Curriculum – French

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Curriculum – French

French

The Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

MFL at Southend High School for Girls ignites a lifelong love of learning. In MFL we fully cover the range of the National Curriculum and the GCSE and A level specifications. It instils the value of languages as an academic subject and equips students with the emotional resilience and confidence to communicate with spontaneity and increasing levels of grammatical accuracy in a variety of different contexts, using a rich vocabulary. Students begin by giving and understanding information on a personal level and develop the ability to discuss wider international issues, abstract concepts and literature. Our students take opportunities to widen their horizons intellectually, culturally and geographically, liberating themselves from the dangers of insularity. MFL students reflect on and analyse their work. They are not afraid to take responsibility for their learning but set themselves ambitious targets to help them achieve their full potential. They develop the skills required to express themselves and understand both the spoken and the written word to a range of audiences with the aim of being able to access a diversity of authentic literature, film and music. Our ambition is that our students will view themselves as global citizens eager to embrace opportunities and experiences in the world of work and beyond wherever they may be found.

What does it feel like to be a student in the French Department?

As a student of French at Southend High School for Girls you are beginning an exciting journey into a world of discovery, going far beyond simply learning a new language but a new way of looking at the world. You will begin by changing the way that you think about language and how and why we communicate with each other. You will make steady progress in becoming progressively more fluent and confident in the way that you express yourself in both speech and writing and broaden your understanding of written and spoken material including eventually literature, music, poetry and cinema. You will be challenged to monitor your own progress, to look for ways that you can improve and encouraged to reach for the best outcomes – there are no dead ends on a language journey and some of our past students have followed the path to studying French at Universities including Cambridge. Outside the classroom you are encouraged to take part in competitions both within and outside school in previous years students have performed among the very best in the world. We have offered trips to France in Year 8 and in Year 12 to allow students to immerse themselves in the culture of both small-town France and also the unique experience that is Paris.

On your journey through Key Stage 3 you will grow in confidence in your abilities to learn and use a range of vocabulary to communicate ideas about yourself, your school life and your hobbies in a range of tenses. It may not feel that you are making the same progress as you are in other subjects, but you are having to think about both your ideas and learn the language that you need to communicate them – twice as much work. We will also look at how French is a global language, giving information about all the diverse communities where French is spoken and how they celebrate important events. At Key Stage 4 you will prepare for your GCSE and build on the language of KS3 while adding the topics of charity work and environmental issues. For those students who progress to A level you will enter the most exciting phase yet and really start to examine French literature and film, look at French heritage and how life in France and the French speaking world has changed in society and in politics in areas such as technology, family life and volunteering as well as looking at how disadvantage, criminality and racism are addressed.

Your journey through French may begin with a single word – Bonjour – but will lead you into a lifetime of new and exciting experiences.

Please click on the button below to download the assessment policy for French.

Download Department Assessment Policy

Journey

French Curriculum

Key Stage 3 (Years 7 - 9)

At Southend High School for Girls we teach a curriculum that is ambitious and takes students on a learning journey beyond the National Curriculum for French. The SHSG French curriculum is what we believe will expose and challenge students to a cultural capital in French that is the best that has been thought and said in this subject.

The French curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) knowledge, learning by heart, subject terminology, cultural capital
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) debate, question, challenge, analyse, evaluate
  • Rhetoric (Communication) essays, speeches, performances, presentations

Year 7 – 9

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Year 6 French ready to study in Year 7 if applicable

N/A

The topics below have been chosen as they reflect the ambitions of the National Curriculum, and as a Grammar school, also challenge students beyond the National Curriculum. They have been carefully sequenced in this order to build a student’s learning journey to achieve the aims of our French intent. Along the way students are assessed and topics will be revisited in assessments to keep each stage of this learning journey alive.

