French
Becoming an active communicator in the world's global village
Our Languages Curriculum intends to:
Broaden pupils horizons by developing a passion for languages and cultures and recognise the additional career opportunities open to people who speak an additional language.
Ensure that every pupil is encouraged and supported to study a language for GCSE.
Encourage a growth mind-set in pupils to learning a new language and develop the confidence to communicate.
Overview of the Course:
The learning of a language encourages respect for other people; it fosters an understanding of the interrelation of language and human nature. Studying any foreign language will broaden minds and give pupils a better insight into the world around us. It will encourage empathy as an individual. It demonstrates openness to society and an ability to communicate with others on all levels. The learning of a language supports an appreciation of cultural diversity.
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages' education will foster pupils' curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. This enables pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It also provides opportunities for the pupils to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries
Pupils will continue to study the language they have learnt at The Westgate School since Year 7. Some pupils choose to continue with a second language. German will also be offered as a GCSE starting in Year 9 (dependant on pupil numbers). Several trips run throughout the year to complement the learning of languages and broaden pupils' cultural experiences.
French is not taught within our school day as we focus on Spanish.
French is not taught within our school day as we focus on Spanish.
Overview of the Course:
Key stage 3 is organised into engaging termly topics through which the key skills are taught. Pupils in every class will be encouraged to verbally express themselves through a range of structured talk opportunities, as well as developing close and active listening skills. Both the reading and writing skills are explicitly taught so that the pupils can develop their confidence throughout the two years.
Course Content:
Year 7
Year 7 focuses on developing the skills needed to become an active language learner; pupils will choose to study French or Spanish. In the Autumn term, the unit ‘This is Me’ teaches the pupils the skills to become confident at learning a language by encouraging pupils to speak almost immediately. Using the world of comic books encourages the pupils to give opinions and talk about themselves in the Spring term; Picasso and Dali stimulate descriptive language in the Summer term.
Year 8
Year 8 builds and develops the skills from Year 7. Most pupils will continue to study the language they chose in Year 7. Confident linguists may also choose to study French/Spanish in Year 8 as a second language; we will offer these depending on sufficient interest (German is on offer to start at GCSE in Year 9 dependent on uptake).
Places and buildings are used to introduce the pupils to the future tense, through a topic on future towns and the past tense is introduced in the Spring term, when the pupils focus on castles and jousting! The Summer term helps build on the pupils’ cultural capital, as well as their language skills, with a focus on celebrations: festivals and traditions. Many of the topics - and especially the trips organised to complement the curriculum - are designed to broaden pupils’ cultural experiences.
Course Skills:
Listening and Speaking: Pupils first interact with their target language by developing active listening skills and the confidence of speaking a new language and communicating with each other.
Reading: Pupils’ skills are built up by activities involving word recognition and very quickly they develop the skills needed to decode meaning in more challenging texts.
Writing: Using sentence starters, vocabulary booklets and active learning strategies, pupils begin to construct meaning and manipulate language to express themselves and communicate in writing.
Assessment:
Throughout KS3, the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing are assessed. The pupils are fully prepared for these in lessons before their summative assessment. The topics covered will be:
Me, myself and friends.
Home, town, neighbourhood and region.
Free time activities
Food and eating out.
Healthy eating.
Customs and festivals.
GCSE French syllabus
We will consider 3 main themes:
Identity and Culture.
Local national, international and global areas of interest.
Current and future study and employment.
Assessments:
GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series.
Paper 1: Listening - Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Demonstrate general and specific understanding of different types of spoken language.
Follow and understand clear standard speech using familiar language across a range of specified contexts.
Identify the overall message, key points, details and opinions in a variety of short and longer spoken passages, involving some more complex language, recognising the relationship between past, present and future events.
Deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer spoken texts, involving some complex language and more abstract material, including short narratives and authentic material addressing a wide range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes.
Recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended spoken text, including authentic sources, adapted and abridged, as appropriate, by being able to answer questions, extract information, evaluate and draw conclusions.
Paper 2: Speaking - Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Communicate and interact effectively in speech for a variety of purposes across a range of specified contexts.
Take part in a short conversation, asking and answering questions, and exchanging opinions.
Convey information and narrate events coherently and confidently, using and adapting language for new purposes.
Speak spontaneously, responding to unexpected questions, points of view or situations, sustaining communication by using rephrasing or repair strategies, as appropriate.
Initiate and develop conversations and discussion, producing extended sequences of speech.
Make appropriate and accurate use of a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, including some more complex forms, with reference to past, present and future events.
Make creative and more complex use of the language, as appropriate, to express and justify their own thoughts and points of view.
