Why do we learn Modern Foreign Languages?
The French language is spoken on all five continents by 300 million people; learning French gives you access to more of the world! France is our nearest neighbour, the 5th biggest economy in the world, and the most visited country in the world.
Studying French at GCSE gives you an important life-skill and an enriching academic experience, alongside bringing you new horizons in travel, culture, and employment.
Where could French take me in the future?
Studying French develops transferable skills through improving communication, public speaking, and intercultural understanding. At university, many students with GCSE French are able to study for a year abroad as part of their degree.
Career-wise, languages are critical for translating and interpreting, but are also an enormous asset to careers as diverse as finance, law, journalism, and medicine.
Head of Department
Razeea Hajat
Assessment Details
Pupils will be assessed in their communication and understanding of French across four skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening. They will also be assessed on their knowledge of vocabulary, grammatical structures and their translation skills.
At GCSE, French is assessed at Higher and Foundation tier with three written exams (writing, reading and listening) and a short speaking exam. Each exam is equally weighted.
Year 7 - Modern Foreign Languages
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Qui est dans ta famille? Who is in your family? |
Comment suis-je? What am I like? |
| Introduce yourself, introduce other people, and understand introductions from others. Explain who is in your family and know the French for the family nouns (mum, dad, brother etc). Describe the personality of yourself and family members. |
Construct comparisons in French and use them to compare different people’s personalities. Describe the physical appearance of yourself and family members. Encounter the subjunctive mood and use it to describe contrasts within people’s personalities. |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Que fais-tu au collège? What do you do at school? | Que aimes-tu faire pendant ton temps libre? What do you like to do during your free time? |
| Explain which subjects you study at school and give justified opinions on those subjects and their teachers. Contrast your experience of primary school and secondary school using the imperfect tense. Develop opinions by including justifications and opinions using preceding direct object. |
Explain which sports you play and why, with reference to justified opinions and personality traits. Explain how often you play different sports, in which season you play different sports, and which sports you used to play when you were younger. |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Où habites-tu? Where do you live? | Comment construit-on les verbes au présent? How do you build present tense verbs? |
| Explain where you and others live, giving information on type of building, landscape/settlement types, the locations of nearby cities and the points of the compass. Know the major cities in France. Give justified opinions on places, including explaining what attractions they have and what one can do there. |
Understand what infinitive verbs are in English and in French. |
Year 8 - Modern Foreign Languages
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Qu’est-ce que tu regardes normalement? What do you normally watch? | Que peut-on faire pendant une visite à Paris? What can you do on a trip to Paris? |
| Explain opinions on different genres of film and television. Use the future tense to explain viewing plans. Conjugate the present tense to explain the viewing habits of others. |
Know how to construct the perfect tense. Know the main tourist attractions in Paris. Understand and produce narratives about visits to Paris. Construct comparisons between past and future trips. |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Comment est la culture des jeunes Français? What is the culture of young French people? | Que mangent-ils en France? What do they eat in France? |
| Express opinions on different musical genres and artists. Understand how to describe clothes and outfits. Use past, present and future tense opinions. |
Understand cultural connotations of French food and drink. Describe what people eat for different meals. Use transactional language to order food at restaurants. Compare past, present and future eating habits. |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Qu’est-ce que c’est la Francophonie? What is the Francophonie? | Quels sont les évènements principaux de l’histoire française? What are the central events of French history? |
| Understand where French is spoken around the world and what those communities and cultures look like. Explain the different daily routines of French speakers around the world. Give opinions on Francophone countries and explain if you would like to visit them and why. |
Understand the core protagonists of the French Revolution, its motivations, key events and its subsequent impact on French culture. |
Year 9 - Modern Foreign Languages
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Est-ce que je mène une vie saine? Do I lead a healthy life? | Pourquoi sont les vacances importantes? Why are holidays important? |
| Explain what is necessary for a healthy lifestyle using “il faut”. Explain duration of activities for using “depuis”. Conjugate the simple future tense (I will...) and explain their plans for staying healthy in adult life. |
Use 6 tenses to explain holiday plans – present, perfect, imperfect, future (near and simple) and conditional. Describe destination, activity and accommodation options and their opinions of them. Use the pronoun “y” (there) to replace locations. |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Comment fête-t-on en France? How does France celebrate? | Quel effet a la technologie sur nos vies? What affect does technology have on our lives? |
| Know the major festivals in French culture and how they are celebrated as well as the associated food, customs and traditions. Understand how these traditions vary across the French-speaking world. Describe narratives about own experience of festivals. |
Explain and demonstrate the changing use of technology in our daily lives using 6 tenses. Argue and evidence the positives and negatives of social media in society. Be able to debate the wider views of technology’s impact on society. |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Comment est le système scolaire en France? What is the school system in France? | Quel est mon métier de rêves? What is my dream job? |
| Understand the structure of the French education system and the key differences between the UK system. Be able to debate for and against the use of school uniform in schools. Use modal verbs to explain rules in French and UK schools. |
Articulate different career options and the associated reasons that they may be of interest, as well as the necessary qualifications and experience for success within them. |
Year 10 - Modern Foreign Languages
Pupils leave GCSE French able to confidently communicate and fluently express themselves. As well as mastering linguistic communication, you will study the French-speaking world – including its film, music, literature, and cultural differences.
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Qui suis-je? Who am I? | Le temps des loisirs. Leisure time |
| Explain family relationships using reflexive verbs. Discuss friends and what makes a good friend. Use past, present and future tenses to describe time with friends and family. |
Discuss your hobbies – including sports, online life, reading, films and TV. Use depuis with the present tense. Contrast current hobbies using the imperfect tense. |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Jours ordinaires, jours de fête. Ordinary days, festival days. | De la ville à la campagne.From city to countryside. |
| Discuss your daily life using pouvoir and devoir. Discuss food using the pronoun en. Describe celebrations and festivals, using venir de. |
Describe where you live, using the pronoun y. Discuss your local area and what there is to see and do. Describe weather and local communities. |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Les vacances.The holidays. | Au collège. At school. |
| Describe what you do on holiday (past, present, future). Book and review hotels and restaurants. Discuss travelling using avant de. Describe holiday disasters using the pluperfect tense. |
Discuss your school and compare with French-speaking schools. |
Year 11
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
|
Protéger l’environment |
Les grands événements Big event |
|
Discussing environmental problems that are facing the planet |
Discussing events |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
|
Revision Focus |
Revision Focus |
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Strong focus on speaking exams – the exam rubric, assessment criteria and strategies to be successful |
Revision tailored to specific outcomes in Mock 2 & to individual pupil needs |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Revision Focus | |
|
Revision tailored to specific outcomes in Mock 2 & to individual pupil needs |
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