Year 7

Term 1

Topic 1

Me, my family and my friends

  • Introductions: Name, age, where live, nationality, birthday how are you
  • Class instructions
  • Family members
  • Pets
  • Descriptions of pets
  • Description of family members/ famous people

Assessment

  • Vocabulary learning assessments
  • Reading and listening assessments – peer assessed.
  • Speaking assessment in class – reading aloud

Term 2

Topic 2

School life 

  • School subjects 
  • Opinions about school subjects 
  • School equipment and rules 
  • The school day  
  • Times 
  • Meals 
  •  The school building 

Assessment 

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Listening and reading tasks – marked in class 
  • Translation into French marked by teacher 
  • Speaking pair work in class monitored by the teacher 

Term 3

Topic 3

Free time and hobbies 

  • Sports 
  • Activities 
  • Weather  
  • Opinions  
  • What other people do 
  • Mobile and computer technology 
  • Television 

Assessment 

  • End of Year examination – Listening, Reading, Writing and translation 
  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Speaking assessment checked by teacher 

Year 8

Term 1

Topic 1  

My local area and my house 

  • Places in town 
  • Opinions  
  • Comparisons of towns/villages 
  • Directions 
  • What can be done in a town 
  • What people want to do in town 
  • Places to go to 
  • Narration of a past visit to a town  

Assessment 

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Assessment Reading and grammar (Peer assessed) translation into French (teacher assessed) 

Term 2

Topic 2

Festivals and celebrations

  • Numbers and dates 
  • Common festivals in France 
  • Food and drink 
  • Francophone world festivals 
  • Opinions and justifications 
  • Daily routine on festivals 
  • A recent festival 

Assessment 

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Writing task in class about a recent festival 
  • Listening tasks to discriminate between past and present

Term 3

Topic 3

Holidays

  • Holiday locations 
  • Holiday places to stay  
  • Transport 
  • Holiday activities  
  • Weather 
  • Writing in 3 tenses 
  • Future holiday planning 

Assessment 

  • End of year examination: listening, reading, writing and translation 
  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Photo card GCSE style speaking assessment 

Year 9

Term 1

Topic 1

My relationships and my free time

  • Give information about a friend 
  • Give information about relationships  
  • Activities done with friends/ family 
  • Types of music  and opinions 
  • Description of clothing and personal style 
  • Daily routine 
  • All in a range of tenses 

Assessment 

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Listening assessment – peer assessed 
  • Dictation passage – peer assessed but monitored by teacher 
  • Writing Passage – 90 words in class marked by Teacher under GCSE mark scheme 

Term 2

Topic 2

My healthy lifestyle

  • Exercise activities 
  • Food and drink  
  • Reasons for eating healthily 
  • Unhealthy behaviours (smoking/drinking/drugs) 
  • What you used to be like when you were younger 
  • Future advice for diet and exercise  

Assessment 

  • Listening and reading assessment – peer assessed. 
  • Translation into French – teacher assessed 
  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 

Term 3

Topic 3

My future plans

  • Education at the moment including opinions and lessons for options 
  • Giving information about the school 
  • School rules including uniform 
  • Comparing with French schools 
  • Primary school with imperfect tense and comparatives 
  • Future plans for education 
  • Future plans for jobs  

Assessment 

  • End of Year examination in Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation 
  • Speaking – teacher assessed Photo card 

Achieving mastery in French – knowing and remembering even more than what is expected in a grammar school Year 7 curriculum

Our assessment practice at SHSG reflects on how successful students have been in knowing, remembering and doing more through the above topics. They are either emerging, developing or proficient in this journey throughout lower school.

To go beyond being proficient in what is expected of a French student in lower school and achieve mastery in French, students should read widely, engage in watching Ted Talks and recommended research, and learn key language and subject specific terminology. Strands from EDPM

Recommended wider cultural capital in French for Lower School (Years 7 – 9)

  • Mary Glasgow Language magazines
  • Watching French TV shows and films eg Netflix
  • Listening to French music
  • Being virtual tourists – visiting online museums
  • Day trip to St Omer

Useful websites, TED Talks and research for Lower School (Years 7 – 9)

  • Seneca
  • Languages Online
  • Lawless French – offers a range of language interest and some excellent cultural information.
  • Un jour une actu
  • Conjuguemos
  • Quizlet/ Memrise
  • Vocab express
  • This is language (Year 9)
  • Language competitions.

French-specific language to master in Lower School (Years 7 – 9)

  • MFL glossary
  • Keys concepts of skills: listening, reading, writing, speaking, translation

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 - 11)

At Southend High School for Girls we teach a curriculum that is ambitious and takes students on a learning journey beyond the GCSE syllabus for French. The SHSG French curriculum is what we believe will expose and challenge students to a cultural capital in French that is the best that has been thought and said in this subject.

