Aural Announcements and Phone Messages

Exam Architecture and the Three-Hearing Strategy

Every question on the aural paper demands practical precision. Marking schemes accept notes and bullet points; full grammatical English sentences are not required and earn no bonus marks. You write your answers directly in the spaces provided on the exam paper.

To maximise marks, treat each run-through with a specific goal:

• First hearing: Listen for gist. Track who is speaking and match each question on the paper to the part of the recording where that detail lands. Do not rush to write lengthy answers now; keep your eyes moving through the questions.
• Second hearing (segmented): Write your answers. Because this hearing pauses between sections, write down the facts immediately in English or Irish. Give the exact number of details requested. If the question asks for two details, clearly write two separate points labelled 1 and 2.
• Third hearing: Verify numbers, prices, and times. Check that you have not left blanks, and confirm that mid-sentence corrections have not caught you out.

Question Stem Demands

Marking schemes use specific English command phrases that dictate how you must respond:

• Give two details: You must supply two distinct, separate points. Writing one long, elaborate sentence that contains only one core fact earns half marks.
• What exactly... / Where exactly...: The examiner demands the precise location or figure, not a broad area. Stating behind the town hall gains the mark; writing in town gets zero.
• Why...: Your ear must hunt for a cause connector (parce que, car, en raison de). The marking point sits in the clause immediately following the connector.
• How many / How much...: Supply the number alongside its modifying word (such as plus de or environ).
• Name...: Give the specific proper noun or title.
• Mention one thing...: Give one unambiguous answer. Do not offer alternatives such as Platform 3 or 8; providing contradictory guesses can cancel a correct answer.

Numbers 70–99, Prices, Quantities, and Phone Digits

Spoken numbers often carry the full marks of an entire sub-question. French numbers from 70 to 99 are built by addition and multiplication: 70 is 60 + 10 (soixante-dix), 80 is 4 × 20 (quatre-vingts), and 90 is 80 + 10 (quatre-vingt-dix). Your brain must register the total instantly rather than calculating it mid-exam.

High-Frequency Confusion Pairs

Listen carefully to the word endings. The start of the word can mislead your ear:

• deux (2) versus douze (12)
• trois (3) versus treize (13)
• quatre (4) versus quatorze (14)
• cinq (5) versus quinze (15)
• six (6) versus seize (16)
• sept (7) versus dix-sept (17)
• cinquante (50) versus soixante (60)

Number Agreement and Print Conventions

The spelling of French numbers follows strict rules. The numeral quatre-vingts (80) takes an -s, but drops it the moment another number follows, as in quatre-vingt-un (81). The word deux cents (200) takes an -s, but deux cent cinq (205) loses it. The word mille (thousand) is completely invariable and never takes an -s (deux mille).

In French printed text, thousands are separated by a space or a full stop (1 000 € or 1.000 €), while decimals use a comma (3,5 kg). In spoken prices, the word euros separates the whole units from the cents: quatre-vingt-quinze euros cinquante represents €95.50. Look out for retail words like les soldes (the sales), en promotion (on special offer), and gratuit (free).

Phone Numbers

French telephone numbers consist of ten digits spoken in five distinct pairs. A landline sequence such as 01 45 72 33 18 is spoken as zéro un, quarante-cinq, soixante-douze, trente-trois, dix-huit. A mobile beginning with 06 or 07 follows the exact same pattern: 06 12 34 56 78 is voiced as zéro six, douze, trente-quatre, cinquante-six, soixante-dix-huit. Always write in blocks of two digits until you have gathered five pairs.

Modifiers and Approximations

Marking schemes require precision with quantity modifiers. Writing 28,000 when the speaker said plus de 28 000 risks losing the mark, while writing about 28,000 is outright incorrect. Always write the modifier down with the figure:

• plus de (more than) / moins de (less than)
• environ / à peu près (about / approximately)
• près de (nearly) / presque (almost)
• au moins (at least) / jusqu'à (up to)
• la moitié (half) / le tiers (a third) / le quart (a quarter) / le double (twice as many)
• la plupart (most)
• une dizaine, une quinzaine, une vingtaine, une centaine (about 10, 15, 20, 100)
• ne… que (only): this is a restrictive structure, not a negative. Il ne gagne que 200 euros means He earns only €200.

