Learning French at The Rural Enterprise Academy
The AQA specification is used for French GCSE.
There are four tested skill areas in the GCSE syllabus with their weighting:
Listening 20% (Two tier exam, Higher or Foundation)
Speaking 30% (One tier exam - Controlled Assessment. 2 pieces each worth 15%)
Reading 20% (Two tier exam, Higher or Foundation)
Writing 30% (One tier exam – Controlled Assessment.2 pieces each worth 15%)
Controlled Assessments are carried out during class time and two are submitted for
marking/moderation.
Content
There are four main "Contexts" which are spread over Years 10 and 11:
1. Lifestyle and Relationships/Choices
2. Leisure and Holidays
3. Home and Environment
4. Work and Education
The context of the course leads neatly into the AQA AS Modern Languages.
Students are expected to understand the meaning of the vocabulary included in the
specification. This is the vocabulary they will be tested on across all 4 forms of assessment.
Students will be given a hardcopy of this at the start of year 10.
P 20-46 from the link below:
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-4655-W-SP-14.PDF
1a) Lifestyle
• Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles and their consequences
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
Skills
1
Intro to GCSE,
How are we
alphabet and
Pronunciation
how it is
expanding our
numbers
assessed; basic
vocab from KS3?
General revision
revision
2
Food + Healthy
Can we use a
-er verbs and
Eating
range of verbs
boire , some
tackling reading
and varied vocab
to talk about our
eating
preferences?
3
Sports
Are we becoming
jouer, faire,
aware of how to
adverbs of
use different
frequency
learning speaking
verbs and adverbs
when talking about
sport?
4
Alcohol, smoking,
How do we
negative
drugs
formulate a
sentences, avoir,
negative
être
giving opinions
sentence?
5
Describing a
Are we able to
healthy lifestyle
confidently use
the new vocab
faire and dormir
Il faut…
using context in
reading
from this unit into
our written work?
6
Future plans for
Can we use the
je vais + inf,
memory and
a healthy
future tense in
adverbs for
speaking
lifestyle
our work to
future
enhance the vocab
expressions
in our work?
question words
answering
unexpected q’s
1b) Relationships and choices
• Relationships with family and friends
• Future plans regarding: marriage/partnership
• Social issues and equality
Week
Content
Progress
Grammar
Skills
Possessive pronouns
Working out the
question
1
Family members
Are we able to
and descriptions
give details of
Page 32-33 and
vocab page 4445
2
what they look
like?
meanings of
words
P33
Character
Can we use a
Adjectives and their
Spelling
descriptions
wide range of
use
strategies
Page 32-33 and
vocab page 4445
3
our family and
Recap avoir/être
adjectives to
describe
personalities of
family members?
Relationships
Do you feel
with others
confident in
Page 34-35 and
vocab page 4445
P42, p161 and 162
describing your
reflexive verbs
p35
Silent endings
(pronunciation)
relationship with
others? Best
friends,
boy/girlfriend
4
Relationship
Can we put our
advice
modal verbs into
sentences to talk
about the
Modal verbs
P43
–ir and –re verbs
Learning
speaking
5
The future
P36-37
future?
Page 39
Can you convey
Je
your plans for
voudrais/j’aimerais/j’ai questions
the future
l’intention de/j’espère
fluently?
+ infinitive
Asking
p42
2a) Leisure
• Free Time and the Media
• Free time activities
• Shopping, money, fashion and trends
• Advantages and disadvantages of new technology
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
Skills
1
Revise sport and
Have you
Prepositions with
Extending
leisure
identified how to
jouer and faire
sentences
Page 52
Page 55 ASTUCE
Can you make
Perfect tense
Recognising time
complex
with avoir
expressions
Page 55
Page 54
Page 52
use jouer and
faire + du/de
la/de l’/des
correctly?
2
Hobbies at home
Page 54-55
3
sentences to
Vocab page 68-
describe what we
69
do at home?
Hobbies outside
Are you able to
Perfect tense
Using
use different
with être
connectives
Page 56-57
Vocab page 6869
tenses in the same
sentences when
talking about your
hobbies?
Page 57 ASTUCE
Page 57
4
Money and
Can you now try to
Perfect tense of
Using more than
shopping
use all 3 time
irregular verbs
just one time
Page 58-59
Vocab page 68-
frames when
answering a
Page 59
Page 59 -
question?
stratégie
69
5
Revise clothes
Page 52
6
Are you able to
Agreement of
describe what you
adjectives
wear and give
Vocab grid page
61
Are you beginning
Verbs for
Tackling a
to use a wider
opinions,
difficult reading
range of vocab to
adjectives before
text
give your opinion?
nouns
details of colour,
61
material etc?
Fashion
Vocab page 68-
Full descriptions
Page 61
Exercise 5 page
Page 60-61
frame
69
Page 67 ex. 4,
Page 60 bottom
right
page 69 ex.2
Page 61 top right
7
New technologies
Page 62-63
Are you able to
Comparative
Justifying
say what you
adjectives, use of
opinions
gadgets you have
‘on’
and can you say
that something is
better/worse
than something
else?
Page 63 top right
Page 67 and p164
P63 stratégie
2b)Holidays
• Plans, preferences, experiences
• What to see and getting around
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
Skills
1
Revision of
Can you say what
Prepositions with
Using what you
countries,
countries you have
places (à/au/en)
know
weather,
been to/will go,
transport
what the weather
P 53
was/will be like
and how you
got/will get there
2
Holiday
When/where do
Recap verb
Recognising time
preferences
you go on holiday?
conjugations,
frames
Why do you like
especially opinion
it? Is a holiday in
verbs
P 70-71
the UK better
than abroad?
