French in Years 7, 8 and 9.

WHAT IS FRENCH?

French and English are the only languages spoken as a native language on 5 continents.

French is the mother tongue of over 100 million people. In many countries, in and outside Europe, French is the only language or the second official language. It is one of the official working languages in dozens of international organisations and without any active knowledge of French, it is hard to do business in French-speaking communities. France is currently the most popular tourist destination in the world.

Your child will learn the foundations required to communicate in the language in simple everyday situations. He/she will be taken on an exciting linguistic and cultural journey for two lessons a week in Years 7, 8, and 9. Emphasis is on the spoken language and simple classroom commands are given in French.

Your child will be encouraged to respond in French and to take part in communicative activities. Many language structures are taught through games and songs. Reading in French is encouraged, and pupils can choose the level at which they read.

For each stage, we use a course book which has been voted the best course book on the market and has been recently revised to meet the requirements of the MFL framework. The course has online exercises and a multi-media software Equipe Nouvelle, which pupils can access on the Internet in the computer room or at home. Pupils also work from language programmes on video and in pairs to practise and record role-play situations.

What will your child study?

YEAR 7
The focus in our Year 7 course is on topics which are familiar to younger learners and the main characters featured in the course book Equipe Nouvelle 1 live in Dieppe.

The topics studied in Year 7 are:

Pupils also enjoy working from the Quinze Minutes Plus video course and our multi-media software Equipe Nouvelle.

YEAR 8
Book 2 of the Equipe Nouvelle course book features the town of Dieppe as a setting for an ongoing teenage storyline. There is a range of activities which include: grammatical exercises; fun activities; pronunciation practice and increasingly demanding reading passages. Each of the units allows the familiar topics to be covered in a natural way.

YEAR 9
Your child will become acquainted with the French-speaking world through an excellent language video programme Jeunes Francophones.

The topics studied in our Year 9 course are:

· An introduction to characters and locations, Raphaël in Paris
Introducing yourself, describing people, jobs and personality
Free time and hobbies

· Music, Florence in La Guadeloupe
Talking about tastes in music, why you listen to music, being a fan
Instruments you play
Talking about a composer’s life and going to concerts

· On a French Exchange, Pierre in Strasbourg
Greeting an exchange partner’s family
Asking for things at your partner’s home and during a meal
Describing your stay

· The world around me, Bénédicte in Provence
Your home, where you live, your town
Talking about improving your home area
Countries and being environmentally friendly

· School life, Arnaud in Chamonix
School subjects, strengths and weaknesses
Opinions about your school
Looking back at primary school and future plans

· Family life, Katell in Britanny
Talking about your family, how well you get on
What your parents are like, what they let you do

How will your child be assessed?
Pupils are assessed regularly in all four skills in class and in their homework. There are regular end of unit assessments and there is also an end of year examination.

Work set will be differentiated:

· By using a variety of teaching methods
· By the provision of differentiated tasks where it is appropriate
· By providing extension tasks and open-ended tasks where necessary

Homework is used to support the work done in class. The course book is supplemented by a Workbook which your child will often be asked to complete for homework for additional support and language practice. The workbook also has a checklist of the language covered in each unit to help pupils to keep track of what they have learnt, as well as pages of the vocabulary to be learnt for homework.

What trips and activities will your child take part in?

Everyone is welcome to attend a support session or “Le Club” as an after-school activity. Your child will be encouraged to go on a trip abroad. For the tenth year running, we have a successful exchange programme with a Collège in Nîmes. All pupils are invited to take part in this exchange, staying for eight days with a French family in the south of France. There have been regular visits to France during activity week.

Click here to find out more about past trips and activities organised by the French Department.