Welcome to National 5 French

Course outline and Expectations

Why are languages important?• You will add an international dimension

to your choice of subjects at this stage which only 30% of students in the UK have and most of them go to private schools!

• You will create greater opportunities for yourself to work abroad, or for companies in the UK with international links. Many employers look for people who speak a foreign language.

• You will learn about the countries where the language is spoken and get a lot more out of a trip there.

• You will learn many skills which are useful in a wide range of future careers, such as the ability to communicate clearly, being confident about speaking in public, using problem-solving strategies, etc.

Expectations• Remember you will only get out of the

language what you put into it.• Learning a language has many

benefits, work hard and the rewards will pay off.

• I will work hard for you so that you get the result that you want, but you need to work too...

• Attend all classes, come prepared, be enthusiastic and complete homework

What will you study?

• 4 Contexts:• Society• Culture• Learning • Employability

• 4 Skills• Reading (30%)• Listening (20%)• Talking (30%)• Writing (20%)• **Grammar**

Skills for life, learning and workCommunicating with others, working in pairs and groups, time and task management, meeting deadlines, problem solving and decision making.

2 units: Understanding Language and Using Language(Added Value Unit: Reading & Listening, Writing & Talking)

The 4 contexts

• Society• Family &

Relationships• Friends &

Importance of Friendship

• Lifestyle /Health & Fitness

• Technology & Media

• Culture• Importance of

Languages• Holidays• Special

Events/Culture

The 4 contexts• Learning• School life (difference

between France and Scotland)

• Subjects (reasons for subject choice)

• Pressure at school• Future Learning plans

• Employability• Advantages and

disadvantages of jobs• Ideal jobs• Talking about part time

work • Earning your own

money/pocket money

Unit AssessmentsThese are pass/fail- no mark is

given• You will do a unit

assessment in each of the 4 communication skills.

• Listening• Reading• Writing• Talking

The Exam: Reading

•This question paper will have 30 marks (30% of the total mark).•You have 1hr 30 mins (for both parts; reading & writing- approx 1 hour for reading element) •Section one, titled ‘Reading’, will have 30 marks.•You will read three texts in the modern language. •Each text’s questions total 10 marks.•You will respond to questions in English. •You may need to provide information to complete the answer, fill gaps in statements with missing detail or select the correct answer(s) from a choice of 4.•You may use a dictionary and glossary (if appropriate).  

The Exam: Writing

• Section two, titled ‘Writing’, will have 20 marks.

• You will produce one written text in response to a job advertisement.

• You will be given six bullet points which you must address

• The first four are mainly predictable. You may use a dictionary.

• You need to write 120-150 words• This is a part of the exam that you will be able

to prepare in advance- you should aim for 20/20.

• Allow 30 mins to complete.

Problem Solving, Evaluation & Analysis

The Exam: Listening

• This question paper will have 20 marks (20% of the total mark).

• It lasts 25 mins

• You will listen to one monologue and one short conversation in the modern language. You will answer questions in English.

• Monologue has an overall purpose question, which is multiple choice. It is marked out of 8.

• The dialogue is out of 12.

The talking performance30% of your final mark!!!!

• Presentation 1-1 ½ mins

• You will deliver a presentation about a topic of your choice.

• It should have a clear structure and contain a range of vocabulary, opinions and tenses.

• Marked out of 10

• Discussion 4 ½ mins• You will answer and

ask questions about the topic you have just discussed.

• You should be able to comment on your teacher’s response too.

• Marked out of 15

You can get 5 more marks for being able to sustain the conversation

Working at home• Use online resources and activities –

eg www.languagesonline.org.uk, www.linguascope.com (username: gryffe password: languages), school languages web site.

• BBC Languages online, BBC Classclips

• Read as much in the foreign language as you can, books or newspapers, for example:

• le monde: www.lemonde.fr • le parisien: www.leparisien.fr • Listen to French music, French radio

www.listenlive.eu/france.html • Youtube video clips

• Ensure that you revise your notes at least 3 nights per week.

• Make sure that you learn vocabulary and verbs thoroughly.

• Keep practising your writing bullet points throughout the year.

• When learning vocabulary, make sure you read it aloud so that you practise pronunciation and recognise what the word sounds like.