NewsUsed by thousands of people throughout the francophonie, the site has become a reference for teaching staff and students alike since its creation in 1998.
Over the years, the site has been enriched with many educational resources, covering various aspects of the French language, from grammar and writing to syntax and vocabulary.
In view of this wealth of content, the CCDMD team has decided to present the five most viewed resources on the Amélioration du français site.
1. Collection of resources on the French Exit Exam
A prerequisite for the DEC in Québec, the French Exit Exam is a 4.5-hour exam where students are required to write a 900-word critical essay.
Every year, some 40,000 CEGEP students take part in this ministerial exam. So it’s not surprising that our collection of resources on the French Exit Exam is the most viewed page on the website.
The resources in this collection present the exam and how it is run, and include materials for teachers and students. You’ll find:
- Examples of critical essays
- Useful concepts to know
- Tips and exercises on essay content and organization
- Summary exercises
This fall, we’ll be publishing two new educational resources to help CEGEP students prepare for the French Exit Exam. To make sure you don’t miss their release, subscribe to our newsletter.
2. Un cadavre dans l’entrepôt (A corpse in the warehouse)
Second place on our list isn’t a new series on Netflix, but a game for learning to master the rules of agreement.
This interactive game in the form of a police investigation helps budding investigators to better understand how French verbs work. It covers several skills, including:
- Recognizing different verb forms
- Understanding how the verb agrees with the subject of the sentence
- Learning the general rules of agreement in French
- Mastering the agreement of specific past participles
3. Collection of resources on homophones
What’s the difference between “a” and “à”? Is it “ses chemises” or “ces chemises”? These are the kinds of questions that trouble many people, and our collection of homophone resources comes third on our list.
Here you’ll find printable and interactive exercises on different types of homophones, whether they belong to different categories or the same one. The collection also includes review exercises to help you better understand the concepts.
4. Participes passés (Past participles)
Clément Marot brought back two things from Italy: the pox and the agreement of the past participle… I think it’s the second one that caused the most damage!
-Voltaire
This quote from the French writer and philosopher expresses the difficult relationship many people have with past participles. To reconcile them with this troublesome aspect of the French language, the CCDMD has created an interactive game on the subject, which comes in at number four on our list.
It’s a fun way to learn the rules of agreement for past participles used alone, with avoir, with être or with a pronominal verb in a text.
5. Expressions usuelles (Common expressions)
Fifth on our list is the interactive game Expressions usuelles. In this game, you can test your knowledge and expand your vocabulary by finding the meaning of common or fixed expressions from among three suggested definitions.
Will you be able to decipher the meaning of expressions such as “donner un coup de Jarnac”, “parler à la cantonade” or “faire la mouche du coche”?