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French

Year 12 - Elective

Length of Course: Full Year
Department: Languages
Head of Department: Mrs Frederique Tonkin
Year Available: 2024

The study of a language other than English contributes to the overall education of students, most particularly in the area of communication, but also in the areas of cross-cultural understanding, intercultural learning, cognitive development, literacy and general knowledge. It provides access to the culture of communities which use the language and promotes understanding of different attitudes and values within the wider Australian community and beyond.

The ability to communicate in another language, in conjunction with other skills, may provide opportunities for employment in the fields of interpreting, social services, ethnic affairs, the tourism and hospitality industries, international relations, the arts, commerce, technology, science, education etc.

Learning a language is about learning skills that go beyond a language and that will make our learners the resourceful individuals, creative thinkers and global citizens who will shape the 21st Century.

Curriculum focus

In Year 12 French there are three prescribed themes and topics. Sub-topics may be negotiated.

1. The Individual

  • personal world

  • education and aspirations

  • personal opinions and values

2. The French-Speaking Communities

  • life styles

  • historical perspectives

  • arts and entertainment

3. The Changing World

  • social issues

  • the world of work

  • scientific and technological issues.

The themes, topics and subtopics are the vehicle through which the students will demonstrate achievement of the outcomes. Each outcome will correspond to an area of study, namely Interpersonal communication, Interpretive communication and Presentational communication.

Unit 3 - Outcomes

For this unit students are required to demonstrate three outcomes:

  • to participate in a spoken exchange in French to resolve an issue (Outcome 1- Interpersonal communication)

  • to interpret information form texts and write responses in French (Outcome 2 - Interpretive communication) 

  • to express ideas in a personal, informative or imaginative piece of writing in French (Outcome 3 -Presentational communication)

Unit 4 - Outcomes

For this unit students are required to demonstrate three outcomes:

  • to share information, ideas and opinions in a spoken exchange in French (Interpersonal Communication)

  • to analyse information from written, spoken and viewed texts for use in a written response in French (Interpretive communication)

  • to present information, concepts and ideas in evaluative or persuasive writing on an issue in French (Presentational communication)

Assessment

The award of satisfactory completion for both units is based on a decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the unit. This decision will be based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s overall performance on assessment tasks designated for the unit.

There will be three SACs for Unit 3 and three SACs for Unit 4. These will include:

Unit 3:

  • a 3 to 4 minute role-play focusing on negotiating a solution to a personal issue

  • a written response to specific questions or instructions using information extracted from written, spoken and viewed texts on the selected subtopic

  • an approximately 250-word personal, informative or imaginary piece of writing

Unit 4:

  • a 3 to 4 minute interview providing information and responding to questions about a cultural product of practice

  • an approximately 250-word written response for a specific audience and purpose, incorporating information from three or more texts 

  • an approximately 300-word persuasive or evaluative piece of writing 

The student’s level of achievement for Units 3 and 4 will be determined by School Assessed Coursework (25% per unit of the final assessment) and end-of -year VCE examinations (50% of the final assessment).

The end-of-year examinations are:

  • an oral examination of approximately 15 minutes

  • a written examination of 2 ¼ hours.

In addition students will interact with a native speaker once a week. The aim of these sessions is to improve students’ listening and conversation skills.

Links

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Key Resource

Please see the booklist.