Épreuve
Compréhension de l'oral
Level
B2
Time
30 min
Marks
/25
Reading the radio: genres and domains
Name the format, the field and the theme before you chase a single detail. Three fast reads that secure the opening questions of the CO paper.
By the end of this lesson
- Tell the six radio genres apart by the shape of the recording, not by its topic.
- Name the domain from two or three trigger words, then confirm it with one or two more.
- Fill a QQOQCP map as you listen and turn it into one sentence that states the theme.
- Know where the global questions sit in the CO paper and why they're the safest points on it.
Most candidates start decoding words the second the audio begins. They catch a date, then a name, and they never step back to ask what they're listening to. The first item of the exercise asks exactly that, and it's the one they could have won without effort.
This lesson covers three reads that come before any detail: the genre, the domain and the theme. None of them needs every word. All three get tested directly in the global questions, and they make the detail questions easier to place.
Where the global questions sit
B2 listening lasts 30 minutes and is marked out of 25. It holds three exercises. Exercise 1 is one long recording, played twice, with 7 items for 9 points. Exercise 2 is another recording, also played twice, again 7 items for 9 points. Exercise 3 brings three short documents, each played once, with 6 items for 7 points.
Every item is a QCM with three options, and exactly one of them is right. Items don't weigh the same: values run from 0.5 to 2.5 points. So a single global item can be worth as much as five small detail items.
The first item of an exercise almost always looks at the whole document. It asks what kind of programme you heard, which field it belongs to, or what it's about. You can answer that without holding on to one figure, which makes it the safest point in the exercise.
Item type · l'ouverture d'un exerciceB2 · QCM à 3 options
Ce document sonore est : a. un reportage. b. un débat. c. une table ronde.
ENThis recording is: a. a reportage. b. a debate. c. a round table.
Exercise 3 is where these reads pay most. Three documents, one listen each, and no second pass to repair a detail you missed. Naming the genre and the field in the first ten seconds leaves your attention free for the rest.
Point d'étape 1/4
0 / 3
Q1Before you chase a single detail, which three reads does this lesson ask for?
Q2What does the first item of an exercise usually test?
Q3Why do these three reads pay most in Exercise 3?
Six genres, and the shape that gives each one away
Genre isn't topic. Two recordings about the same pension reform can be a chronique (a regular opinion slot) and a débat. What separates them is the shape of the exchange: how many voices, who asks, who answers. The way the speakers treat each other counts too.
- Chronique. One voice, first person, in a slot that comes back every week. The speaker comments on something instead of reporting it.
- Interview. A journalist questions one named guest about their career, their job or a recent project. Questions and answers alternate from start to finish.
- Micro-trottoir. A journalist puts the same short question to a series of passers-by. The voices are many, the answers are short, and nobody gets a follow-up.
- Reportage. A journalist reports what they gathered on the ground. Their own voice stays neutral, and it alternates with voices recorded on location.
- Table ronde. Several guests examine one problem together. Each takes a turn on the causes, the consequences or the solutions, and nobody is trying to win.
- Débat. Several guests defend opposing positions on one question. They cut across each other, they contradict, and the host has to referee.
Two pairs cause most of the wrong answers. A micro-trottoir puts one question to many strangers, while an interview puts many questions to one person. And in a débat the guests contradict each other. In a table ronde, each one adds to what the previous speaker said.
Modèle · quatre extraits, quatre genres
Et vous, madame, qu'en pensez-vous ? Moi, franchement, je n'y avais jamais réfléchi. Et vous, monsieur ?
Micro-trottoir. The same question comes back to a new voice every ten or fifteen seconds. Nobody is named and nobody gets a follow-up, so this can't be an interview.
Non, laissez-moi terminer ! Vous dites que la mesure protège les salariés, or elle n'a jamais été appliquée.
Débat. One guest cuts across another and contradicts a claim that was just made. Interruptions and negations are the surest sign that the positions are set against each other.
Chaque mardi, je vous parle d'un mot qui a changé de sens. Cette semaine, j'ai choisi le mot sobriété, et je vous avoue qu'il m'agace un peu.
Chronique. One voice, first person, and a slot that returns every week. The speaker gives an opinion rather than a report, and that opinion is the point of the segment.
