LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES – PROGRAMS OF THE 3 CYCLES: competences, Common Core, cultural entries, grammar, phonology, levels of mastery.

COMPETENCES COMMOM CYCLE 2 CYCLE 3 CYCLE 4

CORE AREAS
Listening and 1,2 Can understand familiar everyday expressions, very basic Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to Can understand oral messages and documents varying in nature and
understanding phrases and simple texts read by the teacher, concerning areas of most immediate relevance, and simple texts. complexity.
immediate concrete surroundings.
Training short and long-term auditory memory to memorize everyday Getting familiar with the sound components of the language, and
words and simple sentences. learning to memorize.
Using auditory and visual context clues to derive the meaning of Picking out relevant linguistic and extra-linguistic contextual clues
unknown words and understand a message. to identify the context of enunciation and to derive meaning.
Interpreting videos and learning to establish connections between
soundtracks and images.
Spoken production 1,2 Can recite, describe themselves, read or tell short
productions from a model.

1,2,3 Can memorize and reproduce sequences. Can make good use of lexical, cultural and grammatical knowledge
to express themselves on various topics.
Can express themselves clearly enough to be understood, with proper Can develop various strategies to cover gaps in vocabulary, to correct
voice modulation and speech flow. slips and errors and to rephrase when necessary.
Can interact in a simple and effective way on familiar everyday topics Can respect language register.
and situations by mobilizing grammatical, lexical and phonetic
knowledge.
Can use the adequate intonation, pronunciation and body language to
express themselves.
Can volunteer to tell a story, describe something or someone, explain
something, present and defend an argument.
Written production 1 Can write words, phrases and sentences whose spelling and syntax have Can rely on the strategies developed in oral activities to structure their
been memorized. written productions.
Can mobilize simple structures to write sentences, relying on a familiar Can mobilize the adequate tools to write, correct errors and modify
framework. their productions.
Can rephrase, report, tell a story, describe, explain, present and
defend an argument.
Spoken interaction 1,2,3 Can interact in a simple way and in areas of immediate need Can ask simple questions. Can develop listening skills strategies such as identifying linguistic or
or on familiar everyday topics and be intelligible to extra-linguistic contextual clues, to enrich interaction and make it
listeners. efficient.

Can take part in ritualized, continuous interactions, mobilizing context- Can enter unprepared into conversation, exploiting linguistic
relevant linguistic resources. resources fitting in the context, to keep the conversation going,
expressing agreement or disagreement.
Can use simple techniques to start, maintain or end a short conversation.
Reading and 1,2 Can rely on the context, the illustrations and their knowledge to Can understand written documents varying in nature and
understanding understand a text. complexity.

Can recognize isolated words in simple statements or short texts. Reading on a regular basis to develop reading strategies.
Can rely on key words, basic structures and ritual expressions. Can get to understand the document by identifying linguistic and
extra-linguistic textual clues, reconstructing the meaning and putting
together meaningful elements.

Can perceive the relationship between some graphemes and

phonemes of the target language.

Discovering a few 1,2,3,5 Can identify a few cultural landmarks of the everyday life Can identify a few cultural landmarks of the everyday life and Can identify the cultural specificities of the country whose language
cultural aspects and environment of same age pupils who live in countries environment of same age pupils who live in countries whose language they are learning, going beyond rigid stereotypes and clichés.
whose language they are studying. they are studying.

Can exploit their cultural knowledge to describe or tell stories about real Can exploit a range of cultural references to identify and understand
or fictional characters. the elements of a message, a text or an oral document.
Can exploit their cultural knowledge to describe or tell stories about
real or fictional characters

