Diagnostic-Based Skill Tracking and Spaced Review Planning

Bonjour. We now turn the diagnostic into a personal study system rather than treating it as a one-time test. The goal is not to label you permanently as “good” or “weak” at French. It is to establish measurable starting evidence, identify the few patterns that deserve immediate attention, and schedule reviews before those patterns fade.

Your spoken and written baseline samples are the most valuable evidence for this step. I do not yet have your actual diagnostic answers or writing profile in this conversation, so I will not invent results or assign you an unofficial level. We will set up the dashboard and review mechanism now; once you send your results, I will complete the “current level” and error-log entries precisely.

هدف اليوم: إنشاء لوحة متابعة شخصية، سجلّ أخطاء متكرر، وخطة مراجعة موزعة على ستة أيام. سنستخدم نتائجك الحقيقية، لا التخمين.

1. The target: French proficiency and TCF Canada performance are related, but different

At this stage, your dashboard will record learning evidence: what you can understand and produce without help. Much later, it will also record TCF Canada mock results. A beginner diagnostic cannot be converted honestly into an NCLC score.

For Canadian immigration, however, we should keep the final numerical target visible from day one. Canada.ca lists TCF Canada as an approved French test and provides the conversion table used for immigration programs.

For the NCLC 7 target, the currently supplied official conversion table gives:

We will aim for a safety margin in later mock exams, generally consistent performance around the published NCLC 8 range rather than one isolated result at the NCLC 7 minimum. This is a preparation rule, not an official IRCC rule.

Important: immigration and exam policies can change. Before booking a test or submitting an immigration profile, we will recheck the official Canada.ca and France Éducation international information.

2. Your baseline skill dashboard

Here is your Dashboard v0.1. “Not yet measured” means that I do not have the corresponding result in this chat; it does not mean that you cannot do it.

How we will interpret the dashboard

For the A0–A1 phase, we will use observable evidence, not broad labels alone:

• Listening: number correct, exact sound confusions, whether the issue is vocabulary or sound perception.
• Reading: details found correctly and whether you relied on English cognates, word guessing, or direct recognition.
• Speaking: amount produced independently, not accent perfection.
• Writing: how much meaning you communicate before we formally teach the structure.
• Pronunciation: intelligibility and contrast awareness, especially sounds that Arabic and English do not distinguish in the same way as French.

A key rule: an ability can be uneven. For example, someone may recognize a French word in writing but not understand it when spoken; that is a normal early listening gap, not a contradiction.

3. The recurring-error log: evidence, correction, review

An error log is not a list of everything that went wrong. It is a compact system for patterns that occur repeatedly or prevent communication.

Each entry must contain:

Priority rules for your course

Initial watchlist for an Arabic-speaking learner

This is a watchlist, not an error log yet. I will only turn an item into a personal error once your diagnostic shows it.

When you send the results, I will add only the demonstrated patterns, with examples from your own French.

4. Why the reviews are spaced and retrieval-based

Reading a correction repeatedly can feel productive, but the crucial skill is being able to produce or recognize it without looking. This is called retrieval practice. Spacing means returning to the same material after a delay instead of concentrating all review in one session.

For French, retrieval must be more than French-to-English word matching. We will use several forms:

1. Meaning recall: “How do I say ‘I live in…’?”
2. Form recall: “Choose the correct article or verb form without notes.”
3. Sound recognition: “Did you hear tu or tout?”
4. Production transfer: Use a corrected structure in a new sentence about your own life.
5. Timed use: Retrieve the structure under mild time pressure, as future TCF tasks require.

5. Your six-day diagnostic-based review schedule

This is the default schedule for the first week after we receive your diagnostic. It is deliberately varied: language progress needs input, retrieval, and production, not six identical grammar sessions.

Review intervals for every important item

A new word, sound, or correction will usually return:

• the same day: understand and imitate it;
• the next day: retrieve it without notes;
• three to four days later: use it in a different sentence;
• one week later: retrieve it in a mixed review;
• one month later: test whether it has become durable.

If you miss a day, do not restart the whole schedule. Resume at the next available session and record the interruption. Consistency matters more than a perfect streak.

6. What I need to finalize your personal version

Please reply with the information below. Do not correct or polish your original French first. If you have already completed other parts of the diagnostic, paste your raw answers or results. If you have not, write “not completed” beside that item.

A. Writing baseline
Time used: ___ minutes
Dictionary / translator / AI / notes used: no / yes

My French profile:
[Paste the exact 6–8 sentences, or your best attempt.]

B. Speaking baseline
Duration: ___ seconds
What I said (approximate transcript, if possible):
[Paste it here.]
Did I use notes / translation? no / yes

C. Reading diagnostic
Answers or score:
[Paste results.]

D. Listening and sound diagnostic
Answers or score:
[Paste results.]
Which contrasts felt difficult, if any: U/OU / E-É-È / nasal vowels / final consonants / other

E. Your study reality
Study time available on most days: 90 min / 2 h / 3 h / other
Preferred study time: morning / afternoon / evening
One likely obstacle this week: __________

After you send this, I will return:

1. your completed baseline dashboard;
2. an initial, evidence-based informal A0/A1 estimate by skill;
3. your first personal error-log entries, using your actual examples;
4. a six-day schedule with exact review items and time allocations; and
5. the first A0 sound-and-spelling lesson, beginning with the French alphabet, names, and spelling.