11 French

Year 11 French

What do we do in Year 11 French?

We…

• take time to review and revise what we have learnt in Years 9 and 10.
• learn how to talk about what we used to do, but no longer do.
• learn to talk about what we will do in the future.
• get closer to our French flowing like a native French speaker’s.
• listen to iconic French songs and adverts and watch short videos from French children's TV programs.
• have 25 weekly vocabulary lists that revise Year 9 and Year 10 vocabulary as well as contain new Year 11 vocabulary. This vocabulary is based on the NCEA official Level 1 List. By the end of the year, we will know over 750 French words really well. (Some of these are words you learnt in Years 9 and 10).
• regularly have conversations in French that will naturally flow and end up lasting for at least 5 minutes.
• have our own, 8 course, French gastronomic meal – a meal that was added to UNESCO’s world heritage list in 2010.
• participate in NaNoWriMo in November and write our own short story in French.
• watch a film in French.
• have the opportunity to sit the A2 DELF exam (official qualification awarded by the French Ministry of Education).
• have “French Friday” where both students and teachers are only allowed to speak in French.
• participate in Senior French students shared lunches.
• and so much more.

In Year 11 French, we complete one NCEA standard, which is the Interaction. Students record 3 conversations in French with someone in their class and about topics learnt in class. Across the interactions, students only have to speak for 2 to 3 minutes, however most students will have spoken for at least 6 minutes. Students choose their best interaction and they then gain 5 NCEA credits.

We also develop our reading, listening and writing skills. We use readings and listenings from our textbooks as well as past NCEA exams since they use the vocabulary that we are learning throughout the year. This also helps to familiarise students with the NCEA reading and listening style for NCEA Level 2. Students will regularly write in French in class as well as for school assessments. They will receive feedback in different forms: sometimes direct corrections and other times, they will be shown where their errors are and they will be given opportunities to correct them.

The topics we look at in Year 11:

- Who am I? – Introducing myself to penpals.

- My family, friends and relationships – who do I get along with? Why? How do I help someone with friendship issues?

- Free-time activities – what do I like to do in my free-time? What did I used to do in my free-time? How do I use technology? What type of food do I like? What household chores do I do?

- Healthy living – what do I do to stay in shape? What do I say if I’m in pain? Having a balanced diet. What is bad for your health?

- Home and New Zealand – describing where you live in detail and introducing New Zealand to visitors.

Why should I keep studying a language/French?

It's fun!

You can try new food.

Year 11 is more relaxed.

It brings you new experiences.

You can stretch your brain in new ways.

You become close friends with your classmates.

You start to really see your French knowledge grow.

You learn more about yourself and your own culture(s).

French is an official language in many international organisations.

Learning a language helps you to understand English/your other language(s).

Not many people who grow up in NZ speak French, so it will mean you stand out.

Unfortunately, once you drop a language, it is highly unlikely that you will ever become fluent in it, because you will never have regular classes like this again. Starting a language at university doesn't give you long enough to become fluent. However, studying a language at university (as a major, minor, elective, certificate or diploma) after studying it at high school strengthens your language knowledge incredibly.

Languages are extremely relevant if you are thinking of entering politics, doing law, business, medicine or sport.

Who knows where life will take you! You may end up in a job working with French clients or moving to a French-speaking country.

Politics: you are likely to need to talk to people from other countries to achieve what you want to achieve or to learn about what other countries do.

Business: Our closest neighbour is New Caledonia, which is French-speaking. French Polynesia is also close by. Many NZ businesses wanting to expand look at these places as we are their closest big neighbour, which means they want our products and businesses. It's much easier to expand to those countries if you speak their language.

Medicine: People from New Caledonia and French Polynesia are regularly transported to NZ for medical care. Refugees also need medical care. Can you imagine how scary it would be if you don't understand the doctor or the nurse?

Law: French-speaking refugees come to NZ. They may need your help.

Sport: Many training camps, clubs or competitions run out of Europe and in particular around France, Switzerland, Andorra and Belgium, where French is spoken. It makes it a lot easier to contracts and to work with teammates if you speak French.

A Year 11 Interaction Example: