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French
Curriculum Intent
Bienvenue à Lampton! French is the second most studied language in the world, after English. Approximately 240 million people use it as a second or foreign language, and we are proud to offer it as a subject here.
Students at Lampton have access to a varied curriculum which is enriching both academically and culturally.
Students develop their communicative competence in four key skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.
Lessons are based on three main objectives:
- the learning of new items of vocabulary;
- understanding and applying a grammatical structure concept; and
- applying these in order to communicate something new.
We encourage a communicative approach in lessons where students are praised and made to feel comfortable when using the target language.
Curriculum Overview
At KS3, our intent is to create confident communicators who can talk and write about themselves and their immediate surroundings.
At KS4, our intent is to have students who can communicate about a wider context of topics and have an informed opinion about topical issues.
At KS5, our students develop more analytical and evaluative competences by talking and writing about current affairs and history in French-speaking countries, especially France. They also study a literary and cinematic piece of work relating to these.
Knowledge Organisers covering the key vocabulary and grammar for Years 7, 8 and 9 are accessible via students’ Google Classrooms and linked here:
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
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Y7 |
Introducing oneself Spelling one’s name Pronouncing common French sounds Saying one’s age and birthday Talking about siblings |
Describing a classroom Communicating likes and dislikes Describing one’s own / another person’s personality Using the infinitive of regular -er verbs Talking about leisure activities in the present tense Giving opinions on school subjects, with reasons |
Describing shapes and colours Describing the clothes you wear to school Asking and telling the time Describing one’s school day in the present tense Describing a school, and what there is / isn’t at it |
Describing the weather Talking about sports you and others play (and can play) as well as activities you and others do (and can do) Talking about what you like / dislike doing in your free time on your phone, tablet or computer |
Asking and answering open and closed questions Describing pets Talking about relatives Describing your own and others’ physical appearance |
Describing and giving opinions about where you live (house type and country) Describing what you have for breakfast using the present tense Role play situations: Inviting someone out; Ordering drinks and snacks at a cafe |
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Y8 |
Describing what there is your town Talking about where you go at the weekend, using the verb aller Using the near future tense to communicate what you are going to do Talking about plans for a special weekend, using the present and near future tenses together
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Describing and giving opinions about festivals Role play situation: Buying food at the market Using the near future tense to talk about what you are going to eat Using the near future tense to talk about a future visit, sampling a French region’s culture |
Talking about where you are and go during the school holidays Using the perfect tense to say what you have visited on a trip, and what it was like Using the perfect tense of regular -er verbs to say what you did during the holidays Using the perfect tense of irregular verbs to say what you did or did not do Using the perfect tense of aller to say where you went on holiday |
Describing TV and film personalities Talking about what you watch on TV, as well as how, when, where and with whom Role play situation: Arranging to go to the cinema Talking about leisure activities in the present tense, using negatives Describing past weekend leisure activities in the perfect tense |
Talking about where you live, and the weather there Describing what there is and what one can do in your town / region Talking about what you have to do to help at home, using the verb devoir Describing your daily routine, using reflexive verbs in the present tense |
Talking about sporting activities in your town / region Giving opinions about sports using comparative forms Asking the way and giving directions, using the imperative vous form of verbs Giving recommendations for personal fitness using il faut Describing injuries and illness Role play situation: Visiting a doctor |
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Y9 |
Talking about likes and dislikes Talking about extracurricular activities in the present tense Describing relationships with friends, and a friend’s appearance Describing a recent birthday celebration in the perfect tense Describing what you wore, contrasting with you what you normally wear |
Talking about what you do, and others can do, to earn money Communicating what you are going to do this weekend, using the immediate future tense Talking about what job you want to do in the future, using the verb vouloir, and why Talking about future plans and ambitions, using the immediate future tense Talking about what you did yesterday, using the perfect tense |
Giving opinions of songs, with reasons Talking about what instruments you / others play Describing your musical preferences, using the comparative to compare types of music Describing a past trip to a concert, using the perfect tense |
Giving opinions about food at a school canteen Talking about food habits Talking about animals and steps to protect them Talking about actions to protect the environment in three time frames (what you normally do, what you have done recently, and what you would like to do) |
Talking about future plans and ambitions, using the real future tense Describing what you used to be like, using the imperfect tense Describing what your primary school was like, and comparing it with your secondary school, using the imperfect tense Describing common features of photos, using a range of verbs |
Giving opinions about types of holiday and holiday activities Describing what there is and what one can do at a holiday destination Talking about where and how you would like to spend future holidays, using je voudrais and j’aimerais Talking about your ideal holiday, using the conditional tense Talking about future holiday plans, using the immediate future and real future tenses |
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Y10 |
Talking about what you like / dislike doing in your free time Talking about what you do online, and how often Describing pros and cons of the Internet Saying what you do in your free time / to stay active Talking about what you watch on TV / online / at the cinema, and giving opinions about these |
