Strategies specifically for Reading and Understanding

 

to establish the context: quickly peruse the whole text; pay particular attention to titles, sub-titles, bold print, graphics.

 

to establish a link with the question: read the question carefully; seek identical / similar expressions, synonyms in the text; locate the appropriate section of the text.

 

⇒ Reading for gist

to establish central themes / ideas.

 

⇒ Reading for detail

Existing             ⇒      Deduction            ⇒          Guesswork

knowledge                 Inference

 

Existing knowledge    (what do you already know?)

⇒ familiar vocabulary

⇒ known grammar constructions

 

Deduction / inference (use the clues to work what you don't already know)

 

There are, of course, a few 'faux amis' (e.g. experimenté, sensible, large) which make it necessary to use this strategy with care and in collaboration with visual / verbal context. However, for each 'faux ami'  there are very many 'bons amis' of which you can, with practice, make good use.

 

These fall into two main categories:

(i)    Cognates: there are very many words which have the same form, and essentially the same meaning, in French and in English (e.g. innocent, justice, muscle, rectangle). When such words occur in a context and you can be expected to understand them in English, you will be expected also to understand them in French.

(ii)  Near-cognates: you will be expected to understand words which meet the criteria in (i) above, but which differ slightly in their written form in French, usually by the addition of one or more accents and/or the repetition of a letter (e.g. création, hygiène, mâle, littérature).

 

There are thousands of words in French which, although neither cognates nor near-cognates, can be easily understood with the application of a few, simple rules. When words which can be understood using the rules below occur in context, you will be expected to understand them:

 

• The French word adds an "e" (e.g. branche, liquide, signe, vaste);

 

•The English word adds an "e" (e.g. futur, masculin, paradis, pur);

 

• Words which end with "e", "é" or "ée" in French and with "y" in English. (e.g. beauté, liberté, mystère, armée);

 

• Words which end with "i" or "ie" in French and with "y" in English (e.g. économie, parti, tragédie);

 

• Words which end with 'aire' in French and with "ar" or "ary" in English (e.g. grammaire, militaire, populaire);

 

• Words which end with 'el' in French and with 'al' in English (e.g. individuel, officiel);

 

• French adverbs ending with 'ment' which end with "ly" in English (e.g. complètement, généralement, spécialement);

 

• Verbs which add "r" or "er" in the infinitive in French (e.g. admirer, confirmer, inspecter);

 

• Verbs which end with 'er' in French and with "ate" in English (e.g. assassiner, cultiver, décorer);

 

• Words where "o" or "u" in English is replaced by 'ou'  in French (e.g. approuver, gouvernement, mouvement, bouddhiste);

 

• Words where a "d" is added in English (e.g. aventure, avance, juge);

 

• Present participles in 'ant' in French and "ing" in English (e.g. dégoûtant, commençant, nageant);

 

• Words which end with 'e' or 'eux' in French and with "ous" in English (e.g. énorme, précieux, réligieux);

 

• Words which end with 'que' in French and with "c", "ck", "ch", "k", or "cal" in English (e.g. automatique, attaque, physique, risque, époque);

 

• Words which end with 'f' in French and with "ve" in English (e.g. actif, adjectif, possessif);

 

• Words which end with 'eur' in French and with "our", "or" or "er" in English (e.g. boxeur, empereur, vigueur);

 

• Words which end with 'e' or 're' in French and with "er" in English (e.g. ministre, ordre, interprète);

 

• Words which end with 'e' in French and with "a" in English (e.g. drame, propagande);

 

• Words where "u" in English is replaced by 'o' in French (e.g. fonction, prononciation);

 

• Words where "oun" in English is replaced by 'on' in French (e.g. annoncer, prononcer);

 

• Words which have a circumflex accent in French and an "s" in English (e.g. forêt, honnête, intérêt, tempête);

 

• Words where 'dé'  in French is replaced by "dis" in English (e.g. décourager, dégoûter);

 

• Words where 'é' or 'es' in French is replaced by "s" in English (e.g. espace, éponge).