Timetables, Relative Time, and Calendar Conventions

Timetable inquiries in conversations and travel items rely on the 24-hour clock. The marking scheme accepts 24-hour notation directly. If you hear treize heures quarante, write down 13:40. You do not need to convert this to 1:40 pm; attempting mental conversion under time pressure risks needless arithmetic slips. However, should you choose to convert, subtract twelve from hours past noon: seize heures quarante-cinq is 4:45 pm, and dix-huit heures is 6:00 pm. Standard time markers include à midi (at midday), à minuit (at midnight), et quart (quarter past), et demie (half past), and moins le quart (quarter to).

Calendar Dates

Unlike English, French never capitalises calendar names, whether you are writing janvier for January or décembre for December. Dates use regular cardinal numbers, with one single exception: the first day of the month is always le premier (abbreviated le 1er), as in le 1er mai. All subsequent dates take plain numbers (le 2 mai, le 14 juillet). Years are read as full figures: en deux mille vingt-six (in 2026) or en mille neuf cent quarante-quatre (in 1944). Watch the prepositions when seasons come up: spring takes au printemps, while en precedes summer (en été), autumn (en automne), and winter (en hiver).

Relative Time Words

Questions asking when an event occurred frequently hinge on relative time phrases rather than clock hours:

• hier (yesterday) / hier matin (yesterday morning) / avant-hier (the day before yesterday)
• ce matin (this morning), while afternoon becomes cet après-midi and nightfall brings ce soir
• demain (tomorrow) / après-demain (the day after tomorrow)
• la veille (the day before) / le lendemain (the next day)
• la semaine dernière (last week) / la semaine prochaine (next week)
• tous les jours (every day) / une fois par mois (once a month) / toutes les vingt minutes (every twenty minutes) / vers dix heures (around ten o'clock)

Take note of time prepositions: il y a + time indicates past elapsed time (il y a deux ans = two years ago), while dans + time points to the future (dans deux ans = in two years' time). Use pendant for a completed duration in the past (pendant trois ans = for three years), and depuis for an action that started in the past and is still ongoing (depuis trois mois = for / since three months).

Section V News Bulletins: Weather, Incidents, and Civic Life

Section V of the aural presents three concise news items (flashes d'information). A single newsreader delivers them rapidly with dense factual phrasing. This is where vocabulary relating to emergency services, regional accidents, discoveries, and weather conditions is regularly tested.

Weather / La météo

• un orage (a thunderstorm)
• la foudre / un éclair (lightning / a flash of lightning)
• une averse (a heavy shower)
• une inondation (a flood)
• la canicule (heatwave)
• le vent violent (strong wind)
• la neige / le verglas (snow / black ice)
• des températures de trente degrés (temperatures of 30°)
• la région / le département (region / administrative county)

Accidents and Emergencies

• un accident de la route (a road accident)
• un incendie (a fire)
• les pompiers (the fire brigade)
• les secours (emergency services)
• blessé / grièvement blessé (injured / seriously injured)
• tué / mort (killed / dead)
• l'hôpital (hospital) / une ambulance (ambulance) / évacué (evacuated)

Crime, Civil Disruptions, and Heritage Discoveries

• un cambriolage (a burglary)
• un vol (a theft; also means a flight—use the context to distinguish)
• un voleur (a thief)
• la police / la gendarmerie (police force)
• une manifestation (a protest march / demonstration)
• une grève (a strike) / les grévistes (strikers)
• une enquête (an investigation / inquiry)
• une bombe de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (a Second World War bomb)
• découvert (discovered) / un chantier (a construction / building site)
• Civic administration turns up constantly: hear la mairie or l'hôtel de ville and you are dealing with the town hall, whereas le maire refers to the mayor himself.
• derrière / devant / à côté de (behind / in front of / beside)

Travel Vocabulary, Transit Traps, and Accommodation

Conversations in Sections I to IV frequently involve travel bookings, train journeys, or lodging complaints. A classic distractor involves the direction of travel:

• en provenance de: coming from (an arriving service). Le train en provenance de Lyon is arriving from Lyon.
• à destination de: travelling towards (a departing service). Le train à destination de Lyon is departing towards Lyon.

