French
At TALA our Languages Department aspires to ignite a lifelong passion for language learning and intercultural understanding in every student. We believe that learning a new language is not just an academic pursuit, but a gateway to global citizenship, empathy, and opportunity.
Our vision is for pupils to develop confidence, curiosity, and competence in modern foreign languages. Through high quality, engaging teaching, enrichment experiences, and real-world connections, we aim to empower all learners to:
- Communicate meaningfully and confidently in French.
- Appreciate and respect diverse cultures, perspectives, and global communities.
- Develop transferable skills in problem-solving, memory, creativity, and resilience.
- See language learning as a key to unlocking future academic, professional, and personal growth.
We follow the Pearson prescribed curriculum at KS3 and KS4 which is underpinned by interleaving and retrieval practice so that our linguists are able to revisit and build upon existing knowledge. Lessons are structured to incorporate all skills required of the modern linguist in terms of Listening, Speaking, Reading (comprehension and aloud), Writing and Translating. Vocabulary and grammatical structures that are introduced at KS3 are seen as building blocks for more in-depth learning at KS4 (and as a solid foundation for further study at KS5). Content includes engaging and relevant topic areas including the use of authentic resources and a strong focus on building pupil’s cultural capital of Francophone countries.
Exam Board
AQA
Course Title and Syllabus
GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1-5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4-9). Students study all of the following themes on which the assessments are based:
- People and Lifestyle
- Popular Culture
- Communication and the world around us
Details of Papers
Listening - 25% of GCSE
Written exam:
- Foundation Tier: 35 minutes, 40 marks
- Higher Tier: 45 minutes, 50 marks
Each exam includes 5 minutes' reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.
Section A: Comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
Section B: Dictation where students transcribe short sentences including a small number of words from outside the prescribed vocabulary list.
Speaking - 25% of GCSE
Non-exam assessment
- Foundation Tier: 7-9 minutes + preparation time, 50 marks
- Higher Tier: 10-12 minutes + preparation time, 50 marks
The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus materials for the role-play and reading aloud task. For the photo card, the same photos are used at both tiers.
- Role-play - 10 marks (1-1.5 minutes for both tiers)
- Reading Aloud task and short conversation - 15 marks (2-2.5 minutes at Foundation tier; 3-3.5 minutes at Higher tier)
- Photo card discussion: response to photo and unprepared conversation - 25 marks (4-5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 6-7 minutes at Higher Tier)
Reading - 25% of GCSE
Written exam:
- Foundation Tier: 45 minutes, 50 marks
- Higher Tier: 1 hour, 50 marks
Section A: Comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
Section B: Translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words at Foundation Tier and 50 words at Higher Tier)
Writing - 25% of GCSE
Written exam:
- Foundation Tier: 1 hour 10 minutes, 50 marks
- Higher Tier: 1 hour 15 minutes, 50 marks
Foundation Tier:
- 5 short sentences in response to a photo
- Short piece of writing in response to five compulsory bullet points (approx. 50 words)
- 5 short grammar tasks
- Translation of sentences English to French.
- Piece of writing in response to three compulsory bullet points (approx. 90 words)
Higher Tier
- Translation of sentences English to French.
- Piece of writing in response to three compulsory bullet points (approx. 90 words).
- Open-ended writing task (students respond to two bullet points, producing approx. 150 words).
Overview
| Year | Term | Topic(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Autumn |
Introduction to French sounds and grammar |
| Spring |
Basic Vocabulary: weather/seasons/animals/higher numbers |
|
| Summer |
Saying where you go at the weekend |
|
| Year 8 | Autumn |
Talking about school holidays |
| Spring |
Talking about celebrities, tv programmes and digital technology |
|
| Summer |
Giving opinions about sport |
|
| Year 9 | Autumn |
Talking about social media |
| Spring |
Describing jobs |
|
| Summer |
Discussing rights and what is important to you |
|
| Year 10 | Autumn |
Exploring events in the Francophone world |
| Spring |
School life |
|
| Summer |
Holidays |
|
| Year 11 | Autumn |
Describing your local area |
| Spring |
Talking about future/career/summer plans |
|
| Summer |
Mock feedback |