Talking about leisure time plans, in the future time frame Describing what you did in your leisure time last weekend, using the perfect tense Talking about your identity Talking about the members of your family |
Describing your weekend routine using reflexive verbs in the present tense Describing friends and explaining what makes a good friend Describing celebrities and positive role models Describing celebrations in three time frames |
Talking about school subjects and school life, and giving opinions about them Describing your school and school day Describing and giving opinions of school rules
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Talking in the perfect tense about your progress at school and what you have / haven’t done Describing how school used to be when you were younger, compared to now, using the imperfect and present tenses Talking about learning languages in three time frames Describing your diet and eating / drinking habits |
Talking in the past time frame about a dish you prepared Describing and understanding feelings Describing unhealthy lifestyle choices Describing illness and accidents, using the perfect tense of reflexive verbs Understanding and giving advice concerning health and lifestyle, using modal verbs and imperative forms Talking about lifestyle changes in three time frames (past, present and future) Describing summer holiday habits, using the present tense |
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Y11 |
Describing past holidays Talking about festivals in the present tense Describing a past visit to a festival, using the perfect and imperfect tenses together Describing a past stay in a hotel, using the perfect and imperfect tenses together (with negatives) Talking about trips abroad in three time frames Understanding descriptions of the geography and climate of francophone countries Understanding and giving weather forecasts |
Discussing environmental concerns, using the superlative form of adjectives, and the present tense of the passive voice Talking about what we can do together to protect the environment Talking about school environmental projects and what you do / used to do / have done and are going to or will do to protect the environment, using the present participle to communicate how Understanding descriptions of new technologies |
Describing where you live and giving your opinion of it, using “depuis” to say how long you have lived there Understanding directions and prepositions describing where things are Describing your ideal home and saying where you would like to live in future, using the conditional tense Talking about your ideal town and/or what you would like to change about it Talking about a past shopping trip |
Talking about part-time and summer jobs one can do / you would like to do Talking about future plans, possible career paths and hopes (using the past infinitive) Describing the advantages and disadvantages of different jobs |
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Y12 |
Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends The changing nature of family The ‘cyber-society’ The place of voluntary work |
Artistic culture in the French-speaking world A culture proud of its heritage Contemporary francophone music Cinema: the 7th art form |
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LITERARY WORK STUDIED: No et Moi by Delphine de Vigan |
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Y13 |
Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues Positive features of a diverse society Life for the marginalised How criminals are treated |
Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power? Politics and immigration
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FILM STUDIED: Au Revoir les Enfants (Louis Malle) Independent Research Project on a chosen topic to present and debate |
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Exam Boards
At GCSE, we follow the AQA specification: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/french/gcse/french-8652/specification/specification-at-a-glance
At A-Level, we follow the AQA specification:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/french/a-level/french-7652/specification
How To Help Your Child
You don’t need to know any French to be able to support your child’s learning.
All students are set weekly homework assignments to learn new vocabulary and phrases using a platform called Quizlet. You can ask your child to show you their completion of these assignments by looking at their Quizlet account.
We suggest that you encourage your child to learn little and often. Breaking up the learning of new vocabulary into 20 minute slots over several days will help make the words stick!
You can also test your child’s writing and spelling of French words by saying the English, and seeing if they can spell the word in French. You could use the Knowledge Organisers linked to your child’s Year 7, 8 or 9 Google Classroom, or - at GCSE - other vocabulary booklets provided by their teacher, to do this. The principles of learning spellings for a foreign language are very similar to how your son or daughter learnt phonics in primary school; the rules may be different but there are patterns which will help. Students should try to learn similar words together.
Finally, please discourage the use of Google Translate or any other website translator as these will not help your child to learn.
What Opportunities For Enrichment Are There In French?
In recent years, the French Department has run highly successful residential trips for Year 9 and 10 students to the Opal Coast, Normandy, France. Our French students have also participated in workshops at The British Film Institute at Key Stages 3 and 4. In addition, we have participated in a letter-writing exchange with a French school as well as a film-making project, and we also celebrate European Day of Languages annually with a range of cultural and language-related activities.
Our team also includes a Modern Language Assistant, a native French speaker who will support students in developing their competence and confidence in speaking French.
What Careers Can Success In French Lead To?
Aside from the obvious careers in translation, interpreting, teaching or diplomacy, languages offer a range of enriching career opportunities. A degree in languages can lead to careers in law, finance and the arts. Success in languages shows that you are able to be analytical, communicate well and to understand and empathise with people from diverse countries. You will also be able to work in a French-speaking country and explore opportunities outside of the UK.
For further information, contact Mr Batten (mbatten@lampton.org.uk), Head of French.