1. The Big Picture – La Grande Image! What is involved in learning French in Year 9? In Year 9 you will build on the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in French through a wide range of activities. You will be given the text book Voilà 2 and an activity booklet. In addition, you will need 3 lined exercise books. You should keep all your French books in a plastic folder to protect them. The topics for each term are: Term 1 ____ Unit 1 Countries, languages, classroom French, making comparisons. ____ Unit 2 Say what you did recently, describe a visit in the past. ____ Unit 3 Foods you love and hate, quantities, buying food. ____ Unit 4 Places in town, directions, describe your town. Term 2 ____ Unit 5 Describe friends and stars, talk about a day in the past. ____ Unit 6 Weather, say what you do as a family, French- speaking countries. ____ Unit 7 Ask permission to do things, make suggestions, make excuses, thank-you letter. ____ Unit 8 Say what you did yesterday, clothes, colours, argue about designer clothes. Skills - Now I am able to… Unit 1 Apply a grammar rule one step at a time. Use a pattern to work out meaning. Unit 2 Compare present and past tenses. Use linking words e.g. parce que, mais. Predict how words are pronounced. Find words in a dictionary. Unit 3 Recycle words learnt before. Use new words with correct gender. Practise thinking skills. Unit 4 Recycle words I know already Skills - Now I am able to… Unit 5 Be precise, e.g. use très, assez. Link sentences with et, mais. Learn ways of remembering words. Adapt model sentences. Unit 6 Add information with mais parfois… Choose the right word in a dictionary. Prepare and give a presentation. Unit 7 Bring in words you’ve learnt before. Unit 8 Change parts of sentences. Use four ways to work out meaning. Winter revision Summer revision Year 9 2012-2013

2. Term 3 ____ Unit 9 Future holidays and activities, future school trip, Futuroscope, a story in French. ____ Unit 10 Visit to a safari park, football match, visit to a friend, ask for the right bus. ____ Unit 11 Food for a picnic, what you eat and drink, buy tickets for a museum, events in French history, a trip someone else did. ____ Unit 12 Birthday presents, likes and dislikes, exchange contact details, chat at a party. Skills - Now I am able to… Unit 9 Keep a conversation going. Describe an event in separate stages. Unit 10 Predict how words are pronounced. Prepare for a listening activity. Use time markers. Unit 11 Work out gender. Learn a longer dialogue. Unit 12 Deduce the meaning of new words from context. Answer in longer sentences. Summer revision What about exams and tests? At the end of November and May, you will have an exam, which will test each of the 4 language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing). Since a language is built up over time, it is important to revise and consolidate work previously learned in Year 8. Read over the ‘stratégies’ in each unit to help you deal with unfamiliar language and recycle language you already know. Throughout the year, you will continue to have regular vocabulary tests and Core Assessment Tasks. What about homework? You will have regular learning homework and written homework. Progress in a language depends on thorough learning of new words. Refer to your checklists in your Learning Organiser for how to learn vocabulary and how to set out written homework. How can I use computers to help me learn a language? You will have the opportunity to use computers during the year. Your teacher will also give you some useful websites with lots of useful learning activities. E.g. www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french www.channel4learning.netwww.bbc.co.uk/languages/frenchwww.channel4learning.net www.mflgames.co.uk www.languagesforall.co.ukwww.mflgames.co.ukwww.languagesforall.co.uk www.digitaldialects.com How can I raise the level of my French? Speaking / Writing Make a list of cross-topic words. Do more with the language you already know. Recycle language you have learnt in Year 8. Aim to say and write longer sentences. Reading / Listening Learn the common instructions on page 160. Be prepared to deal with unfamiliar language - use cognates (words that sound similar to English) and the context to aid understanding. See ‘stratégies’ for each unit listed on the contents page (p4-5)