français · B1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Education and learning
Talk about courses, assessment, skills, and study strategies.
Understand the choice
Education vocabulary changes meaning across systems, so learn the verbs that reveal each institution’s role. A course is followed, an exam is taken, an assignment submitted, a skill acquired, and a diploma earned.
Core rule: Suivre un cours or une formation, passer un examen, rendre un devoir, and acquérir une compétence are standard pairings.
Notice it in context
Cette formation évalue les compétences grâce à un projet final.
This training course assesses skills through a final project.
Formation is the subject; compétences is plural; grâce à presents the positive means.
Je dois rendre mon devoir avant le cours.
I have to submit my assignment before class.
Rendre means submit in an educational setting; cours identifies the class.
Son stage lui a permis d’acquérir de nouvelles compétences.
Her internship enabled her to acquire new skills.
Stage is workplace training; permettre de introduces the learning result.
What to remember
- Passer un examen means take it; réussir un examen means pass it successfully.
- Apprentissage can mean learning generally or a formal apprenticeship.
Common trap: Do not assume collège means college: in France it is lower secondary school.