French
KEY STAGE 3 CURRICULUM
All students follow a knowledge based curriculum with engaging topics relevant to students’ interests and the world around them. The curriculum is designed to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to become an effective and successful language learner and to support students in developing an understanding of themselves as part of a global society. We aim to develop strong language skills, the ability to work independently and to communicate effectively in a group. We also foster a love of language learning, combined with a positive attitude towards speakers of other languages. Our curriculum supports transition from Key Stage 2. We also encourage and support speakers of other languages to value those skills and where possible to take a GCSEs in their home languages at in Key Stage 4.
We promote high standards by ensuring that students have a strong understanding of grammar and structure which enables them to understand and communicate successfully and independently. There is an emphasis on using the foreign language as a means of communication within the classroom and developing the skills necessary for effective communication. Vocabulary and grammar are regularly revisited in new contexts so that students are able to embed these in their long term memories. We strongly believe that learning a foreign language also supports students’ literacy skills in English, through the development of their understanding of sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary and communication skills and ensures that students are able to transfer these skills to other subjects. In addition, fortnightly lessons in IT rooms using Languagenut and other on-line platforms allows students to develop their vocabulary, listening and reading skills independently, both in school and at home. Students are assessed regularly throughout the year through a mixture of teacher assessments, classroom-based activities and formal assessments in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Year 7
| Term 1 |
1. Qui suis-je? ( Who am I ) – Students develop a good understanding of French phonetics and begin to be able to understand and communicate ideas about themselves and others in the world. They understand the basic building blocks of French grammar in order to begin to express themselves confidently and independently. In November they undertake an assessment, the results of which will support us in setting students in ability groups from December. |
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| Term 2 |
2a. ‘Léducation autour du monde ( Education around the World) – Students learn about education in other countries, including timetables, subjects, the school day uniform and school rules. They understand more about verb formation and how to express simple opinions and link ideas using conjunctives and adverbs of time. They begin to use resources more independently. 2b. Les Jeux Olympiques ( The Olympic games)– Students learn about the origins and aims of the Olympics, and Olympic sports. They become more familiar with present tense verb formation, the use of prepositions and time phrases and develop their ability to extend sentences and express opinions. |
| Term 3 |
3a Les Jeux Olympiques – Students consider the lives of athletes and plan a visit to the Olympic games. They learn how to construct longer paragraphs fluently and to use the near future tense. 3b. Une visite en France ( A visit to France ) – Students learn some of the transactional language which will support the day trip to Boulogne. They learn how to buy food, drink and other items. |
Year 8
| Term 1 |
1a. Une visite dans l’espace ( A visit to space )– Students imagine that they have met an alien on Earth. They learn how to describe him/her, ask questions for an interview and plan a visit to his/her planet. They develop their ability to decode aural and written texts and consolidate their use of the near future. 1b. Paris je t’adore (Paris I love you) – students imagine they have been on a visit to Paris. They learn about the city and begin to learn how to formulate and use the perfect tense, including irregular verbs, to describe what they have done, their opinions and travel. |
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| Term 2 and 3 |
2a. Paris je t’adore (Paris I love you) 2b,3a and 3b. La vie quotidienne (daily life) – In the context of leisure activities such as TV, the cinema, reading and family relationships, students reinforce their knowledge of all types of present tenses verbs, personal pronouns and express detailed opinion using wider range of adjectives, qualifiers and opinion openers. They learn to switch between and recognise different tenses. |
Year 9
| Term 1 |
Term 1 a Ma vie d’adolescent Students explore the adolescent world, looking at the use of social media and technology, personality, arranging and describing outings and musical tastes. They extend their ability to develop their answers and to change tenses. Term 1 b Bien dans ma peau This unit considers different aspects of a healthy lifestyle including the role of sport, fitness, healthy eating and routines. Students learn how to use or understand the simple future and begin to understand and/or use some more complex structures such as depuis and the perfect infinitive. |
| Term 2 |
Term 2a Bien dans ma peau Term 2b De la naissance à la mort In this unit students consider different aspects of their life from birth to death. These include what they were like when they were little, family relationships, household chores, future plans for work and life and using languages in the future. There is a focus on the future and imperfect tenses, reflexive verbs and negatives. |
| Term 3 |
Term 3 De la naissance à la mort Following their Year 9 examinations students follow a short introductory module on environmental issues focussing on what they can do to help the environment. In addition, we aim to revisit any language or structures identified through student performance in the examination. |
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
EDEXCEL GCSE FRENCH
EBACC SUBJECT
COURSE CONTACT: MRS A COOPER– LEARNING MANAGER
Exam Board Website: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/french-2016.html
Course Content
GCSE French continues to build on what you have learned at KS3. You will continue to develop your listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation skills so that you can communicate more fluently and effectively. You will develop your ability to speak spontaneously, understand authentic texts including literary texts, translated into French and English and apply new language and structures independently.
The following topics are studied:
- Identity and culture.
- The local area, holiday and travel.
- School
- Future aspirations, study, and work.
- International and global issues and events.
Assessment Details
Examinations can be taken at Higher or Foundation level. You must take the same level in all the papers.
There are 4 papers:
- Listening,
- Reading,
- Speaking
- Writing.
Each paper is worth 25% of the total grade.
Why Study This Course?
Developing your communication skills in both French and English, becoming an independent learner and learning about other cultures. Linguists are highly valued in almost every career as every company requires articulate employees with good communication skills. In addition, most companies work with organisations abroad and/or speakers of other languages in this country. Languages are particularly useful in Business, Management, Law, Marketing, Administration, Medical careers, and Journalism. Britain has a national shortage of employees at all levels with language skills.
Please note: Universities are increasingly insisting on a GCSE in a language as an entry requirement. Languages are compulsory in primary schools and, therefore, an essential skill for anyone considering such a career. You must study French at GCSE if you want to study it at ‘A’ Level