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SUB JEC T
FRENCH

French is one of the two modern languages on offer in St. Mary’s
Secondary School. In keeping with current trends in modem
language teaching, the emphasis is placed on communication through
the target language. We want our students to communicate to the
maximum of their potential through French, and to understand spoken
and written French, to the best of their ability.

Reasons for learning French
> A world language. More than 300 million people speak French on the five continents.
> A language for the international job market.
> The language of culture-cooking, fashion, theatre, visual arts, dance and architecture.
> A language for travel-France is the world’s top tourist destination with 87 million visitors annually.
> A language for higher education.
> The other language of international relations. Official language of the U.N.
> A language that opens up the world.
> A language that is fun to learn.
> A language for learning other languages. E.g., Spanish

What will I learn in French class?
In 1st Year, we start at the beginning, and it is not necessary to have studied French, prior to
coming to St. Mary’s. Broadly speaking there are three areas of concern in the teaching of French:
> Spoken French: We begin with simple communications: saying, “hello”, introducing yourself to
somebody, speaking of things that you like and dislike. Gradually, the students build up a good
range of vocabulary, and a range of expressions and structures that enable them to maintain a basic
conversation in French. By the end of Its year, they will for instance, also be able to describe a house
and the main buildings in a town, they will be able to ask and to give directions, they will be able to
ask and tell the time, to describe basic actions such as homework and housework.
> Listening Work: Having mastered the basic elements of each section of the course, orally, the
material is reinforced through listening to spoken French.
> Written French: Written French is the third element in our language teaching. Having spoken of
and heard about things, then we ask our students to write and to read about them.

Who Would This Subject Suit?
A Language learning is accessible to all students and contributes to their cognitive, personal and
social growth by enhancing their communicative and thinking skills, as well as their participation
in a global society.
B Being able to communicate in the mother tongue and in foreign languages are also among the eight
key competences for lifelong learning identified by the European Union and European Council.
C Language learning develops students’ general language awareness. In learning foreign languages,
students are actively engaged in activities and tasks which integrate the five language skills
of listening, reading, spoken production, spoken interaction and writing. As a result, they

St. Mary's Secondary School First Year Subject Choice 23