Social and Global Issues

Poverty, Deprivation, and the Housing Crisis

Discussing socioeconomic hardship requires specific terminology that moves beyond basic descriptions. In both Ireland and France, the rising cost of living (le coût de la vie) and housing shortages (le manque de logements) dominate public debate.

Essential Vocabulary

Linking Causes to Effects

Examiners look for analytical reasoning rather than a simple list of complaints. Connect economic pressures directly to human consequences:

• À cause de la hausse constante du coût de la vie, de plus en plus de familles basculent dans la précarité. (Because of the constant rise in the cost of living, more and more families are falling into hardship.)
• Dans les grandes villes, les loyers sont devenus tellement inabordables que beaucoup de jeunes sont obligés de rester vivre chez leurs parents. (In major cities, rents have become so unaffordable that many young people are forced to remain living with their parents.)
• Le manque criant de logements sociaux pousse des centaines de personnes à vivre dans la rue. (The glaring lack of social housing drives hundreds of people to live on the street.)

Health, Diet, and Lifestyle

Public health issues, sedentary lifestyles, and healthcare shortages feature regularly in written essays and listening passages.

Essential Vocabulary

Health in Context

• La malbouffe, riche en sucre et en graisses, est l'une des causes principales de l'obésité. (Junk food, high in sugar and fat, is one of the main causes of obesity.)
• Les jeunes passent trop de temps devant les écrans et ne font pas assez d'exercice physique. (Young people spend too much time in front of screens and do not take enough physical exercise.)
• Les campagnes publicitaires sensibilisent le public aux dangers de l'alcool. (Advertising campaigns raise public awareness of the dangers of alcohol.)
• Pendant l'hiver, l'hôpital a connu un manque criant de lits à cause d'une épidémie de grippe. (During the winter, the hospital experienced a severe bed shortage because of a flu epidemic.)

Everyday Environment and Ecological Action

Environmental questions cover both large-scale planetary concerns and practical community-level actions tested in listening and reading texts.

Essential Vocabulary

Everyday Action Sentences

• Je vais au lycée à vélo : ça ne prend que cinq minutes et j'arrive plus détendu(e). (I cycle to school: it only takes five minutes and I arrive more relaxed.)
• Au lieu de jeter nos vieux appareils, nous devrions les réparer ou participer à des ateliers de recyclage. (Instead of throwing away our old appliances, we should repair them or take part in recycling workshops.)
• Chaque mois, des bénévoles organisent un ramassage des déchets sur la plage. (Every month, volunteers organise a beach clean-up.)

Equality, Media Representation, and Crime

Exam tasks frequently assess civil rights, equality in public life, and public safety.

Gender Equality and the Media

• Les sportives sont sous-représentées dans les médias, ce qui constitue une injustice évidente. (Sportswomen are under-represented in the media, which constitutes an obvious injustice.)
• Si les chaînes diffusaient plus de matchs féminins, les jeunes filles auraient davantage de modèles. (If TV channels broadcast more women's matches, young girls would have more role models.)

Crime and Security

High-Frequency Synonym Pairs in Reading Comprehension

Reading questions regularly set 'Trouvez l'expression' tasks where you must quote the exact phrase from the passage:

• combattre = lutter contre
• la criminalité = la délinquance
• chaque jour = au quotidien
• l'augmentation = la hausse
• aider = venir en aide à

For example, if a question asks for an expression meaning « combattre la criminalité de chaque jour », the full text citation required is « lutter contre la délinquance au quotidien ». Partial citations lose marks.

Europe, Ireland-France Links, and the Future Tense

Leaving Certificate candidates must be able to discuss relations between Ireland, France, and Europe, and explore future consequences of political shifts.

Essential Vocabulary

Le Futur Simple

Use the future tense to project outcomes and consequences. Form it with the infinitive (dropping final -e for -re verbs) plus endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.

Irregular stems to memorise:

• être → ser-
• avoir → aur-
• faire → fer-
• aller → ir-
• pouvoir → pourr-
• devoir → devr-
• venir → viendr-
• voir → verr-
• falloir → il faudra

Note that after quand, French uses the future tense where English uses the present: Quand je serai adulte, je voterai. (When I am an adult, I will vote.)

Comparing Ireland and France

• En Irlande comme en France, la crise du logement touche durement les jeunes générations. (In Ireland as in France, the housing crisis hits younger generations hard.)
• Contrairement à la France, l'Irlande a une frontière terrestre directe avec le Royaume-Uni. (Unlike France, Ireland shares a direct land border with the United Kingdom.)
• En France, des associations comme les Restos du Cœur distribuent des repas aux plus démunis. (In France, charities like the Restos du Cœur distribute meals to the most destitute.)

Grammar for Arguments: Subjunctive, Si-Clauses, and Hedging

To achieve high marks in Language, you must demonstrate accurate use of complex grammar.

Certainty vs Doubt: The Subjunctive Rules

• Certainty takes the indicative: je pense que, je crois que, je suis persuadé(e) que, je suis convaincu(e) que, il est clair que.

Je suis convaincu(e) que l'éducation est la solution. (I am convinced that education is the solution.)

