French

At Warlingham, we believe learning a Modern Foreign Language, such as French, widens horizons as it opens windows and enables exploration. To have another language is to have another vision of the world through which students understand themselves better.

Our curriculum aims for every Warlingham Learner to be able to show:

Courage by developing and producing language in the classroom, with an equal focus on the key skills Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Building a fearless attitude to learning and communicating in another language.
Commitment to the continuing development of transferable skills. Improving their literacy ability through learning a language will not only help further their understanding of other subjects and their own language but will help build a strong skill set for future employment.
Kindness: learning a language is discovering a whole new culture, connecting people from all over the world, helping to form stronger relationships. This exposure to diversity builds a strong respectful welcoming community in the school and beyond.

The Core Concepts

Inference: acquisition of vocabulary and grammar structures will enable students to understand listening and reading passages in the target language.
Production: acquisition of vocabulary and grammar structures will enable students to communicate in the target language through speaking and writing.
Cultural knowledge: students will be introduced to various cultural customs, festivals and celebrations of the target language studied enabling them to widen their horizons.

Key stage 3

Year 7

All students will be learning both French and Spanish during Year 7 and be introduced to cultural aspects of the language studied. By the end of the year, all students will begin to infer language from short listening and reading extracts and begin to produce short sentences in French about:

Themselves and their school - Parle-moi de toi
Their free time - Parle-moi de ton temps libre
Where they live, activities, where they go at the weekend and holidays - Parle-moi d’où tu habits. Parle-moi de tes vacances

Students will decide at the end of the year which language they want to continue with in Year 8 and Year 9.

Year 8

Students will concentrate on French only (having chosen at the end of Year 7) and continue to learn about cultural aspects of France and French-speaking countries. By the end of the year, all students will be able to infer language from longer listening and reading extracts and be able to produce longer sentences in French about:

Their free time and a visit to Paris - Parle-moi de ton temps libre. Parle-moi de Paris
Themselves in general - Parle-moi de toi
Where they live, their home life and their aspirations for the future - Parle-moi de ta vie à la maison. Parle-moi de tes ambitions dans la vie
Their adolescent life and keeping fit - Parle-moi de ta vie d’ado. Parle-moi de ta forme physique

Year 9

Students will continue to concentrate on French, as well as continuing learning about cultural aspects of France and French-speaking countries. By the end of the year, all students will be able to infer language from longer listening and reading extracts and be able to produce more complex sentences in French about:

Their adolescent life and keeping fit - Parle-moi de ta vie d'ado
Keeping fit and their future aspirations - Parle-moi de ta forme physique. Parle-moi de ton avenir professionnel
Language about holidays and their future - Parle-moi de tes vacances. Parle-moi de ton futur

Key stage 4

AQA French GCSE (6858) Course Overview

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

At the end of Year 11, students will be assessed in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each skill is worth 25% of their French GCSE.

Key stage 5

AQA A-Level French 7652

During this course, students will read and listen to authentic foreign language AQA A Level French materials and will study aspects of the contemporary society, cultural background and heritage of France and French speaking countries. They will have the opportunities to develop their understanding and awareness of spiritual, moral, ethical, environmental, health and European issues. Students will extend and develop their knowledge of the grammar and the vocabulary of the French language and will use this to speak, write, read and: listen to the language.