From these 32 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
The twelfth entry is l’âge de début d’acquisition, and the noun in the middle of it is the one an English reader will misread. English borrowed « debut » from French and kept only its grandest corner: a first appearance before an audience, a first novel, a first cap for the national side. French never narrowed it. Le début is the beginning of anything, however small and however private: au début is at first, début mars is early March, le début d’une grippe is the first day or two of flu, and les débuts are somebody’s early days in a new job. So the age this entry names is the age of onset, the moment a child or an adult first began to meet the language, and nobody was watching. The same drift runs through the whole family. Un débutant is simply a beginner, the person in the front row of an evening class, and has nothing to do with a « debutante » at a ball. Débuter is to start out, and il débute en allemand means he is a beginner in German. Read every one of them as « beginning » and none of them will go wrong.
L’acquisition implicite se fait sans que le lecteur s’en aperçoive.Implicit acquisition happens while the reader’s attention is on something else.
la séquence développementalethe developmental sequenceNoun (f)C2
La séquence développementale ne se saute pas.Nobody gets to skip a stage in the developmental sequence.
l’enseignabilitéteachabilityNoun (f)C2
L’enseignabilité dépend de l’étape déjà atteinte.Whether a structure can be taught yet depends on the stage the learner has reached.
la période critiquethe critical periodNoun (f)C2
La période critique concerne surtout la prononciation.Pronunciation is where the critical period shows most clearly.
l’aptitude aux langueslanguage aptitudeNoun (f)C2
L’aptitude aux langues se mesure mal.Language aptitude is hard to pin down with any test.
l’automaticitéautomaticityNoun (f)C2
L’automaticité libère l’attention pour le contenu.Once automaticity sets in, attention is free for what is being said.
la pratique de rappelretrieval practiceNoun (f)C2
La pratique de rappel fatigue plus que la relecture.Retrieval practice is harder work than reading the page again.
la difficulté souhaitablethe desirable difficultyNoun (f)C2
Une difficulté souhaitable ralentit la séance et sert la mémoire.A desirable difficulty costs time in the lesson and pays it back in memory.
la connaissance réceptivereceptive knowledgeNoun (f)C2
La connaissance réceptive précède toujours l’autre.Recognising a word always comes first, and that is receptive knowledge.
la connaissance productiveproductive knowledgeNoun (f)C2
La connaissance productive se voit dès qu’on parle.Productive knowledge shows the moment somebody starts to talk.
la couverture du textetext coverageNoun (f)C2
La couverture du texte décide du confort de lecture.Text coverage decides whether a page feels easy or hard going.
l’acquisition incidente du vocabulaireincidental vocabulary acquisitionNoun (f)C2
L’acquisition incidente du vocabulaire demande beaucoup de pages.Incidental vocabulary acquisition needs page after page of reading.
la correction des erreurserror correctionNoun (f)C2
La correction des erreurs porte surtout quand elle est immédiate.Error correction works best when it comes straight away.
la reformulation correctivethe recastNoun (f)C2
La reformulation corrective passe souvent inaperçue.Many learners never even notice a recast.
la reprise par l’apprenantlearner uptakeNoun (f)C2
La reprise par l’apprenant montre que la correction a été entendue.When the learner repeats the corrected form, that uptake shows the point got through.
la disposition à communiquerwillingness to communicateNoun (f)C2
La disposition à communiquer change selon la personne en face.Willingness to communicate depends on who is sitting opposite.
la motivation intégrativeintegrative motivationNoun (f)C2
La motivation intégrative vise les gens, pas le diplôme.Integrative motivation is about the people, not the certificate.
la motivation instrumentaleinstrumental motivationNoun (f)C2
La motivation instrumentale tient jusqu’à l’examen.Instrumental motivation tends to hold out until the exam is over.
l’autonomie de l’apprenantlearner autonomyNoun (f)C2
L’autonomie de l’apprenant s’apprend elle aussi.Learner autonomy is itself something that has to be taught.