Nous avons passé la matinée dans cet entrepôt, où la responsable du site nous explique que douze tonnes y sont triées chaque jour.
Reportage. The journalist stays neutral and hands over to a voice recorded on site. That alternation between commentary and field recording is the marker to listen for.
Decide on the genre during the first exchange, then check it once more later in the recording. If a third invited voice takes the floor, it isn't an interview any more. How the guests treat each other then tells you débat or table ronde.
Point d'étape 2/4
0 / 3
Q1Three guests examine one problem in turn, and nobody interrupts. Which genre is it?
Q2One voice speaks in the first person, every week, and gives an opinion on a word. Which genre?
Q3A journalist puts the same short question to seven passers-by. What tells you it isn't an interview?
The domain arrives in two or three words
The domain is the field the document belongs to: politique, santé, écologie, entreprise. B2 recordings come back to the same short list, so this part can be prepared in advance.
Work in two steps. First catch two or three words that belong to one field and make that your hypothesis. Then wait for one or two more words to confirm it, and move on to the questions. Trying to translate every unknown word is how candidates lose the thread of the argument.
| Domain | Words that give it away |
|---|---|
| Politique | électeur, scrutin, candidat, élu, voter blanc |
| Entreprise | recruter, postuler, entretien d'embauche, salarié |
| Santé | ordonnance, sommeil, médicament, système immunitaire |
| Consommation | pouvoir d'achat, rayon, promotion, soldes |
| Économie | croissance, marché, pétrole, économiste |
| Éducation | apprentissage, élève, progresser, échange linguistique |
| Culture | exposition, romancier, œuvre, critique |
| Sport | tournoi, match, joueur, sélectionneur |
| Écologie | tri, déchets, empreinte carbone, biodiversité |
The domain does two jobs for you. It announces the vocabulary that's coming, so a word you half know becomes readable. And it rules out the options that sound right but belong to another field.
Point d'étape 3/4
0 / 3
Q1You hear recruter, postuler and entretien d'embauche. Which domain is that?
Q2What are the two steps for fixing the domain of a recording?
Q3Which set of words points to the health domain?
QQOQCP, then the theme in one sentence
The theme is what the document is about, said in one sentence. Six questions get you there, and French teachers group them under one label, QQOQCP: qui, quoi, où, quand, comment, pourquoi.
Write the six letters down the margin of your scratch paper before the audio starts. Then put one or two words next to each. Qui: who is speaking and who is affected. Quoi: what happens or what changes. Où and quand: the place and the period. Comment: by what means. Pourquoi: the cause or the intention the speakers give.
You often won't fill all six lines, and that's normal. Four filled lines are enough to write your sentence: one subject, one verb, one point of view.
| Question | What you jot down |
|---|---|
| Qui ? | une élue locale, une chercheuse, des habitants |
| Quoi ? | la suppression d'une ligne de bus |
| Où ? | une commune rurale de l'Ouest |
| Quand ? | depuis la rentrée |
| Comment ? | par un vote du conseil municipal |
| Pourquoi ? | une ligne jugée trop coûteuse |
Your sentence: une commune rurale a supprimé une ligne de bus jugée trop coûteuse, et les habitants s'y opposent. That's the theme, and a handful of words in the margin is all it took.
Writing that sentence before you read the options is what protects you. A wrong option often repeats a word you really heard and attaches it to a claim nobody made. If your own version is already on paper, the familiar word stops pulling you.
Point d'étape 4/4
0 / 3
Q1What do the six letters of QQOQCP stand for?
Q2Your QQOQCP lines are filled in. What is the step that follows?
Q3An option repeats a word you clearly heard. Why isn't that enough to tick it?
Key takeaways
- CO runs 30 minutes for 25 points: three exercises of 7, 7 and 6 items, all three-option QCM.
- The first item of an exercise almost always looks at the document as a whole.
- Genre comes from the shape: how many voices, who asks, who answers, and how they treat each other.
- In a débat the guests contradict each other. In a table ronde they explore one problem together.
- Two or three trigger words give you a domain hypothesis. One or two more confirm it.
- QQOQCP means qui, quoi, où, quand, comment, pourquoi. Four filled lines are enough to say the theme in one sentence.