For years, French language instructors in Alberta have wondered about the possibility of coordinating in a better way their students' transition from last year of secondary education to first year at the university level. At the end of a university year, errors were found in the French compositions of 34 randomly chosen students (out of 68), which show persistent errors indicative of a lack of automatic reflexes in the second language. The suggested remedy is giving the student a thorough understanding of French structure, and constant repetition of these structures. This suggestion is based on the following premises: (1) in a large class, oral work must give way to written work; (2) the student must be given individual work to be done outside the classroom; and (3) each lesson must contain a presentation, an exchange between the student and the professor, individual work, and evaluation of this work by the professor. (AM)