tips on translating from english to french?

Firstly, I would recommend the student looks at commonly used idioms, as they often pop up in exam translations. They can also be helpful when trying to target the top grades in the speaking exam to show fluency.I would then suggest we review the grammar in a passage that I would have taken from a previous exam or written myself (depending on the level of the student) - we would review the grammar and I would answer any questions the student has on improving grammatical skills. As I have lived in France I can give a different approach when understanding grammar than a textbook could.I believe that a level & GCSE translations try to be as accurate and close to the text as possible. Therefore, knowledge of vast vocabulary is very important. I would suggest looking at the end of every topic in the textbook, because they often have long lists of useful vocabulary. If the student has the means, I would recommend smartphone apps to help learn vocab (such as memrise and quizlet) as they only take 5 minutes each day and are very helpful when remembering vocab. Cultural knowledge can be important (more for a level students) as they can identify references in specific translations. For example, in exams, translations often focus on recent events within France and therefore it is important to recognise them. I would advise watching the news and having specific alerts sent to your phone when something in France occurs.