LOTE French EC-12
Study & Test Strategies

Strategy 1

Submitted by Elise

Study Strategy

There is nothing out there to study other than the ETS manual and the AP French guide. I mainly used the manual. I went over the ETS practice questions for French, the pedagogy practice sections of ETS German and Spanish, and read the writing and speaking prompts for other languages as well to get an idea of what they might ask. I listened to French podcasts. I watched all 9 seasons of Fais pas ci, fais pas ça during my off time to tune my ear. Search YouTube for pedagogie de l'enseignement and listen while driving. I found some by Babylon.fr on YouTube to be very useful. One is "Du E-Learning au Mooc's, critères de choix et conditions de réussite", another is "Quels outils pour une formation efficace". I took notes on those on my laptop as I watched, and paid close attention to any spelling errors I made and new vocab related to pedagogy. If you switch your language input to French, it should underline spelling mistakes.

Testing Strategy

I did pass by a good margin. I lived in Paris for 10 years, studied modern languages in colleges and French literature (in French) in grad school and taught French as a T.A. at a university in the late 90's. I expected to breeze through this test, but it turned out to be the hardest content mastery test I've taken. I took two other subjects before this and they were not difficult. This one is really hard for several reasons. The culture questions were weird and obscure. I KNOW my culture. I can't repeat questions, but I should have studied obscure details about French TV, art, and Switzerland. I knew the TV and art answers, but I would have never thought they were relevant to the test. I use a French AZERTY keyboard, and the test center allowed me to switch the computer input default to that keyboard, but it failed in the writing section. I guess the writing section overrides it somehow. I had to use the standard QWERTY keyboard which was a pain because my fingers know AZERTY and then you have to stop every time you need an accent. For the lesson plan and English essay, I did my essay first and then spent all the remaining time on the lesson plan.
I didn't want the English essay hanging over my head because I knew I was going to linger on the lesson plan. Practice speaking with a partner if you can. I got 3 out of 6 possible for speaking. On the simulated conversation, I read the explanation of the conversation and was busy thinking about some ambiguity in the directions when the conversation started. I remember thinking, "What? I thought you were calling me?" so be prepared to roll with things. Somehow I got a 6 out of 6 on that one which I don't think I deserved. I am glad that I had a well-researched philosophy of pedagogy and knew all of that vocab in French. Look at issues in pedagogy today and practice writing about them in French. It took all of 5 hours. I finished my other content mastery tests in about an hour.

Strategy 2

Submitted by Texas Teachers

Study Strategy

I looked up the format of the French test on the ETS website, as it was in a new format. I noticed they added an audio part. I highly suggest that you familiarize yourself with the format of the test. You will use all 5 hours. You have to study the competencies and the standards of LOTE. There are no materials to go to besides the French AP Barron study guide. So, for about 3 weeks, I went over the book; which had texts comprehension, audio listening, and conversation. I did not practice the writing because just trying to understand the pedagogy aspect of LOTE and the standards and the competencies was quite new for me then. You should start listening to news on any French/Canadian websites. Understand the culture. Start immersing yourself daily in French reading/listening. Retrain your hearing to different vocal accents. Know how to use the accents on the practice keyboard on ETS when you type in French. Know how to write a lesson plan. So, again, make sure you look at the French Test Format via the ETS website and start studying for each section.

Testing Strategy

It was a very long test. The test started with French audio interpretative comprehension. You only have 20 seconds to answer and then it goes to the next question. It was going so fast that I missed answering the first few questions. You don't have time to read the questions leisurely, that is why the AP Barron will be helpful to practice with. You also have a reading interpretive section that is timed, but this time, you have to keep track of the time to answer all the questions. So, again, practice with AP Barron and always time yourself when you practice. The conversation part was easy; just practice conversation and read tips on the AP Barron. Also, giving your opinion about the text, practice talking and time yourself. The Pedagogy section was tough with all the competencies and standards. This is where I studied the most because I had no knowledge of all this information. This part is in English, but it is a tough section. I scored 30/40 questions on the pedagogy section. Time yourself in this section as you are reading. It is easy to get behind and when time runs out, you can't go back. Each section of the test is timed. The last part was tough as well; you have to write a 3 day lesson plan and you have to understand the ACTFL level so that you know what pedagogy you will use. Different ages will call for different pedagogy. An elementary student learns differently than a high school, and the approach is different. On top of that, you have to write an opinion essay in English in the last section. You only have 35 minutes to do it all for that last section. It took me 5 hours. I thought it was a difficult exam. I barely passed with 245. I did not do as well on the listening portion. You do have to really study the format of the test and keep track of the time. J’espère que mes conseils vous aident.rnBonne chance à vous tous. Ne vous découragez pas. Étudiez!

Strategy 3

Submitted by Texas Teachers

Study Strategy

I went through UT COERLL methods online class. I also studied all online language practice tests and practiced writing all answers.

