Course Information

eduqas a level assessment

Component 1: Speaking (21-23 minutes including 5 minutes preparation) 

30% of qualification 

Task 1 

(a) Presentation of independent research project (2 minutes) 

(b) Discussion on the content of the research project (9-10 minutes) 

Task 2 

Discussion based on a stimulus card relating to one of the themes studied 

(5 minutes preparation time followed by 5-6 minutes discussion) 

Component 2: Listening, Reading and Translation (Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes) 

50% of qualification 

Section A: Listening 

Section B: Reading 

Section C: Translation – from French into English and English into French 

Component 3: Critical and analytical response in writing  (Written examination: 2 hours) 

20% of qualification 

Two essays – one based on the film Intouchables and the second on a short French novel, Le Silence de la Mer.  

Expectations

• Our aim at is to provide a pleasant and friendly environment in which you enjoy working with staff and your classmates, and can develop in terms of personality and academic knowledge. We want you to fulfil your potential and secure the qualifications you require to move on to the next stage of your life, in the world of work or at university. To achieve our aim it is crucial that we all understand what you can expect from us and what we expect from you. 

The department will provide the following for you:

• Clear guidance and instructions about French and the study skills required.

• Constructive and positive feedback on your skills and progress, by means of marked work, conversations and comments, individual feedback for each piece of extended homework and target setting.

• Support and encouragement to grow in confidence and take responsibility for your own work and progress.

• Excellent organisation of your course content and in lessons.

• Good communication and a sympathetic ear at all times.

• Respect and fairness.  

We will do everything we can to help you to fulfil your potential, but we expect the following from you:

• A motivated, committed and positive attitude.

• Completion of all work set – persevering when it’s difficult and telling us of your worries.

• Good organisation outside and inside of class (more tips on this later in the handbook).

• An approximate weekly average of 4 hours of study outside of lessons - this includes homework set by us and independent study too.

• A mature attitude that shows respect to staff, other students, classroom equipment and resources.

• Honesty and integrity.  Plagiarism, cheating and dishonest practices in connection with exams or any work undertaken will not be tolerated.

• Excellent attendance and punctuality in terms of lessons and deadlines.

Support and Extension

 In addition, opportunities to support students where needed are provided eg students are given exemplar responses, transcripts, answers and additional practice is signposted to support or extension exercises offered. Grammar worksheets are often differentiated to match students’ needs.  In terms of more extended pieces, scaffolding is provided and essay plans are at first done in class, or in small groups, then gradually students will work alone.  

Differentiation is also addressed through: Questioning techniques, targeted questioning appropriate to a student’s ability but also offers elements of high challenge and extension for that individual, paired/small group work whereby students are encouraged to work in mixed ability groups or ability groups dependent on the nature of the tasks and the intention.  

Buddying can be considered one of our most valuable resources, where 2nd year students buddy and essentially help to prepare their 1st year counterparts in readiness for the Oral exam, but also act as another point of reference for other French work, especially grammar and vocab support/extension.

Skills Development

Opportunities for students to develop literacy, numeracy, oracy

In MFL one of the cornerstones of teaching and learning is fostering a good command of literacy and oracy.  We know that many students arrive with varying competency in these skills thus we strive from the outset to use initial assessment to identify where there may be a need for literacy support in the target language (TL) and this can flag up English literacy needs too.  Early work in Conversation class can flag up some oracy needs too.  Close liaison between the Conversation Class assistant and the rest of the French team would then lead to the putting in place of any subject specific support and/or referral to Learning Support.

The nature of language learning is such that opportunities taken to develop literacy and oracy skills are frequent in and integral to lessons. We highlight the importance of a wider English vocabulary in its own right, but also who it supports the learning of French and therefore should facilitate a wider TL vocabulary.  We strive to employ high-challenge vocabulary in discussion/questioning, but it is also a key feature of the texts and reading comprehension work the students tackle in class, in homework and in the exam. Previous lesson observations often comment on this.

 Many of the texts and activities students engage with require numeracy skills in that they will require the interpretation of numerical data in the TL, or from the target language to English, or vice versa.  Numeric conventions of the French language and their use and how this can contrast with those in English also provides opportunities for numeracy work.

Subject-specific terminology and skills

From the outset students are exposed to, and required to use, subject-specific terminology, largely grammar terminology, but evidently a huge amount of topic specific vocabulary they are required to assimilate all of this, put use in class, when discussing with peers or staff and are assessed on weekly on topic specific vocabulary tests.  The skills required in language learning such as grammar and vocabulary retention, translation, effective use of a bilingual dictionary, listening comprehension, reading comprehension (including inference), paraphrasing and essay planning and writing up are usually approached in a step-by-step manner using a ‘How to’ guide and are introduced gradually.

Other skills we incorporate into teaching and learning are research, independent thinking, working collaboratively and independently, all of which is encouraged through class activities and homework.