The child The individual/ everyday life Languages

Cultural entry points
Human body, clothes, life styles Cultural and social codes, historical and geographical dimensions
The self, the body, the clothes Physical and moral description Charts, diagrams, maps, logos, signs
The family Urban environment Media, modes of communication, social networks, advertising
Day schedule Pages of student books from the country whose language is learnt
Habits Artistic languages: paintings, music, songs, poetry, cinema, drama,
Daily commuting literature, comics, science fiction
School-based interpersonal relationships Geographical, historical and cultural landmarks of the country Sculptures, paintings, architectural heritage, monuments
The weather, the different stages of the year, of life whose language is learnt
Sensations, feelings and tastes Geographical situation School and society
Elements of physical and moral descriptions Physical traits and cultural landmarks Comparing different school systems, School activities, extra-curricular
A few past and contemporary historic figures activities.
Classroom environment A few historical landmarks Discovering the world of work/ jobs
The alphabet
Numbers Fantasy Journeys and migrations
Time references Children’s literature School trips, tourism
Climate and weather forecast Fairy tales, myths and legends from the target culture Exile, migration and emigration.
Rituals Heroes, heroines and emblematic characters from fictions, comics, series Imaginary, fantasy, dream worlds.
School / classroom rules or movies
School activities Meeting other cultures
Sports Historical, geographical, architectural landmarks and heritage
Artistic leisure activities Inclusion and exclusion
Friendship

Children’s world
Home, immediate concrete surroundings
Everyday life, shops, public spaces
Geographical or cultural immediate environment
Pets/animals
Fairy tales and legends
Monsters, fairies and others
Nursery rhymes, songs
Children’s literature
A few typical cities and landscapes, the countryside
Flags and currencies
GRAMMAR Main celebrations and customs Verbal groups
Recipes - verbs: subject / verb agreement
- Time expressions: present, past, future Nouns and noun groups:
- Auxiliaries - gender, object and reflexive pronouns
- Sentence structures to describe in a simple way (places, - Complements
people) Noun groups Dterminers : articles, quantifiers
- nouns and pronouns
- Sentence structures to communicate in tasks requiring a - Gender and number Verbal groups:
simple and direct exchange of information - Articles -Time expressions: present, past, future
(questions/answers) - Possessive adjectives - Modal verbs
- Demonstrative adjectives -Passive form
- Quantifiers -Verb construction
- Main prepositions (time, places…)
- Descriptive adjectives: place, agreement Simple and complex sentences:
- Possessive case -Coordination
- Compound names - Subordination
- A few relative pronouns - Relative pronouns
Sentences - Indirect speech
- Types of sentences: affirmative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative, - Indirect speech for interrogative sentence
declaratory, negative - Connecting words
- Basic sentence structure: word order, a few linking words (and, or…)
- A few subordinating conjunctions in “complex sentences”

Phonemes - Becoming aware of various oral language regularities

Recognizing and producing the distinctive phonemes of each language
PHONOLOGY Train one’ ears on the new sounds of a foreign language Accentuation and rhythm - Becoming aware of the sound and phonological varieties of the same
Recognizing and producing the right prosody of a familiar phrase or language
sentence
Identifying and applying word stress - Aiming at fluency, intelligibility and linguistic self-confidence, not
Intonation necessarily aiming for a “native-sounding accent”.
Recognizing and using different intonation patterns for different types of
sentences
Grapheme/phoneme correspondance
The alphabet

Common European
Framework of Reference
End of cycles:
Defining mastery level of A2 in at least 1 language activity
and A1 in all the others
the Common Core A1 in all language activities
A1 in at least 3 out of the 5
language activities
A1 in 1 or 2 language activities
Mastery level of the Common Common European Framework
Core LV1 LV2
B1 in at least 1 language
activity and A2 in the others
Very good mastery level A2 in the 5 language
activities
Good mastery level A2 in at least 3 out of the 5
language activities
Fragile mastery level
A2 in 1 or 2 out of the 5
Poor mastery level language activities
A2 in at least 1 language
activity and A1 in the others
A2 in at least 2 out of the 5
activities and A1 in the others
A2 in 1 out of the 5 language
activities and A1 in all the
others
A1 in all the language activities
Mastery level of
the Common Core
Very good mastery level
Good mastery level
Fragile mastery level
Poor mastery level

Mastery Poor Fragile Good Very good

LV2 level
Mastery LV1
level
Poor Poor Fragile Fragile Fragile or
good
Fragile Fragile Fragile Good Good

Good Fragile Good Good Very good

Very good Fragile Good Very good Very good
or good