The French curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) knowledge, learning by heart, subject terminology, cultural capital
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) debate, question, challenge, analyse, evaluate
  • Rhetoric (Communication) essays, speeches, performances, presentations

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Year7- 9 French to study GCSE successfully :
Regular and Irregular verbs in three time frames (Present, Past, Future), giving opinions with justification, using connecting words and conjunctions to expand simple ideas.  Core vocabulary from KS3 about Family, Free time, School, Town and region.

The topics below have been chosen as they reflect the demands of the GCSE and challenge students beyond these requirements, they have been sequenced in order to build a student’s learning journey to achieve the aims of our MFL intent. Along the way students are assessed and topics will be revisited in assessments to keep each stage of this learning journey alive.

Year 10

Term 1

Topic 1

Family and relationships

  • Friends
  • Family
  • Marriage and alternatives
  • Future plans

Grammar

  • Reflexive verbs
  • Adjective agreement
  • Comparatives and superlatives
  • Direct object pronouns
  • The immediate future and the future tense
  • Using dont

Theme 3

School

  • School day
  • Different schools including primary schools and what things used to be like in the past
  • School rules
  • School improvement

Grammar

  • Using quand clauses with the future tense
  • Two-verb structures 
  • The passive voice in the present tense
  • Revision of the imperfect tense 

Assessment

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment
  • Listening and Reading tasks in class (peer marked)
  • Writing 90 word passage (teacher assessed)
  • Speaking – pair work in class monitored by teacher
  • Speaking questions issued at start of each theme to prepare

Term 2

Topic 2

Local area

  • Giving information about a house
  • Ideal houses
  • Towns
  • Describing a region

Grammar

  • Negative phrases followed by de
  • Partitive articles
  • The conditional of regular verbs
  • The conditional of irregular verbs
  • Demonstrative adjectives
  • Prepositions
  • Recognising possessive pronouns

Assessment

  • PPE March
  • Listening, speaking, reading and writing papers

Term 3

New technology 

Social media use 

  • Advantages and disadvantages of social media 
  • Frequency of use of technology 
  • Dangers of the internet 

Grammar 

  • The present tense of common irregular verbs 
  • Using grâce à 
  • The present tense of regular –ir and –re verbs 
  • Using on Aller, faire and other common irregular verbs 
  • The pronouns moi, toi, lui and elle 
  • Present tense of more irregular verbs 
  • Il est possible que + subjunctive 

Free time activities 

  • Last weekend 
  • Weekend routine 
  • Food and drink 
  • Sports 
  • Extreme sports 

Grammar 

  • The perfect tense of regular verbs 
  • The perfect tense with être 
  • Time phrases 
  • Verb + infinitive 
  • The pronoun en 
  • Demonstrative pronouns (celui / celle) 
  • Using more complex negatives Developing sentences using quand, lorsque and si 
  • Using the pronouns en and y 
  • Emphatic pronouns 

Assessment 

  • Vocabulary learning ongoing assessment 
  • Listening and Reading Assessment (peer marked) 
  • Writing 150 word passage (teacher assessed) 
  • Speaking – pair work in class monitored by teacher 

Year 11

Term 1

Topic 1

Holidays

  • Holiday preferences
  • Unfortunate holiday experiences
  • Holidays in France
  • Holidays in towns

Grammar 

  • Sequencing words and phrases 
  • Depuis + the present tense 
  • The pronoun y 
  • Revision of using the imperfect and perfect tenses together 
  • Après avoir / être + past participle 
  • Venir de + infinitive 
  • Using three-time frames : past, present and future 
  • Revision of the imperfect tense 

Festivals and celebrations 

  • Festivals 
  • Global festivals 
  • Celebration activities 
  • Advantages and disadvantages 

Grammar 

  • Reflexive verbs in the perfect tense 
  • Using en, au / aux / à + countries and towns 
  • Using the perfect infinitive 
  • Rules of agreement with the perfect infinitive The imperfect tense of common verbs 
  • Deciding between the perfect and imperfect tenses  
  • Using the imperfect and perfect tenses together 

