French

Head of Department: Mrs S. Makoni.

Members of Staff: Ms T. Mutasa and Ms N. Murembwe.

Departmental Aims

The department aims are to enable students to:

• Develop the language proficiency required to communicate effectively in French at level A2 (CEFR Basic User), with elements of level B1 (CEFR Independent User)
• Offer insights into the culture and society of countries and communities where French is spoken
• Encourage positive attitudes towards speakers of other languages and a sympathetic approach to other cultures
• Develop awareness of the nature of language and language learning
• Provide enjoyment and intellectual stimulation
• Develop transferable skills (e.g. memorising, drawing of inferences) to complement other areas of the curriculum
• Form a sound base of the skills, language and attitudes required for progression to work or further study in French.

Content Overview

The subject content is organised in five broad topic areas (A–E below). These provide contexts for the acquisition of vocabulary and the study of grammar and structures. The study of these topic areas enables students to gain an insight into countries and communities where French is spoken. The five topic areas listed below are described in more detail in section 3.

• Everyday activities
• Personal and social life
• The world around us
• The world of work
• The international world

The syllabus gives students opportunities to develop and apply a wide range of foreign language skills. Candidates will be expected to read and understand a variety of written and spoken texts on familiar topics. Candidates will be required to demonstrate understanding of the main ideas, opinions and attitudes, as well as select and extract relevant details and deduce the meaning of occasional unknown words from context. They will also have opportunities to write in French on familiar, everyday topics, and to speak the language by taking part in everyday conversations.

Syllabus Breakdown

IGCSE Level (Form 3 & 4)

All candidates take all four papers. Candidates will be eligible for grades A* to G. All candidates take:

Paper 1:

• A listening exam worth 25% of their final grade(40 marks) – Approximately 50 minutes. Candidates listen to a number of recordings and answer multiple-choice and matching questions. This will be externally assessed

Paper 2:

• A reading exam worth 25% of their final grade (45 marks). Candidates will be required to read a number of texts and answer multiple-choice and matching questions as well as questions requiring short answers.

Paper 3:

• A speaking exam worth 25% of their final grade (40 marks) – Approximately 10 minutes. Candidates will be required to complete one role play and conversations on two topics. This exam will be internally assessed and externally moderated.

Paper 4:

• A writing exam worth 25% of their final grade (45 marks) – Approximately 10 minutes. Candidates will be required to complete one form-filling task, one directed writing task and one task in the format of an email/letter or article/blog. Again, this will ve externally assessed

Entry Requirements at AS & A Level – A* / A in French at IGCSE

AS LEVEL (Lower 6) 8682

• Component 1: Speaking Test
• Component 2: Reading & Writing
• Component 3: Essay

A LEVEL (Upper 6) 9716 

• Component 1: Speaking Test
• Component 2: Reading & Writing
• Component 3: Essay
• Component 4: Texts

Career Prospects: