Albany Senior High School/Coursebook/1FRE

Why learn French?
There is a common misconception that languages are not useful for future careers in medicine, law, engineering, science and many other fields. The truth is,''' languages can be combined easily with any career! '''This is because bilingual people are twice as useful to employers because they can do the same job as two people! If you learn French, you are opening up a world of possibility. If you are already bilingual, why not add French as a third language and triple your future possibilities?

The facts remain...

- More than 220 million people speak French

- It's the 2nd most widely learned language after English

- French is both a working language and an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross and international courts. Proficiency in French is essential for anyone considering a career in any international organisation.

So why wouldn't you add French to your list of skills and increase your career opportunities?

What will I learn?
This level of French develops your social competence. You will this by learning how:

- to speak confidently, to initiate and sustain a conversation in French beyond immediate contexts, and to use language to seek information and respond appropriately.

- to understand and interpret detail in a variety of media in more complex language.

- to write passages, letters, diary entries with increasing accuracy, with some linking of sentences and structuring of ideas.

You will learn how:

- to speak about your spare time and compare trends between young people in New Zealand and France.

- identify specific food from different regions and how to read and create a French recipe

- to discuss experiences of past holidays and plan a holiday in France

- to explore possible ideal jobs and how to apply

- to compare school systems in New Zealand and France

- to plan a holiday in France by planning a detailed itinerary

- to research into the diversity of regions in France and what makes them so different from each other

Course design principles: 

- high expectations which means that your teacher will be clear on what is expected of you and how to meet those high expectations. An open door policy means that you will have the opportunity to discuss with your teacher where your learning is going.

- assessment which enables learning which means that the learning takes over assessment and that you will concentrate on providing evidence of your learning as you learn and assessment will no tbe an isolated occurrence at the end of a unit but rather a by product of learning You will be in charge of choosing which evidence will go towards your internal assessments.

What sorts of things will I do?
You will:

- connect with other French speaking students and guests via email, skype and visits.

- learn how to cook a traditional French dish and about French culture, history and literature.

- connect to the French speaking community in Auckland.

- read about French regions and create a website to promote a region

- keep a diary about your life