Assessment 

  • Ongoing Vocabulary assessment 
  • Listening assessment – peer assessed 

PPE –  Speaking assessment in December 

Term 2

Topic 2

Future educational plans

  • Future plans
  • University or employment
  • Jobs
  • Advantages and disadvantages

Grammar

  • Future time frames

Social issues 

  • Types of charity work 
  • Need for charity work 
  • Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles now and in the past 
  • Future plans for a healthy lifestyle

Grammar 

  • The conditional of vouloir and aimer 
  • En + present participle  
  • Vouloir que + subjunctive 
  • Using ce que 
  • Imperfect tense of être, avoir and faire 
  • Expressions of quantity 
  • Recognising the pluperfect tense 
  • Il vaut / il vaudrait mieux 
  • Revision of negative constructions 

Grammar 

  • Using si + present tense 
  • Si clauses + present tense + future tense 
  • Recognising and using the pluperfect tense 
  • Verbs of possibility 
  • Permettre de + infinitive The subjunctive 
  • Present-tense forms of the subjunctive 

Assessment  

  • PPE2 – Listening, Reading, Writing in January
  •  GCSE Speaking exams in May

Term 3

Topic 3

International issues 

  • Environmental problems 
  • Inequality 
  • Poverty  

Assessment 

Speaking external exams in late April/ early May 

Achieving outstanding outcomes in French – knowing and remembering even more than what is expected in a grammar school GCSE Curriculum

Our assessment practice at SHSG reflects on how successful students have been in knowing, remembering and doing more through the above topics.

To achieve outstanding outcomes in French as a student in Year 11 and achieve grade 9 in French, students should…..

  • develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently in speech and writing, conveying what they want to say with accuracy
  • express and develop thoughts and ideas spontaneously and fluently
  • listen to and understand clearly articulated, standard speech at near normal speed
  • deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary in order for them to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a wide range of contexts
  • demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where the language is spoken
  • develop language-learning skills both for immediate use and to prepare them for further language study and use in school, higher education or employment

Cultural Capital in Year 10-11 French

  • French speaking world the modern French speaking world.
  • French Festivals
  • Global issues in the French speaking world (environment, social issues)

Useful websites and independent learning

  • Quizlet.com
  • SenecaLearning
  • This is Language
  • eRevision
  • BBC Bitesize
  • AQA website and use of past papers
  • LeMonde.fr
  • UnjourUnactu
  • LawlessFrench

Language to master in Middle School French (Years 10 – 11)

Expanding KS3 knowledge of 3 time frames to include tenses:

  • imperfect;
  • perfect;
  • pluperfect;
  • conditional;
  • passive voice (R);
  • present subjunctive: imperative, affirmation and negation, future after conjunctions of time; after verbs of wishing, command, request, emotion, to express purpose);
  • High-frequency language and topic specific language

A-Level (Years 12 - 13)

At Southend High School for Girls we teach a curriculum that is ambitious and takes students on a learning journey beyond the A level syllabus for French. The SHSG French curriculum is what we believe will expose and challenge students to a cultural capital in French that is the best that has been thought and said in this subject.

The French curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) knowledge, learning by heart, subject terminology, cultural capital
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) debate, question, challenge, analyse, evaluate
  • Rhetoric (Communication) essays, speeches, performances, presentations

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Year 11 French to study A level successfully
It is expected that students will begin their A level studies on the back of the highest outcomes at GCSE. Students should be able to communicate fluently and accurately in speaking and writing, offering and justifying opinions and using a wide range of complex language in a variety of registers. They should be able to elicit the opinions of others and react appropriately. They should be able to understand a range of written and spoken French from a variety of sources which will also include adapted or abridged literary texts. We expect students to have a very secure grasp of the range of grammar covered at GCSE including a range of tenses (present, future, imperfect, conditional, passé composé and pluperfect tenses) comparative and superlative adjectives, adverbs, subject and object pronouns, relative pronouns and clauses. They should be students who are prepared to read around the topic areas and find out more as well as deepen their own understanding of the language and culture.

The topics below have been chosen as they reflect the demands of the A level syllabus and challenge students beyond these requirements, they have been sequenced in order to build a student’s learning journey to achieve the aims of our MFL intent. Along the way students are assessed and topics will be revisited in assessments to keep each stage of this learning journey alive.

