Benchmark test dialogues

I guess the Benchmark tests aren't all that popular since no one has bothered to mention that the dialogues that are supposed to assist you in answering the multiple choice questions seem to have disappeared. I don't usually need them since I have those dialoques mostly memorized, but it's annoying to get bounced out of a Benchmark test because I can't remember how many times Eric told the doctor he nearly fainted.

Robert

Hi RobertC106, 

Thank you for your feedback on this. I tried to replicate the issue on the French Level 1 Benchmark but I never came across a question that needed context or The Conversation from a lesson; could you please let us know which level Benchmark test you are taking? We can certainly review it. 

Kind Regards

Yes, I figured that would be an issue for anyone trying to replicate it. I do them in all three levels and I think I've experienced the issue in all three. I'd say there's a very good chance of seeing that type of multiple choice question in Level 1 before you get to 100. I can tell you some of the dialogues I've had to guess at and then maybe you can deduce the levels:

He calls the hotel to change his reservation.

He rents the car.

She stops for gas.

He goes to the bakery for several items.

He goes to the doctor's office.

They're planning the birthday party.

I'll pay closer attention to which level I'm doing when it happens, but I suspect it's in all three. It doesn't always register because I usually don't need the audio for recall. It started to happen intermittently maybe 2-3 weeks ago and now the dialogues are never available.

Also, there are intermittent glitches in the other forms of questions, as well. Like, Write It doesn't say the French, but you can just type something and proceed without it. Know It won't reiterate the answer after you say it, which is no big deal, but if/when Hear It malfunctions by not saying the French in the first place, it's locked up, and there's nothing you can do except abandon the test and reload the page. Again, these are relatively rare, and except for having it lock up on Hear It when you're at 95 with no errors yet, it's not really an issue.

Robert

p.s. I do these tests all the time, because it's great to be tested on things at random that you might not have seen in a year. On the one hand, because of the repetition in the questions, it can really help to burn some things in, but it'd also be nice to have more variability in the questions. I don't know how they're implemented or what you'd have to do to introduce a wider variety of questions, but it would be a nice option.

The following questions occurred about one third of the way into the Level 3 version of the Benchmark test w/o providing the assistance of the audio track:

Where did Eric go for the long weekend? (Dans les Pyrénées, bien sur)

Avec qui Eric est-il parti? (Avec son meilleur copain)

How long have Eric and his best friend known each other? (Depuis l'enfance)

How long has it been since Eric and his best friend reunited? (Drat!)

Est-ce qu'ils s'entendent bien? (Ils se complètent)

Robert

Hi RobertC106, 

I appreciate you taking the time to send us the specific phrases where this issue is happening; I have checked with the Language Team and fortunately Rocket French levels 2 and 3 is currently being  reviewed completely, so when the moment comes to check the Benchmark tests, these audio references should be fixed/removed as well. 

I have also reported the issue with the audio not playing (and therefore, having the test reset) to our tech team, so this can be resolved as soon as possible. 

Kind Regards. 

In the case of the rare glitch in the Know It questions, when I try to get the audio to say the correct answer after my response by pressing the button,  a little error message banner appears in the lower right of the screen - something about a ‘missing file’. I haven't seen it since we've been talking about it, but if/when it happens again, I'll tell you exactly what the message says. I don't recall experiencing this outside of the Benchmark tests. This is not the same as the problem that occurs with the Hear It questions that locks things up. There's no indication as to what's going on in that latter case.

Robert

The definition of benchmark is: a standard or point of reference against which things may be compared or assessed. 

The Rocket French benchmarks are honestly more like, “see how far you get before you strike out” games, with a big element of randomness. But they're fun and they provide more interactions with French, which is good. 

They are definitely not to be confused with a true benchmark. Rather, a nice relaxing way to stay engaged with French when one needs a break from studying. The Rocket Certification tests are far more demanding (assuming one doesn't cheat). Once one, or all three, of the levels have been completed, use a random number generator to pick the module and then take the corresponding Certification test. I, personally, couldn't care less how well they correspond to standard certification levels.

