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Senegalese soldiers

"Les tirailleurs sénégalais"
French A2 writing exercise

Learn about these Senegalese soldiers and their role in French History.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "Senegalese/Senegal", "to play a role", "at the time", "still (continuity)", "a colony", "West Africa", "to fight alongside [someone]", "(military) forces", "exemplary", "to forget", "a battle", "in particular", "World War I", "a hero", "to suffer discrimination", "to wait a decade to...", "to receive", "a war pension".

Written by qualified French expert Céline Pickard PGCE, BA
Last updated: 2024-02-07

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), Adjectif, L'Imparfait (Indicatif)

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

During the two world wars, Senegalese soldiers played an important role. At the time, Senegal was still a French colony. These soldiers came from West Africa in order to fight alongside French forces. Their courage was exemplary. Let's not forget two battles in particular: the Battle of Verdun during World War I and the Battle of Bir Hakeim in 1942. Unfortunately, after the war, these heroes suffered discrimination. For example, they had to wait several decades to receive their war pensions.

Thinking...