French

Length of Course : This is the first year of a three year GCSE course

Course description and aims

During the course of the three years, the students will develop the knowledge, understanding and the listening, reading, speaking and writing skills necessary for effective interaction in French. Students will develop knowledge of the culture of French-speaking communities and an understanding of the interdependence of language and culture, thereby encouraging reflection on their own cultural heritage.

The purpose of the Modern Foreign Languages programme is to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. This is done through purposeful and fun activities, which build up language gradually. The emphasis is on real language which will become the useable property of the learner.

Main concepts and topics covered

1. Identity and Culture

Me, my family and friends

· Be able to discuss my relationships with my family and friends

· Be able to discuss friendships and the qualities I look for in a friend

· Know a range of verbs both reflexive and none to describe relationships

· Discuss my attitudes to marriage and having children in the future

2. Technology in everyday life

· The use of social media

· The use of mobile technology

· What are the benefits and drawback of technology usage?

· What are the risks with technology?

3. Free time activities

· Music

· Cinema and television

· Food and eating out

· Sport

4. Customs and festivals in French- speaking countries/communities

· Understanding different key festivals

· Being able to talk about an event I took part in

· Discussing what French festivals you would like to see in the future

· Discussing regional dishes and customs

Content

● Use reflexive verbs accurately

● Use être/avoir accurately

● Use faire/aller accurately

● Possessive adjectives

● Comparatives

● Adverbs of frequency

● Regular verbs in the present tense

● Direct object pronouns

● Prepositions

● Pouvoir / devoir

● Future tense

● Conditional tense

● Opinion phrases and justifications

● Pour + infinitive

● Use the perfect tense accurately

● Imperfect tense

Course outcomes

Listening and Responding

To organise and respond to key ideas from spoken texts in familiar contexts

Reading and Responding

To organise and respond to key ideas from written texts in familiar contexts

Speaking

To interact with others by sharing key points of information in French

Writing

To understand and develop writing skills on a moderate level.

To write texts to present key points of information in French

Communication

To share information and ideas in a small group

Cultures

To understand and compare/contrast own culture to that of French speaking countries.

Types of assessment

● End of unit tests

● Assessments each half term

● End of year exam

Methodology

A variety of teaching strategies and approaches are used to help students remain focused and to make teaching effective and enjoyable e.g.

● Group work

● Pair work

● Individual work

● Games

● Different kinds of listening activities such as selective and detailed listening

● Different kinds of oral work such as conducting surveys, role plays, songs, interviews and presentations

● Different kinds of written work such as dialogues, short letters/essays, fill in the blanks etc.

● Using Information Technology

Text and materials

Text book GCSE French for AQA published by Nelson Thornes from the United Kingdom

CDs Flashcards Worksheets

Information Technology Websites

DVDs

Grading policy

All assessment is criterion referenced and aligned to learning objectives as outlined in the teacher’s projections for the term. Teachers mark work on the basis of mark schemes made in collaboration with colleagues of the same year group.

Formative assessments may be given a mark, a grade or a comment. It values teacher judgment and informs the learner about strengths and areas of development. All summative assessments are graded on a GCSE scale from 9-1.

Additional expectations

For learning a Foreign Language regular revision of vocabulary and grammar is necessary. Additional reading (story books, according to the language level the student has achieved) is strongly recommended, as are the language websites to which the school has a subscription.