• Doubt, negative opinion, possibility, concession (bien que) and purpose (pour que) take the subjunctive: je doute que, je ne pense pas que, il se peut que, bien que, pour que.

Je doute que le gouvernement puisse régler ce problème seul. (I doubt the government can settle this problem alone.) Bien que la France soit un pays riche, la pauvreté persiste. (Although France is a rich country, poverty persists.)

• Exception: espérer que takes the indicative. J'espère que la situation va s'améliorer. (I hope the situation will improve.)

The Subjunctive with Il faut que

Il faut + infinitive speaks generally (Il faut agir = We must act). Il faut que + a specific subject noun or pronoun requires the subjunctive mood. For regular verbs, take the ils present stem, drop -ent, and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.

Other common irregular subjunctives: avoir (aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient), aller (aille, allions), vouloir (veuille, voulions), and savoir (sache).

Forming the Conditional (Le Conditionnel)

The conditional is formed from the future stem plus the imperfect endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

• Examples: baisser → les loyers baisseraient; devoir (stem devr-) → nous devrions / il devrait (should); pouvoir (stem pourr-) → on pourrait (could); falloir → il faudrait (we would need to).
• Le gouvernement devrait construire plus de logements. (The government should build more housing.)

The 'If' Rule (Phrases avec si)

Never put the future or the conditional directly after si:

• Si + present → future (likely event): Si nous recyclons davantage, nous réduirons nos déchets. (If we recycle more, we will reduce our waste.)
• Si + imperfect → conditional (hypothetical proposal): Si le gouvernement construisait plus de logements sociaux, les loyers baisseraient. (If the government built more social housing, rents would fall.)

Hedging Phrases

Use hedging expressions to keep your tone measured. Remember that adjectives and nouns referring to yourself must agree with your gender:

• Il me semble que la situation est plus complexe qu'il n'y paraît. (It seems to me that the situation is more complex than it appears.)
• Je ne prétends pas être un(e) expert(e), mais les avis sont partagés. (I do not claim to be an expert, but opinions are divided.)
• D'une part, les citoyens s'engagent; d'autre part, les autorités tardent à réagir. (On the one hand, citizens are getting involved; on the other hand, the authorities are slow to react.)

Noun Gender Patterns for Social Topics

Gender errors undermine your marks in the Language criterion. These reliable morphological endings will keep your agreements accurate.

Usually Feminine

• Nouns ending in -tion or -sion: la pollution, la discrimination, la manifestation, la surconsommation.
• Nouns ending in -té: la pauvreté, la précarité, la société, la santé, la sécurité.

Exceptions to keep in mind: le côté, l'été, le comité (masculine).

Usually Masculine

• Nouns ending in -ment: le logement, le gouvernement, le réchauffement, le changement.
• Nouns ending in -age: le chômage, le gaspillage, le recyclage.

Exceptions: la page, la plage, la cage, l'image (feminine).

• Nouns ending in -isme: le racisme, le sexisme, le terrorisme, le vandalisme.

High-Frequency Traps

• Masculine: le problème, le système, le climat.
• Feminine: la planète, la mer.

Structuring Section II Written Tasks

In Section II of the Higher Level paper, you answer Question 1, which is compulsory (approx. 90 words; you choose part (a) or (b)). You also answer two of Questions 2, 3, and 4, choosing one part from each (approx. 75 words each). These tasks are assessed on two criteria: Communication (clarity, relevance, and development of points) and Language (grammatical accuracy and vocabulary range).

Use this four-step plan as your default structure, adapting step 3 directly to what the prompt demands:

1. State your position: Open with a clear stance using phrases like À mon avis or Je partage entièrement ce point de vue.
2. Provide underlying reasons: Give one or two concrete explanations using cause connectors (en raison de, parce que, à cause de).
3. Address the specific question:

• If asked for causes, give two or three distinct reasons (D'abord... De plus... Enfin...).
• If asked for consequences, use the future tense (Cela entraînera... Les entreprises devront...).
• If asked for a personal reaction (Donnez votre réaction), express your view and propose balanced actions at both state level (Il faut que l'État prenne des mesures...) and personal level (À titre individuel, nous devrions...).

1. Conclude: Offer a concise closing remark (En somme, Bref).

Key terms

la précarité

A state of socioeconomic instability and insecurity, marked by low income, fragile employment, and lack of basic resources.

les SDF (sans domicile fixe)

Homeless individuals (literally 'without fixed abode'), used alongside 'les sans-abri'.

la malbouffe

Junk food, highly processed or unhealthy food rich in sugar, fat, and salt.

le tri sélectif

The practice of separating domestic and commercial waste into designated categories for recycling.

l'écart salarial

The wage or pay gap separating male and female employees in the workforce.

la délinquance

Everyday crime, minor offences, or antisocial behaviour, frequently paired as a synonym with 'la criminalité'.

un homme politique / une femme politique

A politician. Contrasts with 'la politique', which means politics as a concept or an official policy.

sensibiliser le public

To raise public awareness regarding a critical social, environmental, or health challenge.