King Edward VI Handsworth School

As the language of our nearest European neighbour, French has always been a popular subject of study, and is all the more so now, as the European Community increasingly presents opportunities to young people with a good degree of competence. A knowledge of French will be of benefit, not only in terms of increased enjoyment of holidays and travel, but also and more significantly, in enhanced career prospects in industry, commerce and many professions.

The aim of the course is to develop the four skills of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. The materials used are lively and up-to-date, and enable pupils to gain a knowledge of the French way of life while acquiring their language skills. It is expected that by the end of the course, girls should be able to understand and to make themselves understood in a variety of situations in France or in dealing with a French-speaking visitor to this country.

Girls start to do controlled assessments in Speaking and Writing in Year 10 and these continue into Year 11. They are examined in Listening and Reading in Year 11. We expect our girls to aim for the highest grades in the whole examination.

KS3 French

Aims

To enable pupils to become increasingly familiar with the sounds, written form and grammar of a modern foreign language.
To enable pupils to use their knowledge with growing confidence and competence to understand what they hear and read, and to express themselves in speech and writing.
To enable pupils to develop language skills and language-learning skills, including applying their knowledge of grammar and structures, so that they become increasingly independent learners and users of French.
To enable pupils to use French as the principal means of communication in the classroom, and beyond it, where opportunities exist.
To increase pupils’ cultural awareness by learning about French-speaking countries and their peoples and by working with materials from other sources.
To give a sound basis for further study at Key Stage 4 and beyond.

Subject Content

A girl learns one modern foreign language in Year 7, either French or German, depending on which form she is in. She begins her second modern foreign language in Year 8.

Year 7 First Foreign Language / Year 8 Second Foreign Language

If French is your daughter’s first language, in Year 7, using the textbook Tricolore Total 1, she will cover, among others, the topics of home, family, school, sports, hobbies, town and food. The Present Tense of –er verbs and of some irregular verbs, reflexive verbs, the simple future and agreement of adjectives, will be introduced.

If French is your daughter’s second language, she will cover the above material in Year 8.

Year 8 First Foreign Language / Year 9 Second Foreign Language

The textbook used will be Tricolore Total 2. Grammar covered will include the present tense of ir and re verbs, the future tense and the past tense. Topics studied will include transport, town, food, daily routine, a visit, the body and illness.

Year 9 First Foreign Language

The textbook used will be Métro 3. Topics covered will include life in town and country, occupations, social events, clothes. Grammar taught will include the immediate Future, the Imperfect Tense and indirect object pronouns.

Use of ICT

Some class time is spent in the multi-media Language Centre and pupils have access to the Centre at times outside lessons. Pupils are encouraged to word-process some of their work. When facilities permit, the Internet will be used as a learning resource. One classroom has an interactive whiteboard and the other has a projector so we can use software packages, such as Boardworks, Métro and Linguascope.

Homework

Homework is set according to the provisions of the homework timetable. Years 7, 8 & 9 have four homeworks per fortnight (one after each lesson). Homework tasks may include: learning, e.g. vocabulary, spellings, rules and exceptions; written work based on an example, to demonstrate understanding of a particular structure; revising, e.g. work from a previous unit to be applied in a new unit; preparing for the next lesson, e.g. part of a dialogue, a brief presentation; continuing a piece of classwork, e.g. a reading text or a piece of extended writing; making use of ICT. There is a considerable emphasis on learning work.

How parents can help

You can help with homework by checking that homework is entered in the ROA diary and ensuring that homework is done; by checking that written work is done carefully and neatly; by testing your daughter on vocabulary learning; by looking at the teacher’s comments and giving encouragement. In Key Stage 3, a mark for vocabulary tests below 75% would be regarded as cause for concern, and a mark below 50% indicates a problem. In (blue) exercise books, your daughter should be responding to her teacher’s comments by doing corrections and setting targets as outlined on the guidance sheet at the front of the exercise book. As oral work is an important part of lessons, please encourage your daughter to participate actively. Access to a simple French/English dictionary would be an advantage. Pupils who receive regular support and encouragement from their parents, according to the advice above, tend to have a more positive and successful learning experience.

AS French

AQA – course outline for teachers and students

There are 4 broad topics broken down into 3 sub-topics each:

Media: TV, advertising, communication technology

Popular culture: cinema, music, fashion

Healthy living: sport, health and well-being, holidays

Family/relationships: relationships with parents, friendships, marriage/partnerships

There are 2 exams both examined in June:

Unit 1: Listening, reading and writing – 1hr30

Unit 2: Speaking (response to a stimulus card and general conversation on the 4 main topics) – 20 mins with an external examiner.

The work that we do during the year is designed to prepare students fully. Full participation in lessons is expected. Homework should be completed according to the timetable, with flexibility from both teachers and students. Deadlines should be set usually at least one week in advance. Students are expected to meet deadlines or speak to a teacher in advance of the deadline if it cannot be met. Failure to meet these deadlines may result in work not being assessed at all by the teacher. All students are expected to attend an additional speaking practice lesson with the assistante.

Learning is a big part of success. Learning is best done at the end of each lesson in manageable amounts or weekly. Either way, it must be done as the course progresses and not left to the end of the year, if progress is to be made in the four skills. Students are expected to develop this maturity under guidance but students who struggle may need to be given one-to-one guidance or referred to SJM.

Support and Gifted and Talented: most pupils embarking on the A level course are gifted and talented as A* at GCSE is requested. Those with an A grade are monitored closely and given extra grammar work if necessary. The early part of the course is designed to bridge the gap between GCSE and A level. The teacher notes provide suggestions for differentiation. Pupils complete self-evaluation forms and this along with regular assessment and reporting enables pupils and teachers to identify and act upon problems areas.

A2 French

AQA – course outline for teachers and students

There are 4 broad topics broken down into 3 sub-topics each:

Environment: pollution, energy, protecting the planet

The Multi-cultural society: immigration, integration, racism

Contemporary social issues: wealth and poverty, law and order, impact of scientific and technological advances

Cultural topic: (2 topics must be studied)

A French-speaking region/community
A period of 20^th century history from a French- speaking country/ community
The work of an author from a French - speaking region/community
The work of a dramatist or poet from a French - speaking region/community
The work of a director, architect, musician or painter from a French - speaking region/community

The principal resource will be the Nelson Thornes textbook which follows the AQA SoW . Other resources will include the online resources which match the textbook, worksheets on skills and grammar and authentic material/ newspapers/ and news’ programmes from the internet for listening and reading. There will be a great deal of supplementary material from the internet, textbooks and other teacher resources for the cultural topic. An element of independent student research will be required if the student is to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the 2 cultural topics- please see p7 of the specification for in-depth requirements

There are 2 exams both examined in June:

Unit 3: Listening, reading and writing - 2hr 30

Listening: 6 minutes of material requiring short answers in French or non-verbal answers – 30 mins
Reading and writing: 2-4 items requiring short answers in French or non-verbal answers, one transfer of meaning task into French and one transfer of meaning task into English- 1 hr
Writing: a 1hr essay (min 250 words) on a cultural topic from a choice of 2 questions per topic

Unit 4: Speaking: (15 mins)

Discussion of a stimulus card- 5 mins
10-min conversation on the 2 cultural topics studied – please see p14 for in-depth assessment criteria

Support and Gifted and Talented: most pupils embarking on the A2 level course will continue to be gifted and talented with A and B at AS level. Those with a C grade will need to be monitored closely and given extra work if necessary. The teacher notes provide suggestions for differentiation. Pupils complete self-evaluation forms and this along with regular assessment and reporting enables pupils and teachers to identify and act upon problems areas.