Year 12

Term 1

Topic 1

Teacher 1 Le Cinéma

  • Consider a variety of aspects of French cinema
  • Consider the major developments in the evolution of French cinema from its beginnings until the present day
  • Consider the  continuing popularity of French cinema and film festivals 

Grammar:

  • Use infinitive constructions
  • Use si sentences (Pluperfect/Past Conditional)
  • Use connectives followed by the subjunctive
  • La Haine/ Les 400 coups
  • An in-depth study of the film considering technique of film making, characterisation and character development, music, plot development and impact of the film on cinema in general and wider society. Students learn how to analyse and evaluate a film

Assessment

  • Ongoing Vocabulary assessment 
  • Topic test in listening, reading and writing

Teacher 2 La famille en voie de changement

  • Describe and discuss trends in marriage and other forms of partnership
  • Consider and discuss the merits and problems of different family structures
  • Consider relationships between the generations and discuss problems that can arise

Grammar

  • Form and use the imperfect tense
  • Form and use the perfect tense
  • Recognise and understand the past historic tense

Le bénévolat

  • Examine the voluntary sector in France and the range of work volunteers provide

Grammar

  • Use connectives –temporal and causal
  • Use conditional and si sentences (Imperfect and conditional)
  • Form and use the future tense

Assessment

  • Ongoing vocabulary assessment
  • Topic tests in reading, writing and listening

Term 2

Topic 2

Teacher 1 Le Patrimoine

  • Understand the notion of heritage and heritage preservation on a regional and
  • national scale.
  • Consider the ways in which some of the country’s most famous heritage sites market themselves
  • Comprehend how heritage impacts upon and is guided by culture in society 

Grammar:

  • Use adjective agreements,
  • comparatives and superlatives
  • Use si sentences
  • (present and future)
  • Use the subjunctive with expressions of doubt, uncertainty or necessity

 La technologie

  • Describe and discuss how technology has
  • transformed everyday life
  • Consider and discuss the dangers of digital technology

Teacher 2 Le bénévolat

  • Discuss the benefits of voluntary work for those that are helped and how beneficiaries request help
  • Look at the benefits of voluntary work for those that do it and for society as a whole

Grammar

  • Use conditional and si
  • sentences (Imperfect and conditional)
  • Form and use the future tense

La musique

  • Consider the popularity of contemporary francophone music and its diversity of genre and style
  • Consider who listens to contemporary francophone music, how often and by what means

Grammar

  • Use question forms and command forms
  • Use the subjunctive to suggest possibility with verbs of wishing and emotional reaction

Assessment

  • PPE 1 
  • This will cover Paper 1 – Reading, listening and translation into and out of French.  
  • Students write an essay about the film studied 
  • Speaking card to assess the first year themes

Term 3

Topic 3

Teacher 1 La technologie

  • Consider the different users of digital technology and discuss possible future developments 

Grammar:

  • Form the present tense of regular and irregular verbs

Introduction to IRP

  • Students are introduced to the technique and research skills required to prepare for the speaking element of the examination.

Teacher 2 La musique

  • Consider and discuss the threats to contemporary francophone music and how it might be safeguarded

Grammar

  • Use the conditional

No et moi/ Un sac de billes

  • Students begin to read the novel and pick out the key themes, characters and character development. Students begin to develop a bank of resources including a range of quotations to support their analysis of the text.

Assessment

  • Ongoing vocabulary assessment 
  • Topic tests in reading, writing and listening 
  • Continued essays on film and book 

Year 13

Term 1

Topic 1

Teacher 1 No et moi/ Un sac de billes

  • Continue the novel. Students become more proficient in the analysis required to produce an A level analytical essay.

