Languages Co-Ordinator;  Ms Shane Glass

Teachers of French;    Robin Teese, Carmelina Grassi,  Desa Lucas.

 French is a rich and beautiful language spoken by millions of people across a range of continents. Students at John XXIII College are privileged to be able to study French from Year 8, culminating in TEE if they wish. French classes are fun, dynamic and rich in learning. Classes are accessible to students of all academic abilities, needs and interests. Students gain the confidence and ability to interact with people from different cultures to their own and may use these skills in later life in travel or vocational areas.

Year 8 French
Typically in Year 8 students start to come to grips with French pronunciation. It doesn’t take long before they can express themselves in simple sentences and sound quite convincing! They are very quickly able to greet a French speaker and introduce themselves and their family and impart some basic information about themselves.

Over the year they will study topics such as Schools in France, Food, Sport and Family Life.

Year 9 French
By Year 9, students studying French will be more confident with the language be able to understand quite a lot and have a fairly extensive vocabulary. They are comfortable working in the four areas of language learning, Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. Lessons continue to be rich in learning and fun to be in. Language teachers are more than happy to integrate language games, films and practical lessons into the learning programme.

Over the year, students will cover topics such as Leisure Activities, the Cinema, Paris and the Weather.

Year 10 French
Year 10 students are well on their way to being confident speakers of French and are critical listeners for comprehension. For those students wishing to continue with French into Years 11 and 12, this is the year when they will form an excellent foundation on which to build. For those students for whom Year 10 is their final year of the subject, they can feel a sense of achievement at having a good knowledge of some of the aspects of living in a francophone country and knowing that they would be able to hold a conversation in French or correspond with native speaker. Lessons continue to be rich and varied with an element of fun complementing the solid learning taking place.

Typically in Year 10, the topics covered include Describing People, French cities, Clothes and Fashion, Television and the Cinema and Parties.

Year 11 French
Year 11 students of French at John XXIII College are a special group of young people. Not only do they have an understanding of and indeed empathy for a culture other than their own, they have through their Lower School language learning, gained considerable insight into their own language and culture along the way. They are at the beginning of a course that not only prepares them well for the demands of TEE in Year 12 but also forces them to think critically about and express themselves in French on a number of important social issues such as the environment, relationships and the future.

Year 12 French
It is in Year 12 that French students really start to master the language and make it their own. They have control of the fundamentals of French and they use this as a basis for experimentation. As such they develop an individual style and are free to discuss a whole range of interesting and contemporary subjects. By the end of the year, students feel confident using the language in a variety of settings and situations and they are able to respond and react appropriately with French speakers throughout the world.