FlexiLingoIn one line
The reading text almost always comes from one of six fields — environment, work, technology, health, education, society.
Environment
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
l'environnement (m.) | /ɑ̃.vi.ʁɔn.mɑ̃/ | the environment |
le réchauffement climatique | /ʁe.ʃof.mɑ̃ kli.ma.tik/ | global warming |
la pollution | /pɔ.ly.sjɔ̃/ | pollution |
les déchets (m. pl.) | /de.ʃɛ/ | waste |
le recyclage | /ʁə.si.klaʒ/ | recycling |
le tri | /tʁi/ | waste sorting |
l'énergie renouvelable (f.) | /e.nɛʁ.ʒi ʁə.nu.vlabl/ | renewable energy |
le gaspillage | /ɡas.pi.jaʒ/ | waste, squandering |
la biodiversité | /bjo.di.vɛʁ.si.te/ | biodiversity |
l'empreinte carbone (f.) | /ɑ̃.pʁɛ̃t kaʁ.bɔn/ | carbon footprint |
durable | /dy.ʁabl/ | sustainable |
polluer | /pɔ.lɥe/ | to pollute |
préserver | /pʁe.zɛʁ.ve/ | to preserve |
réduire | /ʁe.dɥiʁ/ | to reduce |
Work and the economy
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
l'emploi (m.) | /ɑ̃.plwa/ | employment |
le chômage | /ʃo.maʒ/ | unemployment |
le télétravail | /te.le.tʁa.vaj/ | remote working |
la croissance | /kʁwa.sɑ̃s/ | growth |
la crise | /kʁiz/ | crisis |
le pouvoir d'achat | /pu.vwaʁ da.ʃa/ | purchasing power |
l'inflation (f.) | /ɛ̃.fla.sjɔ̃/ | inflation |
la retraite | /ʁə.tʁɛt/ | retirement, pension |
la grève | /ɡʁɛv/ | strike |
le syndicat | /sɛ̃.di.ka/ | trade union |
l'entreprise (f.) | /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁiz/ | company |
l'équilibre vie-travail (m.) | /e.ki.libʁ vi.tʁa.vaj/ | work-life balance |
embaucher | /ɑ̃.bo.ʃe/ | to hire |
licencier | /li.sɑ̃.sje/ | to make redundant |
Technology and media
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
le numérique | /ny.me.ʁik/ | the digital world |
l'intelligence artificielle (f.) | /ɛ̃.tɛ.li.ʒɑ̃s aʁ.ti.fi.sjɛl/ | artificial intelligence |
les réseaux sociaux | /ʁe.zo sɔ.sjo/ | social media |
les données personnelles | /dɔ.ne pɛʁ.sɔ.nɛl/ | personal data |
la vie privée | /vi pʁi.ve/ | privacy |
la désinformation | /de.zɛ̃.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/ | disinformation |
l'écran (m.) | /e.kʁɑ̃/ | screen |
la dépendance | /de.pɑ̃.dɑ̃s/ | addiction, dependence |
l'innovation (f.) | /i.nɔ.va.sjɔ̃/ | innovation |
connecté | /kɔ.nɛk.te/ | connected, online |
Health and living
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la santé | /sɑ̃.te/ | health |
le bien-être | /bjɛ̃.n‿ɛtʁ/ | wellbeing |
l'alimentation (f.) | /a.li.mɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃/ | diet, nutrition |
l'équilibre (m.) | /e.ki.libʁ/ | balance |
le stress | /stʁɛs/ | stress |
le sommeil | /sɔ.mɛj/ | sleep |
l'activité physique (f.) | /ak.ti.vi.te fi.zik/ | physical activity |
la prévention | /pʁe.vɑ̃.sjɔ̃/ | prevention |
l'espérance de vie (f.) | /ɛs.pe.ʁɑ̃s də vi/ | life expectancy |
le vieillissement | /vjɛ.jis.mɑ̃/ | ageing |
Society and education
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la société | /sɔ.sje.te/ | society |
l'inégalité (f.) | /i.ne.ɡa.li.te/ | inequality |
l'égalité (f.) | /e.ɡa.li.te/ | equality |
la solidarité | /sɔ.li.da.ʁi.te/ | solidarity |
l'intégration (f.) | /ɛ̃.te.ɡʁa.sjɔ̃/ | integration |
l'immigration (f.) | /i.mi.ɡʁa.sjɔ̃/ | immigration |
la génération | /ʒe.ne.ʁa.sjɔ̃/ | generation |
la formation | /fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/ | training |
l'apprentissage (m.) | /a.pʁɑ̃.ti.saʒ/ | learning, apprenticeship |
la réussite | /ʁe.y.sit/ | success |
l'échec scolaire (m.) | /e.ʃɛk sko.lɛʁ/ | school failure |
le bénévolat | /be.ne.vɔ.la/ | volunteering |
Look at how much of that you already know. Pollution, biodiversity, inflation, innovation, prevention, integration, generation — English and French share these words almost exactly, because both took them from Latin. Your real work in this section is not learning the nouns but learning their genders, and the suffix rules in
nominalisationwill give you most of those in one go.
