker who works around a gap instead of stopping at it.
Le week-end, je joue au tennis avec mon frère.
Answer something else that's true. The question was about your free time and one word was missing. A hobby you can name is a complete answer. A silence is not, and the examiner can only grade what you say.
C'est grand, comme ça.
Show it with your hands. Gestures are fine in this exam and they buy you a second to think. Say a short sentence at the same time, because your 25 points are counted in words.
J'habite à Lisbonne et je travaille dans un magasin. J'aime aussi le cinéma.
Link two sentences. Three small words do this job: et, alors, aussi. Two linked sentences sound like a person talking, and linking words are part of the grammar score.
One last thing, about speed. Speaking slowly is not a weakness here. The examiner has to hear your sounds clearly, and pronunciation carries 4 of your 25 points. A slow correct sentence is worth more than a fast one nobody catches.
Point d'étape 4/4
0 / 3
Q1The examiner asks about your hobbies. The word for dancing will not come. What do you do?
Q2Which line gives three linking words for joining two short answers?
Q3A word disappears in the middle of your sentence. What is the first move?
Key takeaways
- Three parts worth 4 points each: the guided interview, the information exchange, the role-play.
- Thirteen more points reward your French across all three parts: 5 for vocabulary, 4 for grammar, 4 for pronunciation.
- Preparation lasts 10 minutes and covers parts 2 and 3 only. Part 1 starts as soon as you sit down.
- In part 3, your politeness formulas are judged inside the task mark, out of 4.
- Use the polite form vous from the first word to the last, and ask for a repeat when you need one. It costs nothing.