Ingénieur 1A

The Tronc Commun course lasts for 7 weeks from late April to mid-June. The objective of this course is to welcome students to the Department of Languages and Cultures and to introduce them to language learning at the Ecole Polytechnique. Classes are focused on oral expression and are designed to reactivate the students’ English after a period of several months during which students are unlikely to have spoken or written in English.

Activities include getting-to-know exercises, discussions, debates, role-plays, student-led activities, oral presentations on themes chosen by students, vocabulary building, oral comprehension and some writing activities. Themes include current affairs, technology, cultural aspects of English-speaking peoples and countries and students’ own areas of interest, such as sport, science, music or art.

A secondary objective is to re-evaluate students’ levels in all four skill areas (speaking, writing, listening and reading) as well as knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and ease of speaking. Students are placed in level groups usually according to their results in the competitive exam, which are not necessarily indicative of their true level. Over the tronc commun, teachers will be able to assess students’ English and ensure that they are accurately placed in time for P1 of the students’ second year. Teachers will also be able to encourage students to work on specific aspects that need improvement.

The Tronc Commun course lasts for 7 weeks from late April to mid-June. The objective of this course is to welcome students to the Department of Languages and Cultures and to introduce them to language learning at the Ecole Polytechnique. Classes are focused on oral expression and are designed to reactivate the students’ English after a period of several months during which students are unlikely to have spoken or written in English.

Activities include getting-to-know exercises, discussions, debates, role-plays, student-led activities, oral presentations on themes chosen by students, vocabulary building, oral comprehension and some writing activities. Themes include current affairs, technology, cultural aspects of English-speaking peoples and countries and students’ own areas of interest, such as sport, science, music or art.

A secondary objective is to re-evaluate students’ levels in all four skill areas (speaking, writing, listening and reading) as well as knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and ease of speaking. Students are placed in level groups usually according to their results in the competitive exam, which are not necessarily indicative of their true level. Over the tronc commun, teachers will be able to assess students’ English and ensure that they are accurately placed in time for P1 of the students’ second year. Teachers will also be able to encourage students to work on specific aspects that need improvement.