French

GCSE course outline

The course is based around three key themes:

(1) Identity and culture (covering relationships, technology, free-time activities, customs and festivals in French- speaking countries/communities);

(2) Local, national, international and global areas of interest (covering home, town neighbourhood and region; social issues; global issues; and travel and tourism);

(3) Current and future study and employment (covering personal studies; life at school/college; post-16 education; and jobs, careers and ambitions)

Skills required

Listening: being able to understand and respond to spoken French;

Speaking: being able to communicate and interact in spoken French;

Reading: being able to understand and respond to written French;

and Writing: being able to communicate in written French.

Assessment method

Coursework:

The course is linear (examined at the end of the course) and does not have a coursework element

Examinations:

'F' refers to Foundation Tier; 'H' refers to Higher Tier

Listening: (F) 35mins or (H) 45mins; questions and responses in both English and French;

Reading: (F) 45mins or (H) 60mins; questions and responses in both English and French, plus a translation from French to English;

Speaking: (F) 7-9 mins or (H) 10-12 mins including a: (1) Role Play; (2) Stimulus Card; and (3) General Conversation.

Writing: (F) 60 mins or (H) 75 mins; (F) simple responses, a short written passage, a translation from English to French and structured writing. (H) Structured writing, open-ended writing and translation from English to French.

Careers linked to the subject

Careers areas with specific MFL skills: translating, interpreting, teaching foreign language(s).

Careers areas with combined MFL and other skills: Law, Engineering, Science (including Social Science, History, Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy), Politics, Finance, Business (Sales and Marketing), it and Computing, Leisure, Tourism, Catering,Transport, Civil Service, Media and Journalism.

Lead Teacher: Josianne Price