Station and Airport Navigation

• le quai / la voie (platform / railway track)
• la porte (boarding gate)
• l'embarquement (boarding)
• le vol (flight)
• la correspondance (connection / transfer)
• le guichet (ticket counter) / la consigne (left luggage)
• la salle d'attente (waiting area)
• l'aller simple / l'aller-retour (single ticket / return ticket)
• la grève des cheminots (rail workers' strike)
• un incident technique (a technical fault)
• sans arrêt / direct (non-stop / direct)
• avec dix minutes de retard (running ten minutes late)
• une navette (a shuttle bus)
• l'accueil / la réception (reception desk)
• If an audio prompt directs you to different levels of a building, remember that au rez-de-chaussée places you on the ground floor, au deuxième étage means the second floor up, and au sous-sol sends you down to the basement.

Hotel Problems and Lodging Vocabulary

When complaints occur in listening tasks, look out for la climatisation (air conditioning), en panne (broken down / out of order), sale (dirty) versus propre (clean), une chambre double (a double room), and meal plans like la demi-pension (half board) or la pension complète (full board).

Grammar Anchors: Possessives, Family, and Instructions

Grammatical precision directly secures marks in comprehension. The Leaving Certificate marking schemes often require identifying whose relative is being discussed.

Possessives and Demonstratives

In French, possessive adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun that follows (the item or person possessed), not the owner:

• mon, ton, son (masculine singular)
• ma, ta, sa (feminine singular)
• mes, tes, ses (plural)
• notre / nos, votre / vos, leur / leurs (our, your, their)

Before any feminine singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h, use mon, ton, or son to avoid a clash of vowels: mon amie (my female friend). Remember that son, sa, and ses mean either his, her, or its. Context reveals the owner. Demonstrative adjectives specify exact items: ce (masculine), cet (masculine before a vowel/silent h: cet homme), cette (feminine), and ces (plural).

Family Terms

Pay close attention to compound nouns:

• Make sure you tell the difference between sa petite-fille (his or her granddaughter) and une petite fille, which simply means any young girl; a grandson is le petit-fils.
• les petits-enfants (grandchildren)
• le beau-père / la belle-mère (father-/mother-in-law or step-parent)
• le demi-frère / la demi-sœur (half-/step-brother or sister)
• le frère aîné / cadet (older / younger brother)
• un jumeau / une jumelle (male / female twin)
• garder / s'occuper de son petit frère (to mind / look after one's little brother)

Instructions and Present-Tense Verbs

When an audio clip tells the listener what to do, it uses predictable obligation structures:

• veuillez + infinitive (please do...): Veuillez confirmer votre présence (Please confirm your attendance)
• prière de + infinitive / merci de + infinitive (you are requested to / please...)
• pensez à + infinitive (remember to...)
• il faut + infinitive / vous devez + infinitive (you must...)
• je vous conseille de + infinitive (I advise you to...)
• n'hésitez pas à + infinitive (do not hesitate to...)
• apporter (to bring an object) / rapporter (to bring back / return an object)
• se présenter à l'accueil (to report to reception)
• composter son billet (to validate/punch your ticket)

Recognising verb endings clarifies who is carrying out the action:

• Regular -er verbs take -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent, turning parler into je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, and ils parlent.
• Regular -ir verbs: je finis, tu finis, il/elle finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils/elles finissent
• Regular -re verbs: je vends, tu vends, il/elle vend, nous vendons, vous vendez, ils/elles vendent

