French

SUBJECT: French

What will I learn in this subject?

The four main skills that we focus on at Junior Cycle are listening skills, reading skills, spoken interaction and writing skills. We aim to communicate as much as possible through French while encouraging our students to learn and participate to the best of their ability. We also learn about French culture and traditions in France, and French speaking countries in the world. French is an official language in 29 countries. Did you know that more than 220 million people speak French in the world? 80,000 French words are similar to their English word. French along with English is the only language spoken on five continents. It is also the second most widely taught foreign language in the world after English.

How will I learn in this subject?

You will learn this subject through a variety of teaching and learning methods. Some of these include the following:

» PowerPoint presentations, aural and written exercises, group work, cooperative learning, project work, oral presentations, oral exams, role-play, worksheets, songs, games with dice, games with flashcards, bingo and Think/Pair/Share, » Online resources are also used such as YouTube videos, news articles, magazines, authentic news clips and foreign language films. » We use apps such as Linguascope, Quizlet, Kahoot, Duolingo and Immersive reader » Promoting the use of Target Language- students are provided with key classroom phrases at the beginning of the year and are encouraged to use them as much as possible. » In the French Department we provide notes on OneNote that can be copied into your own online Notebook. » Students also have access to authentic language material through their E-books.

Is learning this subject in CPS anything like what I did in Primary School? French will be a new subject for most of you. But don’t forget learning something new can be fun!

How will this subject be useful to me?

You will be able to travel to any of the 29 countries worldwide where French is the official language spoken and you will be able to communicate in these countries. It also gives you the opportunity to work abroad in any of these Francophone countries.

Assessment?

For your Junior Cycle you will complete two classroom based assessments and the final written examination at the end of 3rd Year.