French - Year 10 Support Evening
Please select the PowerPoint below.
The Key to Success
At home:
- Learning of vocabulary and frequent review of vocabulary after lessons
- Reinforcement of grammar points
- Regular revision of topics in a linear course
- Prompt and thorough completion of homework
- Being organised and equipped for the next lesson
- Use of appropriate websites to consolidate learning: Duolingo, Languages Online, Linguascope
- Reading of French texts, watching age-appropriate French films with subtitles
- Use materials effectively: excellent textbook, GCSE speaking booklet, websites, online dictionary (Reverso recommended) but not translation services
At school
- Regular attendance in lessons
- Dialogue with teacher if there are concerns
- A ‘can-do’ attitude – willingness to participate and engage in lessons
- Good note-taking in class
- Learning from mistakes, good proof-reading and correction of ‘unforced’ errors
- Taking advantage of extra sessions in Year 11, either to support or extend
- Borrowing library books – there is a good selection in the school library
Course content Year 10
Year 10 units 1-4 studio higher GSCE
The beginning of Year 10 is a revision of vocabulary and structures already known but with an emphasis already on gathering new vocabulary and structures.
| CONTENT | GRAMMAR |
|---|---|
| Unit 1: Identity and culture: family, friends | |
| talking about friends and what makes a good friend; talking about family relationships; making arrangements to go out; describing a night out with friends; talking about your life when you were younger; discussing role models | using irregular verbs in the present tense; reflexive verbs in present tense; near future tense; perfect tense; imperfect tense; combining present, perfect and imperfect tenses. |
| Unit 2 : Identity and culture: free time | |
| talking about sport; talking about life online; books and reading; television programmes; cinema | depuis + present tense; the comparative; imperfect tense; direct object pronouns; the superlative. |
| Unit 3 : Identity and culture : daily routine, special events | |
| describing daily life; food for special occasions; formal / informal register; family celebrations; festivals and traditions | pouvoir and devoir (modals); the pronoun ‘en’; uses of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ form; venir de + infinitive; combining tenses |
| Unit 4 : Local, national, international and global areas of interest : local area and issues | |
| describing a region; talking about own town, village or district; discussing things to see or do; plans and weather; community projects | the pronoun ‘y’; negatives; questions using ‘quel’ etc.; future tense; combining present, past and future tenses |
Course Content Year 11
Year 11 units 5-8 studio for higher GCSE:
In Year 11 there will be more emphasis on more advanced topics and a continual review of topics from Year 10. Pupils will collect their answers in their GCSE booklet.
| CONTENT | GRAMMAR |
|---|---|
| Unit 5: Local, national, international and global areas of interest : holidays | |
| talking about an ideal holiday; booking and reviewing hotels; ordering in a restaurant; talking about travelling; buying souvenirs; talking about holiday disasters | the conditional; reflexive verbs in the perfect tense; en + present participle; avant de + infinitive; demonstrative adjectives and pronouns; pluperfect tense |
| Unit 6 : current and future study and employment: school; local, national, international and global areas of interest : healthy and unhealthy lifestyles; exchanges | |
| talking about school; comparing schools in UK and francophone countries; school rules; healthy living; discussing vices; talking about a school exchange | using ‘il’ and ‘elle’; using ‘ils’ and ‘elles’; ‘il faut’ and ‘il est interdit de’ ; the imperative ; present and future tenses ; past, present and future timeframes |
| Unit 7 : current and future study and employment: work | |
| discussing career choices; plans hopes and wishes; applying for jobs; work case studies | better, worse, best, worst; subjunctive; direct object pronouns; prepositions after verbs |
| Unit 8 : local, national, international and global areas of interest : environment and social issues | |
| discussing problems facing the world; protecting the environment; ethical shopping; volunteering; big events | types of word; pouvoir and devoir in conditional; passive; indirect object pronouns; presenting arguments |
Assessment
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. Each skill (reading, listening, speaking and writing) is worth 25%.
It is expected that most students will take Higher Tier but if it is in the interests of the pupil to take Foundation Tier then this should be seriously considered.
| Paper 1: Listening |
|---|
|
What's assessed Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language |
|
How it's assessed Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier) 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier) 25% of GCSE (Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.) |
|
Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally |
| Paper 2: Speaking |
|---|
|
What's assessed Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes |
|
How it's assessed Non-exam assessment 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) 25% of GCSE |
|
Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too: Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier) Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier) General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier) |
| Paper 3: Reading |
|---|
|
What's assessed Understanding and responding to different types of written language |
|
How it's assessed Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier) 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) 25% of GCSE |
|
Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally Section C – translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier) |
| Paper 4: Writing |
|---|
|
What's assessed Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes |
|
How it's assessed Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier) 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier 25% of GCSE |
|
Questions Foundation TierQuestion 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Higher TierQuestion 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks |
