Fashion, food, hiccups and film stars were just some of the topics featured in yesterday's Junior Certificate French papers. Students at ordinary level who learn "survival French" at school should have been happy with yesterday's paper, according to one teacher.

With enough French to survive in France, they should be able to read newspapers, TV advertisements, notice-boards, timetables and order a meal or book a room.

Both higher- and ordinary-level students should have been happy with both the aural section and the rest of the paper, according to Ms Margaret Le Lu, a French teacher at Old Bawn Community School in Dublin and an ASTI subject representative. And reaction to the Junior Certificate French exams was also good at the Patrician Academy in Mallow, Co Cork, according to Ms Catherine Fitzpatrick, a French teacher and ASTI subject representative.

Students were "very positive" about the higher-level paper, said Ms Fitzpatrick. There was a good choice in the texts. "Some of these texts were challenging but they were fair and very accessible." The students were also pleased with the written section. "They would have been well prepared for this. And they were happy with the aural," she added. The ordinary level did not pose any problems either. Students had no great difficulty with the paper or the aural. It was all "very accessible" and fair. Ms Le Lu said that a question about St Valentine's Day on the higher-level paper was "searching enough". There were one or two testing and difficult parts in other questions but overall the paper was as expected. She welcomed the little two-word glossary on the question about Annette Roux and her successful company.

As for the aural section, she said many higher-level students complained of not having enough time to write the answer to one of the questions. She said it would be helpful if the Department could flag each question, because students often don't realise that the tape has moved on to the next part and get lost "and they often don't know where they are". Some of the questions in this section were "a bit difficult for ordinary level", Ms Le Lu said. The rest of the ordinary level was fine. There were questions about touch-dial telephones, parts of the body, menus, newspapers and fine foods. The print in one question was faint and very small, according to Ms Le Lu and "this kind of thing can often hold them back", she said.