French
“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.”
Flora Lewis (American Journalist)
There are so many clear personal, cultural, social and career benefits in being able to communicate confidently in another language that every child in our school should have the chance from this young age to develop their own modern foreign language skills. We want our pupils to be enthusiastic, engaged and challenged and to develop their ability to use and understand another language.
Through our curriculum, pupils:
- Learn vocabulary and structures, including verbs and key expressions to promote their independence and communication skills through a range of enriching and stimulating material, including authentic resources, films and French pen friends;
- Develop a knowledge of phonics, for a more accurate and spontaneous use of the target language;
- Are explicitly taught an understanding of grammar in order to manipulate the target language.
Curriculum Overview
Year 6
| Content | Skills |
| ‘Je me présente’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of basic conversational skills and use of everyday target language. | - Introducing yourself - Asking and answering questions about yourself - Distinguishing between having and being - Talking about what there is in the classroom - Talking about what you have - Saying how many there are - Saying how many you have - Describing an object |
| ‘Où j’habite’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics in the context of where you live, ‘la France’ and ‘la Francophonie’ | - Reading and finding out about France - Talking about where you live - Reading and finding out about French speaking countries - Describing French towns - Describing what there is - Describing what there isn’t - Saying how many there are - Talking about belongings - Expressing opinions about where you live |
| ‘Moi et ma famille’: Listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics in the context of family and animals.
| - Talking about what you have - Talking about what people have - Talking about an object or a person - Describing an object or a person - Saying what there is -Saying what there isn’t - Saying how many there are - Saying how many you have - Describing your family - Expressing opinions |
Year 7
| Content | Skills |
| ‘C’est moi’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of ‘all about me’!
| - Talking about what people have - Reinforcement of previous learning on family members and pets. Focus on gender of nouns - Expressing opinions - Use of the present tense of irregular verbs: être and avoir - Describing an object or person - Finding out about French comics - Using bilingual dictionaries and recognise patterns for adjective agreements. - Using intensifiers and adverbs of frequency - Using of the comparative - Writing a letter introducing ourselves for our French pen pals |
| ‘Qu’est-ce que tu fais?’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of sports and hobbies. | -Talking about what people play -Talking about what you do -Distinguishing between playing and doing -Talking about what you do / play with others -Saying when and how often we do or play -Use of regular -er verbs in the present tense -Writing a short story using regular -er verbs in the present tense - Expressing longer opinions about sports and hobbies - Saying what we like to play and do - Talking about what we do depending on the weather -Describing what you do about your free time |
| ‘En ville’: Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of places in town. | - Talking about where people go (places in town) - Talking about what there is, there is a lot of or isn’t - Expressing longer opinions about places - Talking about where we are and where we are going - Saying what we are doing there - Saying where we are going -Asking about where places are -Asking for information and directions - Saying ‘you’ to one or more than one person -Talking about what we are going to do in the near future - Talking about what you would like to do |
Year 8
| Content | Skills |
| ‘Au collège’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of typical school day. | -Talking about what you and others do at school - Talking about what you do before and after school -Talking about when and who with - Saying what you like at school and why - Expressing longer opinions with connectives, -intensifiers and adverbs of frequency about school subjects - Talking about what you are doing normally and what you are going to do in the future - Saying what you did in the past |
| ‘En ville’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics, in the context of meals, food and drink and what shops sell. | - Describing the different meals of the day - Talking about what you have, eat and drink - Talking about nouns you can’t count: the partitive article - Saying what food and drinks you like and why - Talking about our meals: what we normally have vs what we are going to have and/ or had - Talking about where you go shopping - Talking about what shops sell - Talking about what you can/cannot buy. - Talking about what there is, there is a lot of, isn’t and isn’t anymore - Saying what shops we like, don’t like and why - Describing our shopping habits using adverbs of frequency and time markers - Role play: au restaurant / au magasin: asking for what we would like |
| ‘’Les vacances’ Listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics in the context of holidays. | - Talking about where you are going (places, holidays, countries) - Describing where you go on holidays – what is it like? -Talking about how you travel -Talking about what you do and where you do it - Talking about you can or cannot do there - Expressing longer opinions about transports, holiday destinations and activities - Talking about what you do on holidays vs what you did last holidays - Sharing past experiences - Describing what we normally do, are going to do, and did on holidays using all three tenses: present, future and past. |
We teach and assess our curriculum through our curriculum related expectations:
| Year 6 | Year 7 | Year 8 |
| I can write simple, short phrases from memory and my spelling may be approximate. | I can write a short paragraph on familiar topics from memory and my spelling is understandable. | I can write a short paragraph on familiar topics from memory and my spelling is understandable. |
| I can understand and begin to apply new grammar rules: adjectival agreements and possessive adjectives. | I can understand and begin to apply new grammar rules: - plural of nouns - adjectival agreements - possessive adjectives | I can understand and begin to apply new grammar rules: - plural of nouns - adjectival agreements - possessive adjectives |
| I can understand and begin to apply new grammar rules: use of les, des and mes and plural endings of regular nouns. | From memory, I can add structure to my paragraph and give a sense of time by using some time phrases. | From memory, I can add structure to my paragraph and give a sense of time by using some time phrases. |
| With the support of my book, I can use different subject pronouns with key verbs in the present tense. | With the support of my book, I can use key verbs in the present and future tenses in familiar topics. | With the support of my book, I can use key verbs in the future OR past tenses as well as the present in familiar topics. |
| I can express simple opinions. | I can express longer opinions, use connectives and give a simple reason. | I can express longer opinions, use connectives and give a simple reason. |
| I can engage in short conversations: I can speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures. | I can engage in short conversations with some extra details: I can speak in full sentences in the present or future tenses, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures. | I can engage in short conversations with some extra details: I can speak in full sentences in the present or future / past tenses, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures. |
| I have an understanding of French phonics and I can recognise sound patterns and silent letters. | I can show an understanding of French phonics and I can recognise sound patterns and silent letters. I can add expression to my speaking. | I have an understanding of French phonics and I can recognise sound patterns and silent letters. I can add expression to my speaking.
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| I can understand a range of familiar spoken phrases, delivered slowly and clearly with pauses between each question. I may need these to be repeated. | I can understand a range of familiar spoken phrases in the present or future tenses, delivered slowly and clearly with pauses between each question. I may need these to be repeated. | I can understand a range of familiar spoken phrases in the present or future/past tenses, delivered slowly and clearly with pauses between each question. I may need these to be repeated. |
| I can understand the main points from a short, written text in clear printed script. | I can understand the main points and some of the detail from short, written texts in the present or future tenses, in familiar contexts. | I can understand the main points and some of the detail from short written texts in the present or future/past tenses, in familiar contexts. |
| I can guess the meaning of cognates and near-cognates. | I can guess the meaning of cognates and near-cognates and I can recognise if the texts are about the present or the future. | I can guess the meaning of cognates and near-cognates and I can recognise if the texts are about the present, the future OR the past. |
Additional Learning Opportunities
- Year 7 Trip to the Mayenne in France.
- French pen pals in Years 7 and 8 with our partner school.
- Weekly French Cub for extra support.
- Range of French magazines available to pupils.
- French Film Club.
Useful Links
Colourful, fun and great practice for Years 6, 7 and 8. Please ask your French teacher for our school login so that you can access these handy activities at home. Fancy a challenge? Have a go at the Spanish, German or Italian sections of the website!
Free and great to reinforce grammar points and verbs in the different tenses.
Last Updated: June 2023