Use accurate pronunciation and intonation such as to be understood by a native speaker.
Paper 3: Reading - Understanding and responding to different types of written language
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Understand and respond to different types of written language.
Understand general and specific details within texts using high frequency familiar language across a range of contexts.
Identify the overall message, key points, details and opinions in a variety of short and longer written passages, involving some more complex language, recognising the relationship between past, present and future events.
Deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer written texts from a range of specified contexts, including authentic sources involving some complex language and unfamiliar material, as well as short narratives and authentic material addressing a wide range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes.
Recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended written text and authentic sources, including some extracts from relevant abridged or adapted literary texts.
Demonstrate understanding by being able to scan for particular information, organise and present relevant details, draw inferences in context and recognise implicit meaning where appropriate.
Translate a short passage from French into English.
Paper 4: Writing - Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Communicate effectively in writing for a variety of purposes across a range of specified contexts.
Write short texts, using simple sentences and familiar language accurately to convey meaning and exchange information.
Produce clear and coherent text of extended length to present facts and express ideas and opinions appropriately for different purposes and in different settings.
Make accurate use of a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, including some more complex forms, to describe and narrate with reference to past, present and future events.
Manipulate the language, using and adapting a variety of structures and vocabulary with increasing accuracy and fluency for new purposes, including using appropriate style and register.
Make independent, creative and more complex use of the language, as appropriate, to note down key points, express and justify individual thoughts and points of view, in order to interest, inform or convince
Translate sentences and short texts from English into French to convey key messages accurately and to apply grammatical knowledge of language and structures in context.
Exam Board: AQA 8658
GCSE French syllabus
We will consider 3 main themes:
Identity and Culture.
Local national, international and global areas of interest.
Current and future study and employment.
Assessments:
GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series.
Paper 1: Listening - Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Demonstrate general and specific understanding of different types of spoken language.
Follow and understand clear standard speech using familiar language across a range of specified contexts.
Identify the overall message, key points, details and opinions in a variety of short and longer spoken passages, involving some more complex language, recognising the relationship between past, present and future events.
Deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer spoken texts, involving some complex language and more abstract material, including short narratives and authentic material addressing a wide range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes.
Recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended spoken text, including authentic sources, adapted and abridged, as appropriate, by being able to answer questions, extract information, evaluate and draw conclusions.
Paper 2: Speaking - Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Communicate and interact effectively in speech for a variety of purposes across a range of specified contexts.
Take part in a short conversation, asking and answering questions, and exchanging opinions.
Convey information and narrate events coherently and confidently, using and adapting language for new purposes.
Speak spontaneously, responding to unexpected questions, points of view or situations, sustaining communication by using rephrasing or repair strategies, as appropriate.
Initiate and develop conversations and discussion, producing extended sequences of speech.
Make appropriate and accurate use of a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, including some more complex forms, with reference to past, present and future events.
Make creative and more complex use of the language, as appropriate, to express and justify their own thoughts and points of view.
Use accurate pronunciation and intonation such as to be understood by a native speaker.
Paper 3: Reading - Understanding and responding to different types of written language
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Understand and respond to different types of written language.
Understand general and specific details within texts using high frequency familiar language across a range of contexts.
Identify the overall message, key points, details and opinions in a variety of short and longer written passages, involving some more complex language, recognising the relationship between past, present and future events.
Deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer written texts from a range of specified contexts, including authentic sources involving some complex language and unfamiliar material, as well as short narratives and authentic material addressing a wide range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes.
Recognise and respond to key information, important themes and ideas in more extended written text and authentic sources, including some extracts from relevant abridged or adapted literary texts.
Demonstrate understanding by being able to scan for particular information, organise and present relevant details, draw inferences in context and recognise implicit meaning where appropriate.
Translate a short passage from French into English.
Paper 4: Writing - Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes
Pupils are expected to be able to:
Communicate effectively in writing for a variety of purposes across a range of specified contexts.
Write short texts, using simple sentences and familiar language accurately to convey meaning and exchange information.
Produce clear and coherent text of extended length to present facts and express ideas and opinions appropriately for different purposes and in different settings.
Make accurate use of a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, including some more complex forms, to describe and narrate with reference to past, present and future events.
Manipulate the language, using and adapting a variety of structures and vocabulary with increasing accuracy and fluency for new purposes, including using appropriate style and register.
Make independent, creative and more complex use of the language, as appropriate, to note down key points, express and justify individual thoughts and points of view, in order to interest, inform or convince
Translate sentences and short texts from English into French to convey key messages accurately and to apply grammatical knowledge of language and structures in context.
Exam Board: AQA 8658
