L'université de la Sorbonne

"Sorbonne University"
French C1 dictation exercise

Learn about the most famous French university.

This dictation uses Le Présent historique, i.e. the present tense to describe historical stories to evoke a sense of immediacy.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "un chapelain", "nécessiteux", "un confesseur", "s'imposer", "embelli/e", "éminent/e", "un mécène", "un Sorbonnard (Sorbonne student)", "un tombeau", "tumultueux", "l'avènement", "marquer un tournant décisif", "faire de [quelque chose] le siège de", "un rayonnement", "la renommée", "des alumni".

I'll play you French speech in sections for you to transcribe

  • Start by listening to the whole piece then hit start
  • Play each section and write down what you hear
  • I'll show you correct answers after each for you to mark yourself
Start the exercise
How the test works
Getting that for you now...