I've attached a selection from my Spring 09 Midterm to satisfy the goals of interpretive listening and interpersonal speaking. To attain these goals, I must demonstrate my ability to understand commonly used phrases and vocabulary related to personal relevance, and to communicate in short, direct exchanges on familiar topics and activities. I believe this sample from my midterm fulfills these two goals.
During the midterm, Professor Dembovskaya and I discussed whether I prefer the city or the country and why, the merits of both the French and American health care system and my thoughts on them, and what I do to keep healthy. I usually understood what Professor Dembovskaya was asking me, and was able to answer her questions promptly and correctly. Though my speech is still rather slow, I was able to complete this exchange with little difficulty. There were some times when it was difficult to hear over the computer. If I could not hear the question or did not understand it the first time, I asked Professor Dembovskaya to repeat the question. I've found phrases asking speakers to repeat, slow down, or say something differently to be very helpful in conversations. I feel this sample shows the progress I have made in speaking and listening since last semester. I think I have improved significantly in these areas and feel like I have learned a lot. I know I still have a long way to go towards speaking fluent French, but I am becoming more confident in my speech.
This sample also demonstrates some areas where I can improve my French. First, I still need to work on my pronunciation. I consistently pronounced "je" as "j'ai," and I mispronounced the word "santé" several times as well. I also need to practice forming sentences, as sometimes I still conjugate verbs incorrectly, forget to make sure my adjectives and nouns agree, or just put words in the wrong order.