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French in Year 8

Introduction

The aim is to provide a solid base and promote a lasting interest in Modern Foreign Languages, which will be a useful and marketable tool for our pupils in the future. Pupils have three lessons of French per week and one prep. In addition some pupils are given three lessons of German or Spanish per week. There are four Attainment Targets in Foreign Modern Languages: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. All four skills are developed equally. The differentiated material in Expo 2 is used according to the ability of pupils. There are two textbooks: Expo 2 rouge and Expo 2 vert. The former progresses faster through the National Curriculum levels. We prepare pupils for either the Upper school’s entrance examination, or the Upper School Scholarship Examination.

Assessments:

They test the four Attainment Targets and are given systematically at the end of each Unit. We keep records of achievement in the Module tests.

Year 8 pupils are examined in January and June as part of the School Examinations. They are tested in three Attainment Targets: Reading, Writing and listening. In May they also have an oral examination as part of their Upper School Entrance or Scholarship examination.

Linguistic objectives

Families/Professions/ Where people live/Weather/Describing a typical day

Last weekend/Yesterday evening/TV/Going out/Events in the past

Making excuses/House chores/Clothes/shops/Fashion

Countries and languages/Holidays/Past holiday

Present, past, future/Hopes and wishes

Major grammatical points:

Irregular verbs in the Present tense, Perfect tense with avoir and être,. Near Future, negatives, prepositions of time (depuis, pendant), adverbs, expressions of degree ( beaucoup, souvent, assez, très), relative pronoun qui. Comparatives and superlatives (Expo rouge). Different verbs + infinitive(Expo rouge), Je vais/Je voudrais + infinitive (Expo vert).

Scholarship Set

Introduction

Pupils study Expo 2 rouge, as the rest of Year 8, but progress at a faster pace. In addition, examination practice is given in Listening Comprehension, Reading comprehension, and Writing and there is specific preparation for the Oral examination.

Pupils sit a ‘mock Scholarship examination’ at the beginning of the Lent term. They are also asked to revise coursework during the Christmas holidays.

Linguistic objectives:

Pupils are required to be fluent in the Perfect Tense, and also to know some parts of the Imperfect and Future tenses. They are expected to know all the vocabulary included in Expo 1 and Expo 2 rouge, as well as a few added topics from their revision sheets.

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