Grade 09: French

In this unit, 'Near future, recent past and present continuous', you learn to use these forms. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Near future, recent past and present continuous' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: use these forms, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, The near future uses aller plus the infinitive. Je vais partir demain. [I am going to leave tomorrow.] Nous allons visiter le musée. [We are going to visit the museum.] Conjugate aller correctly: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont.
2. Step 2, The recent past uses venir de plus the infinitive. Je viens de manger. [I have just eaten.] Elle vient d'arriver. [She has just arrived.] Conjugate venir: je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent.
3. Step 3, The present continuous uses être en train de plus the infinitive. Je suis en train de lire. [I am in the middle of reading.] Ils sont en train de jouer. [They are playing right now.] It stresses that the action is happening at this moment.
4. Step 4, Dialogue. Maman : Tu viens de finir tes devoirs ? [Have you just finished your homework?] L'enfant : Non, je suis en train de les faire. [No, I am doing them.] Maman : Et après ? [And afterwards?] L'enfant : Après, je vais jouer au foot. [Afterwards I am going to play football.]
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A student says je viens de mangé. Correction: je viens de manger, with the infinitive. Another says je vais de partir. Correction: je vais partir, with no de. A third says je suis en train lire; correction: je suis en train de lire.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write one sentence with each form about a trip. Model answer: Nous allons partir à la mer. Je viens de préparer ma valise. Maman est en train de réserver les billets. [We are going to leave for the sea. I have just packed my case. Mum is in the middle of booking the tickets.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Use these forms: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Comparing education systems', you learn to compare two systems. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Comparing education systems' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: compare two systems, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Collect facts in two columns. In France: école primaire five years (ages 6 to 11), collège four years (11 to 15), lycée three years (15 to 18), ending with the baccalauréat. For comparison use an invented system B: six years of primary, three of lower secondary, three of upper secondary. Total in both: 5 + 4 + 3 = 12 and 6 + 3 + 3 = 12.
2. Step 2, Learn the comparison forms. plus ... que [more ... than], moins ... que [less ... than], aussi ... que [as ... as]. Le primaire est plus long dans le système B qu'en France. [Primary school is longer in system B than in France.] Les deux systèmes durent aussi longtemps. [Both systems last as long.]
3. Step 3, Link ideas with contrast words. alors que, tandis que [whereas], par contre [on the other hand], en revanche [in contrast]. En France, le collège dure quatre ans, alors que dans le système B le premier cycle du secondaire dure trois ans. [In France lower secondary lasts four years, whereas in system B it lasts three.]
4. Step 4, Add a similarity and an opinion. Dans les deux systèmes, les élèves passent douze ans à l'école. [In both systems, pupils spend twelve years at school.] À mon avis, un collège plus long permet de mieux préparer le lycée. [In my opinion a longer collège prepares better for lycée.]
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A child says plus bon. Correction: meilleur, since bon has an irregular comparative. Another says aussi long comme. Correction: aussi long que. Another writes Le système est plus longue. Correction: plus long, because système is masculine. Check agreement.
6. Step 6, Your turn: compare country A with five school days of 8 hours and country B with four school days of 8 hours. Answer: Dans le pays A, les élèves sont à l'école 40 heures par semaine, alors que dans le pays B ils y sont 32 heures. La semaine est donc plus longue dans le pays A.