Testing Strategy

The time constraints on this test make it difficult. You have to write three constructed response answers in French, given about 45 minutes total for all three. One of which you also have to read a long passage to comment on it. Haven't gotten my score back, but I'm hoping they are somewhat lenient. I knew the material and could have done a great job if I'd been given ample time.

Strategy 4

Submitted by Texas Teachers

Study Strategy

I used the study materials provided through the state site. [PDF] TExES LOTE French EC-12 Supplemental Guide - ETS - Texes Know cultural facts about both Canada and France. Brush up on listening through tv web sites. I know they used a lot of clips from French TV news, economic terms, etc. The oral part is easy, but I didn't like the timed format. Sometimes I felt like I had to keep talking because I had already answered the question but I still had too much time left, so I just continued talking. Biggest problem I had was with the tool bar. I kept forgetting the accent marks and often had to delete entire sentences and go back. Found it very tedious and time consuming. So, practice using that tool bar.

Testing Strategy

Pace yourself. The test is timed, and I found myself waiting on the next question whenever I finished answering easy ones. I'm not too sure if you can click to the next question and have more time to go back? Anyway, I didn't dare do that and mess it up, so I wouldn't know. Know how to write a lesson plan. Anyway, it's not the easiest test to pass, so feel free to contact me and I will help you. Good luck!

Strategy 5

Study Strategy

I used the study materials provided through the state site. [PDF] TExES LOTE French EC-12 Supplemental Guide - ETS - Texes Know cultural facts about both Canada and France. Brush up on listening through tv web sites. I know they used a lot of clips from French TV news, economic terms, etc. The oral part is easy, but I didn't like the timed format. Sometimes I felt like I had to keep talking because I had already answered the question but I still had too much time left, so I just continued talking. Biggest problem I had was with the tool bar. I kept forgetting the accent marks and often had to delete entire sentences and go back. Found it very tedious and time consuming. So, practice using that tool bar.

Testing Strategy

Pace yourself. The test is timed, and I found myself waiting on the next question whenever I finished answering easy ones. I'm not too sure if you can click to the next question and have more time to go back? Anyway, I didn't dare do that and mess it up, so I wouldn't know. Know how to write a lesson plan. Anyway, it's not the easiest test to pass, so feel free to contact me and I will help you. Good luck!

Strategy 6

Study Strategy

I went through UT COERLL methods online class. I also studied all online language practice tests and practiced writing all answers.

Testing Strategy

The time constraints on this test make it difficult. You have to write three constructed response answers in French, given about 45 minutes total for all three. One of which you also have to read a long passage to comment on it. Haven't gotten my score back, but I'm hoping they are somewhat lenient. I knew the material and could have done a great job if I'd been given ample time.

Strategy 7

Study Strategy

I looked up the format of the French test on the ETS website, as it was in a new format. I noticed they added an audio part. I highly suggest that you familiarize yourself with the format of the test. You will use all 5 hours. You have to study the competencies and the standards of LOTE. There are no materials to go to besides the French AP Barron study guide. So, for about 3 weeks, I went over the book; which had texts comprehension, audio listening, and conversation. I did not practice the writing because just trying to understand the pedagogy aspect of LOTE and the standards and the competencies was quite new for me then. You should start listening to news on any French/Canadian websites. Understand the culture. Start immersing yourself daily in French reading/listening. Retrain your hearing to different vocal accents. Know how to use the accents on the practice keyboard on ETS when you type in French. Know how to write a lesson plan. So, again, make sure you look at the French Test Format via the ETS website and start studying for each section.

Testing Strategy

It was a very long test. The test started with French audio interpretative comprehension. You only have 20 seconds to answer and then it goes to the next question. It was going so fast that I missed answering the first few questions. You don't have time to read the questions leisurely, that is why the AP Barron will be helpful to practice with. You also have a reading interpretive section that is timed, but this time, you have to keep track of the time to answer all the questions. So, again, practice with AP Barron and always time yourself when you practice. The conversation part was easy; just practice conversation and read tips on the AP Barron. Also, giving your opinion about the text, practice talking and time yourself. The Pedagogy section was tough with all the competencies and standards. This is where I studied the most because I had no knowledge of all this information. This part is in English, but it is a tough section. I scored 30/40 questions on the pedagogy section. Time yourself in this section as you are reading. It is easy to get behind and when time runs out, you can't go back. Each section of the test is timed. The last part was tough as well; you have to write a 3 day lesson plan and you have to understand the ACTFL level so that you know what pedagogy you will use. Different ages will call for different pedagogy. An elementary student learns differently than a high school, and the approach is different. On top of that, you have to write an opinion essay in English in the last section. You only have 35 minutes to do it all for that last section. It took me 5 hours. I thought it was a difficult exam. I barely passed with 245. I did not do as well on the listening portion. You do have to really study the format of the test and keep track of the time. J’espère que mes conseils vous aident.rnBonne chance à vous tous. Ne vous découragez pas. Étudiez!

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