French at Berkeley High

Freshman year French curriculum?

Aug 2012

Hello all! We're so happy to actually be in Berkeley finally. My daughter is enrolling at BHS and hopes to get into either AC or IB (her top preference). I wonder if anyone has experience with the freshman year French curriculum in each school. She took a year of French in 8th grade and it's one of her best academic classes. She's really hoping to place into 3/4 at BHS. What does she need to know in order to satisfy 1/2? Many thanks!

My daughter had two years of French in middle school, so entered at 3/4 -- it has been pretty hard for her; she had all As (including in honors math) and a B that she worked hard for in French in 9th grade. French 5/6 was also her most difficult class aside from AP Chem. The main difference between 1/2 and 3/4 is that 1/2 is mostly about vocabulary and simple grammar, and 3/4 is much more about formalities -- spelling and more complex grammar. So, I would take the advice of the French teachers in terms of placement because mastery of details are so important in French. au revoir