Connectors and Mid-Sentence Correction Traps

Questions beginning with Why...? require identifying cause and effect. Listen for connectors to pinpoint the reason:

• Cause: parce que (because), car (for / because), puisque (since / seeing that), comme (as / since), grâce à (thanks to — introduces a positive reason), à cause de (because of — introduces a negative reason), en raison de (owing to / due to — formal register), c'est pourquoi (that is why).
• Consequence: donc (so / therefore), alors (then / so), par conséquent (consequently), ainsi (thus), du coup (so / informal result).
• Contrast: mais (but), pourtant / cependant (however), en revanche / par contre (on the other hand), même si (even if), tandis que / alors que (whereas / while), malgré (despite).
• Sequence: d'abord (first), ensuite / puis (then / next), enfin (finally), de plus (moreover / in addition), d'ailleurs (besides / for that matter).

Mid-Sentence Corrections: The Critical Rule

Speakers in conversations and news items regularly correct themselves mid-sentence. You must know which detail to record:

Master this distinction: with et non, the true detail comes first. With every other correction marker (plutôt, en fait, finalement, attendez), the true detail comes second.

Written Production Crossover: Leaving a Note (*Un Mot*)

The language of phone messages bridges directly into the written paper. On Section II, you may choose to write an informal note or message (un mot / un message), marked out of 30 (15 for Communication, 15 for Language). Producing this format requires specific set opening and closing phrases, accurate date and time expressions, and at least one verb in a past tense.

Essential Formulae for Written Notes

• Salutations: Salut Antoine, / Chère Madame Laurent,
• Reason for writing: J'ai un message pour toi. (I have a message for you.) / Sophie a téléphoné à 15h30 pendant ton absence. (Sophie called at 3:30 pm while you were out.)
• Relaying information: Elle m'a dit que... (She told me that...) / Elle voulait savoir si... (She wanted to know if...) / Le rendez-vous de mardi est reporté à jeudi. (Tuesday's meeting is postponed to Thursday.)
• Action required: Elle te demande de la rappeler au 06 12 34 56 78 avant 18h. (She asks you to call her back on 06 12 34 56 78 before 6 pm.) / Ne t'inquiète pas, ce n'est pas urgent. (No need to panic, it can wait.)
• Sign-offs: À plus tard, (See you later,) / Bises, (Hugs / kisses,) / Je te verrai ce soir, (I will see you this evening,) followed by your first name.

Key terms

en provenance de

Prepositional phrase meaning 'arriving from' or 'originating at', indicating the starting point of an inbound service.

à destination de

Prepositional phrase meaning 'bound for' or 'travelling towards', indicating the destination of an outbound service.

en raison de

Formal prepositional connector meaning 'due to' or 'owing to', introducing the underlying cause of an operational change.

est reporté

Verb phrase meaning 'is postponed' or 'rescheduled' to a later time or date.

est retardé

Verb phrase meaning 'is delayed' or running behind its scheduled timetable.

est annulé

Verb phrase meaning 'is cancelled', indicating that a planned service or event will not run.

veuillez

Polite imperative formula followed by an infinitive meaning 'please do (something)', introducing a formal directive.

n'oubliez pas de

Imperative instruction phrase meaning 'do not forget to', signalling an essential required action.

le quai / la voie

Station terms designating the platform or track assigned to an arriving or departing train.

et non

Contrast marker meaning 'and not', confirming the first stated item as valid while explicitly discarding the second.

ne… que

Restrictive grammatical structure meaning 'only', placing a positive limit on a quantity, time, or amount.

plus de

Comparative quantity expression meaning 'more than', which must be included alongside figures in exam answers.

le premier

The only ordinal date numeral in French (written 'le 1er'), used exclusively for the first day of any calendar month.

une vingtaine

Collective noun of quantity meaning 'about twenty' or 'around a score'.

sa petite-fille

Family noun phrase meaning 'his/her granddaughter', distinct from 'une petite fille' which means a little girl.