CPF French Certification VOLTAIRE Training program

30h of French language training – VOLTAIRE certificate IMPROVE WRITTEN EXPRESSION

OBJECTIVES

• Consolidate the basics of French: Basic rules of spelling, conjugation, agreement, and distinction between homophones to ensure understanding and avoid misunderstandings due to linguistic errors.
• Improve written expression: practice writing information and proofreading to correct spelling, syntax, and vocabulary errors.
• Enrich vocabulary and write convincingly.
• Achieve the ENTERPRISE level of the Voltaire Certificate (Spelling 700/1000, Written expression 7/9).

TRAINING PROGRAM

CONTENTS: PROJET VOLTAIRE online course

1. SPELLING COURSE

After an initial assessment, students are guided towards the online course most suited to their spelling level. The training is then adapted to consider the difficulties and learning pace of each person by linking the following modules.

a. Module LES FONDAMENTAUX

Forty-seven fundamental grammar points are taught. This module is aimed at those who need to consolidate their basic notions. SOME OF THE TOPICS COVERED ARE:

• The gender and number of nouns.
• Qualifying adjectives.
• Determinants.
• Complements of objects.
• Use of the cedilla.
• Adverbs.

b. SUPERIOR Module

In-depth work on 140 rules, grouped into 10 levels of increasing difficulty. Revision of the 10 levels (repetition of the 140 rules) with a review of the last points not mastered. THE TOPICS COVERED ARE:

• Grammar: 60%. Concordance (adjectives, past participles); simple conjugation (present, imperfect, future, conditional, imperative); homophonic confusion (si/s’y, et/est, ça/sa, dans/d’en…).
• Common (or lexical) spelling: 23%. The basics (cedillas, accents); small words (“certe/certes, parmis/parmi, biensûr/bien sûr, mieu/mieux, malgrés/malgré” …); adverbs in “amment” or “emment”; classic traps (nightmare/nightmare, tongue/language, dilemma/dilemma…).
• Semantics (errors of meaning): 10%. Misunderstandings (“à l’instar de, bimestrial” …); homophones (“voie/voix, censé/sense” …).
• Phrase: 5%. Concordance of simple tenses; dangerous elisions (presqu’, puisqu’…); the dangers of “que”.
• Commercial forms: 2%. “Accord de ci-joint; à l’attention/à l’intention; je vous serais gré/je vous saurais gré”.

c. ORTHOTYPOGRAPHY Module

24 rules are taught in 4 levels. The Voltaire Project Orthotypography module allows you to view or review the 24 most used rules of French writing. THE SUBJECTS DEALED WITH ARE:

Should 30% or 30% be written; in a quotation, the period come before or after the closing inverted comma; should it be written “8h30, 8 heures 30, 8 h 30 ou 8 h. 30”; should it be written “n°10, n° 10, N°10 or num 10”?

d. Module EXCELLENCE

In-depth work on 200 grammatical rules grouped into 14 levels of increasing difficulty; 600 lexical forms used in professional life; review of all the rules, with a review of the last points not mastered.

2. EXPRESSION COURSE

Based on an initial evaluation, a precise, nuanced, structured, and elaborated speech is written.

Individual lessons

With the help of a tutor, you work to improve your writing skills and review the rules you have not yet mastered (spelling, grammar, etc.).

VOLTAIRE CERTIFICATE preparation workshops

With an expert teacher, basic rules are analyzed, and the necessary skills are consolidated to aspire to the highest level in the Voltaire Certificate.

• Conjugation (difficult verbs in present tense, imperative, subjunctive, present participle, verbal adjectives in use and spelling, etc.).
• Grammatical spelling (difficult agreement of certain nouns, colored adjectives, certain determiners, the distinction between adjectives and adverbs, etc.).
• Concordance of the past participle (without the auxiliary, with the auxiliary “avoir”, complex cases, pronominal verbs, etc.).

Passing of the “VOLTAIRE CERTIFICATE”

At the end of the course, students take the VoltaireDi Certificate exam (dictation, writing, spelling, vocabulary) to validate their level of written expression. The test will take place in an authorized examination center (LUTECE LANGUE, 7th arrondissement of Paris) or by distance learning. The duration is 3 and a half hours and is done on paper (or digitally under online supervision).

Test 1 – Dictation (5 min.): Dictation of three short sentences with minor spelling difficulties.

Test 2 – Writing (90 min.): Summarize an argumentative text that the examiner reads twice. The problem, the arguments, and the narrator’s position must be expressed in a piece of writing between 205 and 225 words.

Test 3 – Multiple-choice spelling test (55 min.): Multiple-choice spelling test of 120 sentences, 90 of which present common difficulties (mostly in the workplace) and the other 30 higher-level difficulties (more literary). The errors contained in the sentences may be related to grammatical (word agreement), semantic (e.g., “decade” or “décennie”? “censé” or “sense”?), lexical (on the spelling of each word), and syntactic (sentence construction) difficulties. Candidates should identify the areas where there is an error and tick the corresponding boxes in the answer grid. Each sentence may contain 0, 1, 2, or 3 errors.

Test 4 – Vocabulary (30 min.): Single-choice vocabulary. The questionnaire covers 100 professional vocabulary words. For each word, candidates must choose the closest meaning among the four possible meanings and indicate their answer in the grid.

VOLTAIRE CERTIFICATE SCALE

Technical level

Recommended for jobs where simple technical instructions are exchanged.

• Spelling 300/1000: Ability to write simple texts
• Writing skills 3/9: Ability to use simple professional vocabulary and to write technical documents.

Professional level

Recommended for managers, salespeople, engineers, assistants, secretaries, etc.

• Spelling 500/1000: Ability to write complex texts without errors.
• Writing skills 5/9: Ability to use appropriate professional vocabulary and produce reliable written work in a mainly internal context.

Business level

Recommended for management assistants, department managers, lawyers, notaries, etc.

• Spelling 700/1000: Ability to write texts with strategic or legal implications, and to correct collaborators’ texts.
• Written expression 7/9: Ability to use a sophisticated vocabulary to write concise and structured texts with a decisive communicative impact.

Expert level

Recommended for editorial directors, content supervisors, translators, trainers, spelling and writing tutors, etc.

• Spelling 900/1000: Ability to write complex texts of recognized strategic quality (literature, press, advertising, etc.).
• Written expression 9/9: Ability to use stylistic resources and vocabulary to argue and persuade, and to write precise, nuanced, structured, and elaborated professional documents.

TRAINING METHODS

• Online training at www.projet-voltaire.fr.
• An evaluation of what has been learned at the end of each module.
• Technical assistance is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, by phone or e-mail.
• A training consultant to supervise learning on the Projet Voltaire platform.
• Personalized support from a teacher to improve written expression.
• Approval of the Voltaire Certificate (valid for 4 years).

DIDACTIC MATERIAL

Personalized online training course at www.projet-voltaire.fr (exercises and rules, explanatory videos, printable lessons), classroom sessions (theoretical content and practical application), book “Optimiser son score au Certificat Voltaire” (PUF editions).