There are more interesting ways to test yourself, though. For example, try writing a 300-word essay or dialogue without looking anything up - requiring you to express yourself using only the French that you know. Then, once you see how old a child would have to be in order to match your wits, you can spend the next few hours researching how to properly express all those thoughts that you were unable to put into French words. Great Fun!

Robert

Marie,

While reviewing a Travelogues lesson today, I got the error message that I'd only seen in the occasional Know It question in the Benchmark tests before today. It comes up in response to pressing the tutor audio buttons. The problem was solved in Travelogues by reloading the page, and is solved in the Benchmark test by just going on to the next question. The error message is as follows:

The element has no supported sources.

Robert

Hi, Robert C - 

I will definitely try your suggestion to compose something in French! When I started, it was with Pimsleur online, and they didn't have you write anything at all. It was a real jolt when I switched to Rocket French, but I'm so glad I did. Writing teaches you the bones of the language.

Have a good day!

Hi Robert - With the error issue, can you let me know what lesson/s that occurred in? And if it is a particular phrase?

Jason, if you're referring to the problem that results in the error message, “The element has no supported sources”, I've encountered it quite a few times in the Benchmark tests (almost certainly at all three levels) and most recently in the Know It section somewhere in the first few lessons of Travelogues. I doubt that it's a single phrase, given the distribution, and this is my third time through Travelogues and I've never experienced in Travelogues it before the other day. I guess I could run through the first few lessons of Travelogues again to see if it happens again. I will note the phrase(s) from now on.

Let me review the oddities I've experienced in the Benchmark tests:

Know It: The text is given, you make your recording and it's scored, but the tutor audio does not happen automatically as it should after your successful answer. Pressing the tutor audio button at this point results in the error message. This has only happened once outside of the Benchmark tests. It is of little consequence.

Write It: There is no audio to tell you what to write. I just type random letters and hit Reveal and it's good to go, since then, the answer is presented as text (no sound still), and I can also record myself at this point. Again, little consequence. Never known it to happen outside of the Benchmark tests.

Hear It: There is no tutor audio and you can't proceed. None of the buttons work. When this malfunctions in the Benchmark tests it locks up and you have to reload the page. That's a pain. Never known it to happen outside of the Benchmark tests. I have no way of knowing which phrases are involved here since nothing happens.

Robert

Hi Robert - Ok, we will look into it. My initial guess is that there are some phrases that have been deleted from the course showing up in the Benchmark tests. If you do come across an example phrase please let me know.

A new development. I was doing the Level 1 Benchmark test just looking for instances of the aforementioned errors, when, for the first time, Know It locked up the process. There was no English prompt or record button and when I pressed Reveal the rating buttons were displayed but were all unresponsive. The only solution was to abort. This was the first time that a Know It question has come up without an English prompt and a record button, and effectively locked things up. You might be right about the cause, but the detrimental effect is becoming more pronounced.

Robert

Hi Robert - Yes, same issue I think. This is on the list to be looked at early next week!

Ok. I did the Level 1 to 100 without a hitch after I reported that incident so it does suggest that it has something to do with the luck of the draw. 
Good luck. 
Robert

Hi I am not able to take the benchmark test. When I click on start, it shows me the screen as below

That looks familiar, Vani. I'm assuming you see that screen, and hear nothing, in addition to there being no record button. It's  occasionally happened to me in the middle of the test. The only recourse is to reload the page. There are actually a couple of variations of the Benchmark test hanging up. Sometimes you can continue without answering the question, sometimes you have to reload the page (unfortunately). Hopefully that solves the problem for you.

Robert

Thanks Robert. I just reloaded the page as you have said and I am able to do the test again.

Ok. Always try to hit reveal first to see if it let's you continue. It might be the spelling questions that behave that way. And try not to get too frustrated when you have to reload the page when you're in the middle of taking the test, since you will lose what you've just done. I'd expect it about 5-10% of the time.

Robert

p.s. Just remembered .. the problem with the spelling questions is it doesn't say anything, so just type anything, hit reveal, and then the good button and you can continue.