French
« Avoir une autre langue, c'est posséder une deuxième âme. »
To have another language is to possess a second soul.
– Empereur Charlemagne
The French Department is a lively and welcoming place to be and the French teachers are dedicated and positive in their approach to students, offering their time generously.
French adds to the overall profile of a student and improves a student’s chances of getting into a good university and later into an interesting career. Over the last few years many King Edward’s students have gone on to study French at university or to combine French with an additional subject, including economics, medicine and law.
The size of our French classes allows for considerable individual attention and a great deal of lively interaction. Each class has a team of teachers, and students have a 25 minute lesson with our French assistant every week. There are numerous opportunities available to develop linguistic skills, be it in lunchtime workshops, borrowing a French DVD or book, or by taking part in the Sixth Form trip to France.
The language facilities are outstanding. The classrooms have interactive whiteboards and students work with their own iPads or laptops using these in lessons to have access to their digital courses for years 1 and 2 and a wide range of additional information and resources to help support their studies. Students are encouraged to keep up to date with what is going on in the French speaking world.
Entry Requirements
Grade 7 in French.
You should aim to begin the course with a firm knowledge of the major verb tenses and forms for both regular and irregular verbs. A working knowledge of the bulk of GCSE vocabulary will also be assumed.
Topics Covered
Over the two year course, students will study the following:
Lower Sixth
• The changing nature of family
• The ‘cyber-society’
• The place of voluntary work
• A culture proud of its heritage
• Contemporary francophone music
• Cinema: the 7th art form
• One film – from a choice of Les 400 Coups, La Haine or Au revoir les enfants
Upper Sixth
• Positive features of a diverse society
• Life for the marginalised
• How criminals are treated
• Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment
• Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power?
• Politics and immigration
• One literary text – from a choice of No et moi (Delphine de Vigan) or Boule de Suif et autres contes de la guerre (Guy de Maupassant)
Methods of Assessment
The two main areas of study during the French A Level are; social issues, trends and political, intellectual and artistic culture.
Paper 1: Listening, Reading & Writing
Students will listen to and read passages from a range of contexts and sources, and answer questions in French as well as non-verbally. There will be text summaries and translation both into and out of French.
Paper 2: Writing
Students will answer an essay question in French on both a film and a literary text studied in class.
Paper 3: Speaking
Students will have a 20-minute speaking assessment, where they will have a discussion around a card based on a theme from the course, and then present and discuss their own research project.
Meet the Staff
If you have a specific enquiry for the French Department, email french@kes.hants.sch.uk
| Ms K. Clement MA |
Head of French, Teacher of German, French and Spanish |
|
Miss A. Galan BA |
Teacher of French |
|
Miss L. Breheny BA |
Teacher of French |
| Mr A. Sinclair BA |
Head of Languages, Teacher of French and Spanish |
| Ms F. Berdous Medjnoun | French Language Assistant |