La politique chez les jeunes

  • Discuss arguments relating to the vote and examine the French political system and its evolution
  • Discuss engagement levels of young people and their influence on politics
  • Discuss the future of politics and political engagement

Grammar

  • Form and use the passive voice
  • Form and use the subjunctive mood
  • Use the subjunctive mood

Teacher 2 La diversité

  • Consider the benefits of living in an ethnically diverse society
  • Consider the need for tolerance and respect of diversity
  • Consider how we can promote diversity to create a richer world

Grammar

  • Form and use the  present tense
  • Form and use the future tense
  • Form and use the conditional

Les marginalisés

  • Examine different  groups who are socially marginalised
  • Discuss measures to help those who are marginalised
  • Consider contrasting attitudes to people who are marginalised

Grammar

  • Form and use the imperfect tense
  • Form and use the  perfect tense
  • Form and use the pluperfect tense

Assessment

  • Ongoing vocabulary assessment
  • Topic tests in the Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation

Term 2

Topic 2

Teacher 1 La politique de la protestation

  • Understand the important role of unions
  • Talk about strikes and protests and consider different methods of protesting
  • Discuss different attitudes towards strikes, protests and other political tensions

Grammar

  • Understand and use subject and object pronouns
  • Understand and use relative pronouns
  • Understand and use demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

La politique de l’immigration

  • Discuss some of the political issues concerning immigration in francophone countries
  • Consider the viewpoints of political parties regarding immigration
  • Consider immigration from the standpoint of immigrants, as well as aspects of racism

Grammar

  • Form and use combination tenses: imperfect and perfect
  • Form and use the future perfect and the conditional perfect

Teacher 2 Le traitement des criminels

  • Examine different attitudes to crime
  • Discuss prison and its merits and problems
  • Consider alternative forms of punishment

Grammar

  • Recognise and understand the past historic tense
  • Use different tenses with si
  • Use infinitive constructions

IRP preparation

  • Students continue to be supported in their preparation for the IRP speaking.

Assessment

  • Ongoing vocabulary assessment
  • Topic tests in the Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation 
  • Speaking practice exam of card to discuss the themes

Term 3

Topic 3

  • Both teachers revision and exam practice

Assessment

  • Speaking external exams in early May

Achieving outstanding outcomes in French – knowing and remembering even more than what is expected in a grammar school GCSE Curriculum
Our assessment practice at SHSG reflects on how successful students have been in knowing, remembering and doing more through the above topics.

To achieve outstanding outcomes in French as a student in Year 13 and achieve an A*-A grade in French, students should expose themselves to as much written and spoken French as possible. They should aim to read/listen to the news from the Francophone world on a daily basis and should look to read around the topics that they study as well as read something for pleasure – fiction, drama or poetry. They should watch as much French TV or films as they can and could also alter the settings on DVD/ Streaming services to alter soundtracks or subtitles to French. They should be self-critical learners, identifying what they are struggling with in terms of grammar and going to the appropriate places (Seneca/ Conjuguemos/ Practice in French Grammar) to help improve. They should be pro-active learners, making efforts to go beyond the minimum vocabulary that they need to learn and developing a rich and varied vocabulary of their own.

Cultural Capital in Year 12-13 French
Essentially the whole course is an exposure to the culture of the Francophone world! However, the IRP is the area where students can really deepen their knowledge and understanding of a particular aspect of cultural life in the French speaking world. Previous IRP’s have included the changing rights and roles of women in Sénégal, the role of women in the French Resistance during the Nazi Occupation, the wider influence of Yves St Laurent beyond the world of fashion, a focus on the Breton region and the wider cinematic world of the Nouvelle Vague. Briefly, a student can choose whichever aspect of French speaking life that they find most compelling and allow their passion to guide their research. For us, as staff, the speaking exam where the students share with us the fruits of their interests and research is one of the highlights of the year.

Useful websites and independent learning

  • Le Monde.fr (French press)
  • Allocine (French film reviews)
  • Lawless French (good linguistically and also culturally
  • Conjuguemos (good verb practice)
  • 1 Jour 1 actu (news items aimed at younger viewers)
  • Seneca (very good grammar and content)
  • France 24 (news channel)
  • eRevision
  • AQA website

Language to master in Upper School (Years 12 – 13)
Students should be able to use all of the language covered during GCSE and extend their receptive knowledge to productive. In particular, they should be able to use pronouns, the subjunctive mood and the passive voice fluently and accurately. They should also be able to use writing techniques to explain, analyse and criticise works of literature and convince a reader of their argument/ point of view. They should be able to look in depth at topics and analyse the information as well as narrate facts and go deeper into explaining the reasons behind changes in French society/ ideas. They need to be able to deal with abstract concepts and hypothetical situations and support their arguments with evidence drawn from the real Francophone sphere.