French

Exam Board: AQA

Course: French (8658)

Members of Department:

Mrs K Morton, Head of MFL
Miss B Moreau, Teacher of French
Mrs. E Douglas, Teacher of French
Mrs J Woodhouse, Teacher of French
Mrs H Giles, Teacher of Spanish

VISION

Why do we learn MFL?

To gain improved communication and transferable skills in a variety of contexts
To realise that linguistic competence helps maximize students’ future career options

How will students achieve this?

Through clear progression and sequencing of lessons
Through full engagement of all students of all abilities

What will the outcomes be?

Confident, life long, language learners with cultural awareness
Long term retention of language knowledge

Introduction

As a team, we aim to:

• Make language learning accessible and enjoyable
• Emphasise the necessity of at least one modern foreign language in the Global context
• Underline that linguistic competence helps to maximise pupils future options in career terms

PROGRAMME OF STUDY

Each subject programme of study will:

• Provide a clear and coherent learning journey
• Foster subject-based understanding of new knowledge, concepts and methods
• Ensure students acquire knowledge and give opportunities for recall and application of this knowledge so that fluency is developed
• Require students to think and reason for themselves
• Explanations and resources enable students to engage with and master learning
• Learning should develop a depth of understanding that brings richness to the subject but also a breadth of understanding that enriches wider life and learning
• Develop a readiness for the next stage: be this the next lesson, the next unit of work, the next year or key stage; it prepares students for both academic, A Level, and future degree study, or vocational learning
• Contain appropriate, regular and robust assessment methods for measuring student progress and to allow intervention where progress is not as expected.

In order to see an overview of the sequence and progression of learning please see their Programme of Study:

  French Programme of Study

TRIPS & VISITS

In 2021/ 2022 the languages department ran two trip to France. A two night cultural visit to Paris and a five night immersion trip to Normandy.

KEY STAGE 3

At Debenham High School during our KS3 lessons we have adopted and adapted the Gianfranco Conti method of the MARS EARS approach.

This process follows the sequence of teaching detailed below:

THE SEQUENCE (SUMMARISED)

1) Modelling and Sensitising – Phonology

2) Modelling / Sensitising – Working on meaning

3) Awareness Raising (And how it fits into Lexicogrammar…)

4) Receptive processing / Structured Production

5) Expansion/Autonomy

6) Routinisation  

7) Spontaneity

Through this approach we aim to inspire confident linguists who have excellent knowledge and the ability of long term retention of the French language.

KEY STAGE 4

Core content

Students study all of the following themes on which the assessments are based.

Theme 1: Identity and culture;

Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest;

Theme 3: 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.

Four skills are assessed (four question papers): Listening, speaking, Reading, Writing.
Each of the skills are weighted at 25% each.