What do you pack
in your suitcase?
Documentation
required? When
do you book your
holiday?
3
Past holidays –
Can you give
where and when
details of a past
Perfect tense
Using
connectives
holidaywhere,when and
how you go there?
Who with?
Opinion?
4
Past holidays-
Can you give
Perfect tense of
Using more than
activities
details of
Past – opinions and
one time frame
activities you did?
reasons irregular
P74-77
5
Past – opinions
verbs
Can you give
Agreement of
and reasons
opinions and
adjectives
Full descriptions
Future holiday
Verbs for
Justifying
plans
opinions;
opinions
reasons of past
holidays?
6
adjectives before
72-73
nouns
3a) Home
• Home and Local Area
• Special occasions celebrated in the home
• Home, town, neighbourhood and region, where it is and what it is like
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
Skills
1
Revision of
To be able to
Use of
Learning
rooms, furniture
identify different
prepositions,
meanings
and prepositions
names of house
P 90-91
types, describe
il y a
your house and
what there is
inside it
2
Festivals
P 94-95
Talk about your
Perfect and
Negative
birthday – what
imperfect use
expressions
Habiter + depuis
Qualifiers and
you normally do
for your birthday,
what you did for
your last birthday
– perfect and
imperfect tense,
give details of
your favourite
festival and how
you celebrate it
3
My house
P 96-97
To be able to talk
about where you
live and for how
intensifiers
long, describe the
rooms in your
house and what
there is inside it,
where did you live
before, do you like
your house
4
Daily routine and
Describe what you
Reflexive verbs
helping at home
do to help at home
and adverbs of
and be able to
frequency
P 92-93
Using times
give details of
your daily routine
5
My town
P 98-99
To be able to
On peut +
Detailed
describe what
infinitive
descriptions
there is in your
town e.g. for
young people,
tourists; say what
there is on,
weather and what
you can or cannot
do there
6
My area –
Give your opinion
Verbs for
Giving balanced
advantages and
of why your local
opinions;
justified
disadvantages
area is good as
adjectives before
opinions
well as giving
nouns
details of why it
may not be good
3b) Environment
• local environmental problems and your contribution
• future problems of the environment on a larger scale
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
1
Environmental
What are the
Superlatives
problems
environmental
P 106-107
2
What
Pouvoir, devoir,
should/could be
should/could be
falloir
done for the
done to help
town/area
protect the
P103/169
environment?
P109
What you do to
What do you/and
Present participle
protect the
your family do to
environment
protect the
P 108-109
4
area?
What
P107, 108-109
3
problems in your
P107/112/168
environment?
Future plans to
What will you do
be more
in the future to
environmentally
ensure you
friendly
continue to help
protect the
environment?
Future tense
P167-168
4a) Education
• School/College and Future Plans
• What school/college is like
• Pressures and problems
Week
Content
Progress question
Grammar
Skills
1
Introduction to
Are you able to talk
Negative + de,
Pronunciation
school and
about the
definite and
work
revision
facilities/rooms in your
indefinite
(equipment,
school?
articles
time etc)
Subjects,
likes/dislikes
and reasons
P 123/160
Are you able to say what
subjects you study and
give an opinion?
P 122-123
Opinion verbs
(Je pense que,
Je crois que …)
P129
2
School routine
Are you able to give
Connectives
Understanding
– English vs
details of your school in
(especially for
a difficult text
French system
the UK and compare it to
comparisons)
a school in France? What
are the
School uniform
P127
differences/similiarities?
P 124-127
3
School
What are the problems
problems
at your school?
P128-129
4
5
It/them ;
Opinions
Cognates and
false friends
P 129
Trips
Perfect tense
Listening for
revision
detail
Future study
What do you plan to do
Future and
Improving your
plans
once you leave school?
conditional
range of
P130-133
P 167/168
structures
4b) Work
• Current and Future Jobs
• Looking for and getting a job
• Advantages and disadvantages of different jobs
Week
Content
Progress
Grammar
Skills
Do you have a
Recognising the
Listening for
part time job?
passive form
detail
question
1
Part time jobs
P 136 - 137
Where? Do you
enjoy it? How
P144/168
much do you
earn? How many
hours do you
work?
2
Work experience
P 136 - 137
3
Where have you
done work
experience?
P137/163
Recognising
tenses
Jobs and places
Are you able to
Masculine/feminine
Identifying
of work
link jobs with
forms
relevant details
their correct
place of work?
4
Forming adverbs
Job adverts
P 138 -139
Can you answer
some job
interview style
P138
Vous form of verbs
in texts
Asking questions
P139/ 164
questions?
5
Future career
What are your
Future and
Future time
wishes
future job plans
conditional
phrases
P 140-141
and dreams?
P141
Why pursue Languages?
 Better communication skills
 More cultural and linguistic knowledge
 Better CV for universities and work placements
 75% of the world DO NOT speak English as a first language
 French is spoken in many countries throughout the world
 British Business has the poorest language skills in Europe - this would put
you at the top of the "employable rank"
 Other European countries are aiming for employees with three languages
 60% of British Trade is with non-English speaking countries
 British Trade loses millions of pounds each year because they are unable to
communicate in another foreign language.
 Over 128 million French speakers throughout the world