MFL – French Year 7

Unit 1 C’est parti!

About the unit Expectations Out-of-school learning

In this first unit pupils learn to ask
and answer simple questions
about themselves in French. They
learn the names of classroom
objects and some basic rules for
pronunciation and spelling.
New language content:
• indefinite and definite articles
• numbers 1–31
• il y a
• regular plurals
• possession using de
New contexts:
• meeting and greeting people
• the date, age and birthdays
• classroom objects
• the alphabet
• classroom instructions
This unit is expected to take
12–15 hours.
At the end of this unit
most pupils will: understand basic classroom instructions spoken by the
teacher; use some classroom expressions including requests for help in
French; identify classroom objects with the correct article; understand
that the spelling of a word helps you to pronounce it, and understand
spellings of names; carry out a simple conversation when meeting
someone; copy accurately, and spell many words correctly when
writing from memory
some pupils will not have made so much progress and will: understand the
teacher’s questions and instructions with some prompting or support;
understand the words for classroom objects when they hear or read
them; point to and say the word for a small number of everyday objects
some pupils will have progressed further and will: write and say phrases
and sentences about classroom objects from memory
Prior learning
It is helpful if pupils already know the meaning of the terms: noun,
pronoun, verb, sentence, statement, question, vowel, syllable, from their
National Literacy Strategy work.
Pupils could:
• look at labels on their own clothing and household goods and make up
a list of key words in French with their English equivalents
• look out for French words/phrases which are used in English, eg déjà
vu, café, RSVP
• note any French songs that they know, eg ‘Frère Jacques’
• list any French sports personalities that they have heard of, eg
Emmanuel Petit, Alain Prost
Future learning
Pupils will reuse the structures learned in this unit. They will be taught
to recognise and apply patterns and rules of grammar in order to
communicate in new contexts such as talking and writing about family
and pets.

Where the unit fits in Resources

This is the first unit in a course for Resources include:
absolute beginners. • French calendar and diary
• PCs and word-processing software

Key stage 3 schemes of work

1
• to ask and answer basic
questions when meeting and
greeting someone
• how people meet and greet in
France compared with the UK
• to say and write the alphabet
• to understand and use the
words for classroom objects
• that nouns have a gender in
French
• how to use the indefinite article
with masculine and feminine
nouns, singular and plural
• techniques for remembering the
gender of the words and their
spelling
Key stage 3 schemes of work
• Pupils meet and greet other pupils previously unknown to them. • conduct conversations using • Citizenship: when highlighting cultural
• Pupils practise the phrases, shaking hands in groups of four. bonjour, ça va, au revoir,
• Pupils ask other pupils for their name. bonsoir, bonne nuit, Comment
• Song, eg ‘Salut! Salut!’ to the tune of ‘HiHo!’. t’appelles-tu? Je m’appelle ...
• Use video/authentic television of people introducing themselves, eg game shows. • respond to the question
• Alphabet games, songs, chants. Qui est-ce?
• Simulate telephone introductions and spell out the names. • note down or circle a French
name
• understand pronunciation of the
alphabet and pronounce and
use letters for themselves,
responding to the question,
Comment ça s’écrit?
• Guessing games (hidden flash cards, objects pictured at an unusual angle, slow • respond to C’est un ...?
reveal on overhead projector). questions with oui/non …
• Pupils share strategies for memorising the spellings, meanings and gender of the • respond to C’est un/une …
words, eg similarities to English, colour-coding. ou …? with C’est un/une …
• Picture bingo: pupils can take the part of the bingo caller. • respond to Qu’est-ce que c’est?
• Pair work asking for classroom objects. with C’est un/une ...
• ‘Hotter and colder’ game with hidden objects: class repeats Cherche un/une … • ask for objects with Je voudrais
more loudly or more softly as the pupil gets closer or further away from the object. un ... s’il vous plaît and As-tu
un ...? and respond with Oui,
j’ai ...
Any activities marked ▲ might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils
differences, such as how people meet
and greet, teachers should try to break
down national stereotypes. Pupils should
learn to celebrate diversity and to see the
benefits of other people’s customs
where they differ from their own.
• When introducing classroom objects, it is
useful to plan a sequence of activities
which progresses from single word level
to statement level to short dialogue level,
so that pupils can rapidly use newly
acquired language for real purposes in
the classroom.
• Teachers may wish to include simple
questions with ... n’est-ce pas?
• When setting a ‘learning homework’
teachers should help pupils by
recommending different approaches,
and the time to take over it, as well as
indicating how it will be assessed, eg Will
spelling be important or just meaning?
Precise guidance on what is required in a
homework is important.
MFL – French unit 1
2

• numbers 1–12 and how to use
them to express their age and
the number of classroom objects
• strategies for memorising
numbers
• Number games. • ask the question Quel âge as-tu/
• Counting games, counting against the clock; chanting (slowly, softly, loudly). tu as? orally and in writing and
• Pair work asking and answering the question Quel âge as-tu? answer J’ai (x) ans.
• Pupils are given objects sealed into envelopes; they feel the packet to identify what • use numbers in sentences such
is inside and try to count how many objects there are. as J’ai deux stylos. Voilà trois
livres.
• ask and answer the question
Combien de stylos? with Il y a (x)
stylos.
• Ideas for number games might be sought
from primary schools teaching the
National Numeracy Strategy, eg
answering with number cards; waiting
five seconds before putting hands up.
• A further related activity can be found in
Optional Tests and Tasks 1.1.

