Revision is most useful when it starts from your own errors, not from a list of everything you could review. A short, honest log tells you what to practise, how much time each gap deserves and when to move on.
This page shows how to build that log and turn it into a two-week plan. It works alongside the study route guide and the French learning guide.
Why does revision from notes often feel stuck?
Notes show what you were taught. They do not show what you can do. A student can reread a page on the passé composé and still write hier, je mange au restaurant in the next task.
Revision becomes useful when you test yourself, find a gap and close it. The log is the tool that connects those three steps.
How do you build an error log?
Use recent work: a marked piece of writing, a listening task, a recording of yourself. For each error, record four things in a table or in the mistake log and retest queue:
| What I wrote or heard wrongly | What was correct | Type | Why it went wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elle a allé au marché. | Elle est allée au marché. | Past tense | I used avoir for a movement verb |
| Les livres sont intéressant. | Les livres sont intéressants. | Agreement | I forgot the plural on the adjective |
| soixante-dix heard as 60 | 70 | Listening, numbers | I stopped at soixante |
| Je ne aime pas le poisson. | Je n’aime pas le poisson. | Sentence foundation | I missed the elision |
The last column matters most. “I forgot” is a real answer, but “I used avoir for a movement verb” tells you what to practise.
How do you turn the log into a plan?
Count the types. Then give your time to the largest group first, unless a smaller group changes meaning. A wrong tense or a missing negative is worth fixing before a missed accent.
Worked example: two weeks from the log above
Suppose the recent work shows two past-tense errors, three agreement errors and one listening error. A possible plan:
- Days 1 to 3, agreement. Write five sentences each day with a feminine noun and a plural noun, then check adjectives and verbs in separate passes. Use the adjective placement and agreement lesson.
- Days 4 to 7, past tense. Choose six movement verbs, such as aller, partir and arriver, and write a sentence with each using être. See choosing a tense that fits a time reference.
- Days 8 to 10, listening. Listen to short numbers on the original listening practice player, writing digits as you hear them.
- Days 11 to 14, retest. Write a fresh paragraph on a new subject and count the same error types again.
The count after two weeks is your evidence. If agreement errors fell from three to one, agreement can move to a light weekly check.
What is a common mistake in revision?
Copying a corrected sentence from a model answer and calling it fixed. The mistake is that you have not used the pattern yourself.
Fix it by writing two new sentences with the same pattern and a different noun or verb. If you can write them without looking, the gap is closing. The same idea works for speaking: say the corrected sentence, then say a new one.
How do you revise speaking and listening on your own?
For speaking, choose a topic, answer three questions aloud and record them with the private speaking recorder. Listen once for sounds, once for verb endings and once for whether each answer includes a reason. The French speaking rehearsal planner helps you plan what to say without writing a script to memorise.
For listening, play a short clip twice. On the first hearing, catch the main idea. On the second, catch one detail only, such as a time or a number.
When might paid individual tuition be worth considering?
If your log shows clear groups and they shrink after a week or two, self-study is working. Keep going.
If the same error returns, or you cannot tell why it happened, a teacher can ask you to explain your choice and hear a pattern you may not notice in your own voice. You can read about online one-to-one French tuition and use the considering tuition guide to decide whether it suits you.