Where these fields appear
| Section | What kind of text |
|---|---|
| reading, long text | a press article from one of these six fields |
| reading, short text | an advert, an email, a notice |
| writing | your opinion on the same topics |
| speaking, argument section | a short text, then your view |
The writing and speaking topics come from the same six fields. So this vocabulary is used twice — once to understand, once to produce.
Ready-made argument phrases
In the writing section these work with any topic:
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
De nos jours, … | /də no ʒuʁ/ | nowadays |
On constate que… | /ɔ̃ kɔ̃s.tat kə/ | it can be seen that |
Il est vrai que… | /il ɛ vʁɛ kə/ | it is true that |
D'un côté… de l'autre… | /dœ̃ ko.te də lotʁ/ | on the one hand… on the other… |
Les avantages sont nombreux. | /lez a.vɑ̃.taʒ sɔ̃ nɔ̃.bʁø/ | the advantages are many |
Cependant, il y a des inconvénients. | /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ i.lja dez ɛ̃.kɔ̃.ve.njɑ̃/ | however, there are drawbacks |
Prenons l'exemple de… | /pʁə.nɔ̃ lɛɡ.zɑ̃pl də/ | take the example of |
Selon moi, … | /sə.lɔ̃ mwa/ | in my view |
Il faudrait… | /il fo.dʁɛ/ | we ought to |
En conclusion, … | /ɑ̃ kɔ̃.kly.zjɔ̃/ | in conclusion |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
actuel = current | Not "actual". |
la formation means training | Not "formation". |
l'éducation means upbringing | The school system is l'enseignement. |
assister à = to attend | Not to assist. |
l'inconvénient means drawback | Not "inconvenience" in the mild sense. |
la crise means crisis | And it appears constantly in economic texts. |
durable means sustainable | le développement durable = sustainable development. |
The education words are worth sorting out, because English merges them.
l'éducationis upbringing and values;l'enseignementis the school system and teaching;la formationis vocational training. English "education" covers all three, so translating it word for word will produce the wrong one about two thirds of the time.
Why these six fields
because the exam has to be neutral and universal
An exam text has three requirements:
| Requirement | Consequence |
|---|---|
| politically neutral | partisan and religious topics are excluded |
| understandable in any culture | specifically French topics are rare |
| open to opinion | you have to be able to agree or disagree |
And these six fields satisfy all three.
The practical consequence: you can prepare all six in advance. Twenty to thirty key words per field, plus four argument phrases — and the writing section is essentially solved.
A preparation method:
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | for each field, write three arguments for and three against |
| 2 | reduce each to two sentences |
| 3 | find one concrete example for each |
Because in the exam there is no time to think — only to write. The arguments have to be ready in advance and simply attached to the topic.
And more important than the vocabulary: connecteurs-logiques. A text with simple ideas that connect scores higher than a complex one that does not.
One warning for a confident writer. If you write well in English, you will arrive with plenty to say and reach for sophisticated argument. The French marking scheme rewards structure and connection at least as much as content — so the effort is better spent on having six ready arguments in simple French than on constructing one clever argument in French you cannot quite manage.