• how to use the definite article, • Show the connection between un/une/des and le/la/les, eg contrasting un crayon
including ... l’, and how to form
regular plurals with les
• how to express possession using
de
• ask and respond to Qu’est-ce • Wall displays highlighting grammatical
with le crayon de Karine. que c’est? using the definite links, eg un > le, une > la, can help to
• Kim’s game: one object is removed from a group, pupils ask as well as answer article and indefinite article prompt pupils.
Qu’est-ce qui manque? C’est le/la ... . correctly and producing
• Pupils each put an object onto the table and shuffle them around; they take it in sentences such as C’est le ... de
turns to reunite an object with its owner, saying aloud, eg C’est la trousse de Paul.
Martin. • write full sentences including
• Pupils contribute classroom objects and put them in a shoe bag. Teams nominate plural, eg Ce sont les cahiers
an individual to feel the objects in the bag and try to identify and draw out an de ...
object to gain one point; reuniting the object with its owner gains two points, eg
C’est un crayon. C’est le crayon de John.

• to construct simple sentences by • Cumulative sentence game, eg 'I went to market to buy ...' Dans la trousse il y a • build up sentences in spoken • It is important, even at this early stage, to
combining a small range of un ..., un ... et une ... . and written French using show pupils that they are able to
phrases with a noun or series of • Pointing as a whole class: Où est la ...? Voilà la ... . phrases such as voilà, voici, j’ai, generate their own sentences by
nouns tu as, je voudrais, c’est combining different elements.

Any activities marked ▲ might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

Key stage 3 schemes of work MFL – French unit 1

3
• how to give the date (days,
months and numbers up to 31)
• how to ask for and give birth
dates
• the interrelationship of sounds
and writing, particularly i (six,
dix, oui, livre, lundi); h (cahier,
huit); u (tu, huit); r (revoir, livre,
trois); nasal vowels (janvier,
trente, cinq, bonjour, lundi); qu
(quel, qu’est-ce que)
• correct pronunciation and
intonation for the words and
phrases covered in the unit
• to use their knowledge of the
complexity of English sound/
spelling and stress rules to
appreciate the regularity of
French
• the similarity in the way both
languages can use intonation to
form a question
Key stage 3 schemes of work
• Counting/number games and songs. • understand and note down a
• Giving rugby scores using French teams and newspaper photos, etc, to provide a number from 1 to 31
context. • write the day and date when
• Pupils say on which day of the week certain TV programmes are broadcast. required, including for each
• To introduce the months of the year, present the birth dates of famous American piece of work
and British stars, showing a picture of each person and giving the date in figures, • ask and answer the question
eg 3/9/71. Present the months closest in form to their English equivalents first, eg Quelle est la date de ton
septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre, mai, juin. Pupils progress to listening to anniversaire?
a tape of famous French men and women, eg sports personalities, giving details of • understand dates and people's
their birthdays. Pupils listen and identify who is talking. birthdays
• Pupils arrange themselves into birth date order around the class.
• Pupils can note their own birthdays on a card in figures. These can then be used for
birthday bingo. Pupils ask and answer around the class, in the form of a survey, the
question Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire? They then choose three of their
answers and fill them in on their three-in-a-row bingo card, eg 3.9 / 9.4 / 20.10.
• Aural discrimination exercises: pupils guess sounds or words by watching the • have satisfactory pronunciation • Pronunciation and vocabulary for
teacher’s or another pupil's mouth movement. and intonation for the language classroom commands should be taught
• To practise rising intonation to form questions, pupils work in pairs inventing covered in this unit progressively throughout the unit.
questions which require the answer oui or non. • frame a question by raising the • Pupils should learn in particular that
• Compare English spelling/pronunciation idiosyncrasies with French. voice, eg C’est le livre de Paul? syllables receive equal stress; that you
can form a question by raising your voice
at the end of a sentence and that the last
letter of a word (eg regular plurals, trois)
is often not pronounced.
• Pupils should be alert to spelling patterns
and word families from their work in the
National Literacy Strategy in primary
school.
Any activities marked ▲ might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils
MFL – French unit 1
4

• to use a steadily increasing
number of phrases to conduct
classroom business, including
working with a partner
• Pupils answer the register in French. • understand instructions
• Deliberately set work for which pupils must request certain materials. including ouvrez/fermez les
• Introduce the language of pair work, eg Qui commence? Toi ou moi? livres, levez-vous, asseyez-vous,
devinez, Qu’est-ce qui manque?,
regardez, écoutez, répétez,
écrivez, répondez, posez des
questions, travaillez avec un
partenaire, Excellent! Très bien!
• use some everyday words and
phrases including bonjour, ça va,
au revoir M/Mme, présent(e),
oui, non, merci, je voudrais, s’il
te plaît, s’il vous plaît, je ne sais
pas, vrai/faux.
• Pupils need to learn task-specific
language, including the teacher’s
instructions, in order to be able to sustain
the use of the target language in the
classroom. Planning requires systematic
analysis of pupils’ language needs.
• Give merits for spontaneous use of
French individually, or in teams, over a
period of time.

9 End-of-unit activities

• to apply the knowledge, skills
and understanding learnt in this
unit
• Pupils prepare a display of the classroom language already covered to go on the • write accurately words and • The wall display could be done using ICT.
wall for the rest of the year as a support. phrases, eg bonjour Monsieur/ This provides opportunities to develop
• Pupils make a short oral presentation, in pairs or small groups, using the display. Madame, écoutez, je ne sais pas. pupils’ skills in using character sets to
• carry out simple conversations place accented letters in word-processed
including questions and answers text.
about personal information, or
act out short simulations using
classroom instructions,
questions and answers

Any activities marked ▲ might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

Ref: QCA/00/453 © Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) 2000 MFL – French unit 1