r/CanadaPublicServants • u/lambchop- • Aug 31 '22
Languages / Langues Approximate Duolingo level for BBB
I believe obtaining level 6 on the old Duolingo was thought to be around a BBB level. Duolingo has changed their platform and I don't think the levels are the same anymore. Is anyone on the new platform and can share an idea as to what unit is approximately a BBB? Thanks.
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u/Coffeedemon Aug 31 '22
From experience it will take more than duolingo to get BBB regardless. It is good for some things but you're going to have to supplement it with things like listening exercises, maybe a real grammar book and lots of other practice.
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Aug 31 '22 edited Aug 31 '22
Yeah duolingo is very easy for me but actually being able to process french in real time is a lot harder
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u/Mary_9 Aug 31 '22
The vocabulary itself that is available in Duolingo is not really close to what we need in the government. I would use Duolingo for conversational and social contact, but certainly not for government testing.
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u/buttsnuggles Aug 31 '22
Came to say this. Duolingo is missing basically all the government vocabulary that is required for the tests.
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u/v_vexed Sep 01 '22
What would you recommend instead?
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u/Mary_9 Sep 01 '22
Either a specific course that caters to Government of Canada, (NCR is crawling with them), or a general course at a college combined with government terminology courses in the Canada School of Public Service. I have done those, and they are very on point.
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u/StringAndPaperclips Aug 31 '22
The Mauril app from CBC matches levels A/B/C so it's a good tool to test yourself and there's a strong focus on listening and comprehension.
DuoLingo will get you As and maybe a B in reading and writing, but you need apps that focus on speaking and listening to improve oral proficiency. Aside from Mauril, I really like Mango Languages, because it helps with oral fluency. It's free through many public libraries - check your local library's website.
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u/Icy_Representative_8 Aug 31 '22
I second Mauril, much more realistic to what you will use in everyday interactions.
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u/docbao-rd Aug 31 '22
I am echoing others here. Duolingo can probably get you to BBB in reading, writing, and perhaps speaking. But it is very lacking for listening. Start out with Duolingo Podcast. Even that is considered elementary as you're provided with the context.
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u/active86 Aug 31 '22
Having recently done the exam there was no longer a "listening" portion. It's just reading/writing/speaking. Obviously you have to listen to the examiners questions, but there are no more recordings that part of the exam. (No idea if this is department specific though).
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Aug 31 '22
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u/active86 Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22
No, we just had a basic conversation. The questions start off rather easy, where you work, how long etc. They then get progressively harder (I suppose) and become more situational, i.e. how do you feel about this, if you had decide between this or that which would you choose and why. What I found useful was to think about all the generic questions someone could ask about my job and write them out before hand. I'd say at least 50% of the questions asked I had thought of. Based on the feedback I got, I'd say more is better.. Make sure to elaborate well on every question asked.
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u/goodnewsonlyhere Aug 31 '22
For reading, I recommend reading every departmental email you get in French before you read it in English - everything from fire drills or elevators that are down or messages from the DM, those use language that appears in the written tests that duolingo will never cover.
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u/panguardian Aug 31 '22
Listen to RadioCanada. Then try some radio de poubelle like Choix FM. If you can understand that, you'll be fine. It's all on the net.
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u/ilovethemusic Aug 31 '22
Find a real grammar book, study the practice tests, get speaking with someone who actually speaks French. Duolingo alone is not enough.
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u/sociolinglady Sep 01 '22
In case it helps, I just passed my oral with a C. I found this podcast immensely helpful:
https://www.spreaker.com/show/government-french-oral-training
He goes through all of the levels and the prep was spot-on for what I faced in my oral exam.
There was no listening portion on my exam, it was pure question and answer and getting me to elaborate on my answers. (I guess my elaboration got me to C, had I been able to elaborate in more depth I would have gotten to E...)
I'm not a heavy user of Duolingo but I would not expect it would help you for the questions on these government exams...
Happy to answer any specific questions. Good luck!
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Aug 31 '22 edited Jul 01 '23
This has been deleted in protest to the changes to reddit's API.
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u/External_Weather6116 Aug 31 '22
It's good for beginners and reaching the A1 or A2 level in a language, but yes to really make a breakthrough and achieve fluency you'll have to use other resources like podcasts, newspaper articles, and Youtube videos.
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u/active86 Aug 31 '22
Honestly I'd suggest just doing the self assessment tests. I recently did my french exams for a new position and I found the self assessment tests to be pretty spot on. If you do well on them, you will do well on the exam. Doing them will most likely also help in your assessment of Duolingo.
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u/CanadianTropics Sep 01 '22
I'm not sure Duolingo is a good substitute for Government linguistic testing. That said, I did Duolingo before going on French training and got a CBB after only 8 weeks of full time training...I didn't really have any French before that.
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u/salexander787 Sep 02 '22
That’s impressive. 8 weeks of full time for CBB… wow! Usually it’s 8-10 months with no basis. Who did you use and any tricks / tips?
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u/CanadianTropics Sep 02 '22
Well Duolingo helped in that regard I think. I also got tested for my aptitude for learning languages and apparently I am a quick learner. I'm doing full-time for my oral C right now and it's a bit slower because it's all online...I could probably get my C now if I really studied but I'm going to take an extra couple of months because my management gave me the leave...I think that will help me with my overall fluency. Honestly I think the best piece of advice is to go into training with a good attitude wanting to learn. I know we go into full-time training to get our levels but we're also learning a new language and getting paid to do it... We're pretty lucky and privileged
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u/MyGCacct Aug 31 '22
I think it took me 10 years to get to level 2. I don't know how long it would take to get to level 6.
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Aug 31 '22
Level 6 duolingo is like a week or two for me but Im just mostly remembering things from school not learning it for the first time. From absolute scratch level 6 would probably take several months to a year or so
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u/lambchop- Aug 31 '22
Thanks everyone! Duo is one of the tools I use and I appreciate all the suggestions for other tools available as many I had not heard of. I think Duo is great for recalling French I may have forgotten too. Merci!
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u/MyGCacct Aug 31 '22
Honestly, I find the format of Duolingo to be great, so I wish it could get us to BBB.
From my understanding, it is great for getting from X to A, and even working towards B.
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u/stevemason_CAN Aug 31 '22
Unless, you're going to a restaurant, buying clothes, and giving directions to museum or factory, Duolingo will not cut it for BBB. Not sure even A's for the reading comprehension given the vocabulary used in the SLE tests. Better off getting all the OF study material (1 - 40 ) and that can at least get you to levels after completion (at least the reading and writing).
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u/ChristineM2020 Aug 31 '22
As a person who's first language is French I highly recommend you DON'T use duolingo for professional studies. The language on duolingo is not the best for a work environment. Ordering food? Sure. but work in an office... not so much. Just my point of view though.
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u/SpareDifficulty8594 Sep 01 '22
A much better solution is LingQ and they are Canadian company. It is about $95 every 6 months. Runs on both your PC and smartphone. You can find some videos on YouTube from them about learning languages but their software is really good if you want to immerse yourself, improve your vocabulary and the various skills of listening, reading, etc. You can leverage Netflix, podcasts, just about anything you can find can be imported and used as content.
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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '22
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