The Subject
French is a very popular modern language at Collingham. With over 200 million French speaking people in the world, studying French can be a definite asset for the students’ future and career. The aim of the course is to work on the level of the student and encourage a real empathy for the language.
The Course
Students are prepared for the IGCSE examination which takes place in April for the Oral test and May for the Listening, Reading and Writing tests. During their year 10 and the first term of their year 11 the students, with the aid of hand-outs and worksheets, cover topics such as:
- Local area
- Holidays
- House, home, daily routine
- School life
- Sports & hobbies
- Aspects of youth culture
The aim is to enable students to develop the ability to use French effectively for the purpose of practical communication and performance in their terminal exam.
From the 2nd term of year 11, the emphasis is on exam practice, using past papers so that the students can be familiar with the format of the exam they will be taking.
Over the two year course, they revise / study the grammar required. The study of grammar includes articles, adjectives, pronouns and adverbs, with a certain emphasis put on the study of verbs and their tenses i.e. present, past and future. At this level, the subjunctive tense is not covered. The other important area of study is vocabulary which at IGCSE level includes around 2000 words. The students practise the four skills required - speaking writing, listening and reading at IGCSE level – in order to be ready for their final exam.
The course also makes sure that the students acquaint themselves with some aspects of the French culture. Recordings, CD’s, educational videos and DVDs are used regularly in order to teach not only grammar but also to show cultural aspects of the Francophone world.