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Compare two systems: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Personal pronouns y and en', you learn to use y and en. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Personal pronouns y and en' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: use y and en, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, The pronoun y replaces à plus a place or thing. Tu vas à Paris ? Oui, j'y vais. [Are you going to Paris? Yes, I am going there.] Il pense à son voyage. Il y pense. [He thinks about his trip. He thinks about it.] Y goes before the verb.
2. Step 2, The pronoun en replaces de plus a noun or a quantity. Tu veux du pain ? Oui, j'en veux. [Do you want some bread? Yes, I want some.] Elle vient de Lyon. Elle en vient. [She comes from Lyon. She comes from there.] J'ai deux frères. J'en ai deux. [I have two brothers. I have two.]
3. Step 3, Position rules. With the near future the pronoun goes before the infinitive: Je vais y aller. [I am going to go there.] In the negative: Je n'y vais pas. Je n'en veux pas. [I am not going there. I do not want any.] The pronoun stays next to its verb.
4. Step 4, Dialogue. Élève A : Tu es allé au cinéma ? [Did you go to the cinema?] Élève B : Oui, j'y suis allée hier. [Yes, I went there yesterday.] Élève A : Tu as pris des chips ? [Did you get some crisps?] Élève B : Oui, j'en ai pris. [Yes, I got some.]
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A student says Je en veux. Correction: J'en veux, with elision. Another says J'en ai deux frères. Correction: J'en ai deux, because en already replaces frères. A third says Je vais à y aller; correction: Je vais y aller.
6. Step 6, Your turn: rewrite with y or en. Elle va à l'école. Nous avons trois chats. Je ne veux pas de lait. Model answer: Elle y va. Nous en avons trois. Je n'en veux pas. [She goes there. We have three. I do not want any.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Use y and en: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Culture and civilisation', you learn to describe aspects of French-speaking cultures. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Culture and civilisation' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: describe aspects of French-speaking cultures, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Locate French-speaking places. French is spoken by hundreds of millions of people on five continents. Countries with French as an official language include la France, la Belgique, la Suisse, le Canada, le Sénégal and la Côte d'Ivoire. Use en with feminine countries and au with masculine ones: en France, au Canada, au Sénégal.
2. Step 2, Describe languages and everyday facts. La Suisse a quatre langues nationales : l'allemand, le français, l'italien et le romanche. [Switzerland has four national languages.] Au Québec, la langue officielle est le français. [In Quebec, the official language is French.] Use est and a to give facts.
3. Step 3, Describe festivals and food. En France, la fête nationale est le 14 juillet. [In France the national day is 14 July.] Au Québec, la fête nationale est le 24 juin. En Belgique, on mange des frites et des gaufres. En Suisse, on mange de la fondue. Au Québec, on mange de la poutine.
4. Step 4, Write a short description. Au Sénégal, le français est une langue officielle, mais beaucoup de gens parlent aussi le wolof. [In Senegal French is an official language, but many people also speak Wolof.] Use on and il y a to describe general customs without needing exact names.
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A child writes Je vais en Canada. Correction: au Canada. Another says La Suisse a trois langues. Correction: quatre. Another uses capital letters: Français, Juillet. Correction: le français is a language and juillet a month, both written with small letters.
6. Step 6, Your turn: describe one French-speaking country in three sentences. Model answer: La Belgique est un pays en Europe. On y parle français, néerlandais et allemand. On y mange des frites et des gaufres. [Belgium is a country in Europe. French, Dutch and German are spoken there. People eat chips and waffles there.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Describe aspects of French-speaking cultures: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

On the slide: L1 Basic · First words and greetings

Notes: Greet someone, give your name and count to ten in French. Notes: teach Bonjour (hello) and Je m'appelle... (my name is...) with a smile and gesture; learners greet five classmates and say their own name, with no reading or writing needed yet.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Sounds, spelling and simple phrases

Notes: Pronounce common French sounds and read short phrases about family, colours and food. Notes: show that final consonants are often silent, as in petit (small); learners read ten word cards aloud, then match each to a picture.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Present tense and simple sentences

Notes: Write and say ten sentences about yourself using regular verbs and the verbs être (to be) and avoir (to have). Notes: give a gap-fill on Je suis... and J'ai...; learners complete it with their own details and swap with a partner to check agreement.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Past and future in conversation

Notes: Talk about yesterday and next week using the passé composé and the near future. Notes: model J'ai mangé (I ate) and Je vais manger (I am going to eat); learners interview a partner for three minutes, then write six sentences in the past and the future.

This course: Grade 09 French is at this level. Its units include Near future, recent past and present continuous; Comparing education systems; Personal pronouns y and en; Culture and civilisation.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Argument, texts and accuracy

Notes: Write a 250-word opinion piece and summarise an authentic article, using the subjunctive where needed. Notes: practise Il faut que je parte (I must leave); learners mark every verb in their draft, fix agreement errors, and defend one opinion in a spoken minute.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Literature, linguistics and style

Notes: Analyse a literary or media text for style, register and historical context, and write a critical essay in French. Notes: choose one page of prose; learners find three stylistic choices, compare them with a modern translation, and argue in 600 words which reading is stronger.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Research, translation and teaching

Notes: Plan and carry out an original piece of French-language research or translation with a documented method. Notes: choose a narrow question, such as how one word's meaning has shifted; collect twenty sources, code them, write up findings in French, and submit them for peer review.