Autumn Term – Les Bases et Les Déscriptions (The Basics and Descriptions)

Students will begin with a short introduction to French phonics.  They will then learn some basics – numbers, months, days of the week and colours, before learning to give simple opinions.  They will acquire some basic French grammar skills to begin to build extended sentences to describe themselves and others. 

Spring Term – Mon Collége  (My School)

Students will learn to discuss school life and school subjects.  They will revisit and build on language they have acquired to give justified opinions on school subjects, using a range of adjectives, intensifiers and conjunctions.  The concept of verb conjugation will be introduced, enabling students to talk and write about what they do during the school day. 

Summer Term – Mes Passetemps (My Hobbies)

Students will learn to discuss their use of technology and free time activities.  The principal grammar focus will be verb conjugation, giving students the confidence to be more independent in their manipulation of the language.  Students will continue to consolidate and develop their ability to share their opinion on free time activities, using a small range of opinion phrases, conjunctions, adjectives and intensifiers. Time adverbs will also be introduced to encourage more complexity.

Autumn Term – Là où j’habite (Where I live)

This term students will learn to discuss where they live.  They will learn to express what kind of things there are to see and do in their local environment.  They will also learn to talk and write about their home.  Students will revisit common irregular verbs in the present tense together with adjectival agreement and will further develop their ability to give their opinion.

Spring Term – Mes Passetemps (My Hobbies)

Students will revisit the topic of tree time activities, which was first introduced in Year 7.  This time, the focus will be on film, television and reading.  They will also revisit technology, learning to discuss how they use mobile phones and social media.  Students will revisit verb conjugation in the present tense and will be introduced to the perfect tense, allowing them to communicate in different time frames.

Summer Term – Paris

The focus will be on Paris and Parisian culture.  Students will learn about France’s capital – where it is, how they can travel there, what there is to see and do there, as well as some facts about the French revolution and why Bastille Day is such a significant celebration in France.  The grammar focus will be the perfect tense.  Students will develop an in-depth understanding of this past tense, allowing them to write and speak confidently about a previous visit to Paris, including giving opinions.

Autumn Term – Bien Dans Sa Peau (Feeling Good About Yourself)

Students will learn about healthy living, with a focus on the importance of physical activity and its role in staying healthy.  Students will acquire language to discuss healthy and unhealthy foods and what they intend to do to stay fit.  Students will learn to use the near and simple future tenses and will continue to develop the complexity of their language, incorporating new vocabulary, a range of conjunctions, opinion phrases, time adverbs, adjectives and intensifiers into their writing and speaking.

Spring Term – Provence

Students will learn to discuss holidays, with a particular focus on learning about the Provence region of France, gaining an insight into the region’s tourist attractions and culture. Grammar will focus on using question words and the conditional and perfect tenses.

Summer Term – Qui suis-je ?  (Who am I?)

Students will revisit and build on the work covered in Year 7, to give character and physical descriptions with greater complexity of language.  Students will learn to talk about relationships and to describe a past day out with friends.  They will revisit both the present and perfect tenses.

Autumn Term – Le Temps des Loisirs (Free Time)

Students will revisit the topic of free time, which they met in Years 7 and 8.  They will deepen their vocabulary knowledge in areas relating to sport, technology, music, reading, television and evenings out.  Students will continue to incorporate a range of opinion phrases, conjunctions and time adverbs into their work and will be introduced to new, more complex grammar structures, including the comparative, negative structures, depuis, as well as continued revision of the near future and perfect tenses.

Spring Term – De La Ville à la Campagne (Town and Countryside)

Students will revisit the topic of town, consolidating and further developing the work done in Year 8. Students will revise building names and a range of activities.  The introduction of new vocabulary and of complex grammar structures, such as the superlative, will enable students to describe a region.  Students will revise question words and question formation, will learn weather phrases and how to form subordinate clauses using si and will revisit negative structures.

Summer Term – Les Vacances (Holidays)

Students will learn to discuss holidays and travel.  They will participate in conversations in the real-life contexts of booking a hotel room, eating out and travelling by train.  The perfect and near future tenses remain a key focus of students’ learning and these will be revised in the context of describing a past and future holiday experience.

Autumn Term – Au Collège et Mon Avenir (School and My Future)

Students will revisit and develop the topic of school, which was introduced in Year 7.  They will learn to give complex opinions on school subjects, to discuss school rules, uniform, extra-curricular activities and achievements.  Students will revise a range of grammar points and will learn to form the imperfect tense.

Students will learn to talk about future plans and career aspirations.  They will revise the future, conditional, perfect and imperfect tenses.

Spring Term – Le Monde (The World)

Students will learn about global issues acquiring vocabulary to discuss environmental issues and natural disasters.  They will also discuss ethical shopping and voluntary work.  More complex grammar concepts such as the passive voice and emphatic pronouns will be covered, together with the revision of tenses.