Prepared material for Tâche 3
If you’re preparing for the TCF, you probably already know this: to handle Tâche 3 and keep speaking for 4.5 minutes, it helps to go beyond your own opinion and discuss other views on the topic — at least the opposing one.
Of course, everyone develops their own strategy: some prefer to start from the opposite position, others prefer to include it closer to the end or use it in the conclusion.
I'm open to any experience. But today I want to talk about how you can elegantly start with an opposing opinion before you even get to your own argument—the strategy most people take.
⚠️Why is it important, in principle, to have a “blank” for the answer in Tâche 3?
🔺Firstly, it helps to avoid an awkward pause at the beginning of the answer - you don’t get “stuck” at the start.
🔺Secondly, you thus expand the time span of your speech - and this is one of the main fears of everyone - to run out of ideas and become silent after 1-2 minutes.
🔺Thirdly, you “lay the straw” and give yourself a few precious seconds to think about your real position and, most importantly, build a plan to defend it, mentally sketch out arguments.
Below⬇️ is a list of expressions that can help you start an answer within seconds of receiving a question from the examiner. Many of them contain more complex grammatical structures, such as subjonctif or conditionnel.
These phrases can become a point of support for you at the very beginning of the answer - they help you not to get lost in yourself, give you time to accelerate, set the right tone and help show that you can look at the problem from different angles. Mentioning an alternative point of view not only helps structure the thought, but also makes the answer more mature, voluminous, multi-layered and convincing.
Although, of course, everyone will have their own approach. Sometimes you start from the opposite point of view, and then you realize that you are the opposite point of view 😄 In any case, the main thing‼ is not to start the answer with philosophical silence in the exam.🤓 This trick only works for Wittgenstein, according to whom, “about what it is impossible to speak, it is better to remain silent.” An excellent principle in life, but, alas, this approach will not work on TCF 😉
🔹Il est vrai que certaines personnes pourraient dire que…
— True, some might say that...
🔸Je comprends/J’admets qu’on puisse penser cela, mais…
— I admit that someone may think so, but...
🔹On entend souvent dire que…
— You can often hear that...
🔸Bien que cela puisse sembler logique parce que …, je pense que…
— Although this may seem logical, I believe that...
🔹Si j’étais quelqu’un d’autre, peut-être que je dirais que…
— If I were a different person, perhaps I would say that...
🔸Il est possible que certains préfèrent…
— Perhaps some people prefer...
🔹Cela dépend du point de vue de chacun, mais pour ma part…
— It all depends on the point of view, but personally I...
🔸Je dirais que cela peut se discuter…
— I would say that this can be discussed...
🔹Je sais que tout le monde ne serait pas d’accord, mais…
— I know not everyone would agree, but...
🔸On pourrait aussi considérer que…
— One might also consider that...
🔹Même si certains estiment que…, je suis convaincu(e) que…
— Even if some people think that..., I am convinced that...
🔸 Il y a ceux qui pensent que…, cependant…
— There are those who believe that..., however...
🔹À première vue, on pourrait croire que…, mais en réalité…
— At first glance, one might think that..., but in reality...
🔸Je ne dis pas que ce soit faux, mais…
— I'm not saying it's not true, but...
🔹Si l’on regarde les choses d’un autre angle…
— If you look at it from a different angle...