French

French is taught at High March from Reception to Year 6.

Pupils in Reception to Year 2 have one French lesson each week. In Year 3 the girls have two lessons each week and from Year 4 upwards the number of lessons increases to three per week. Year 4 to Year 6 also have French homework once a week.  In addition to the normal teaching timetable, the Year 6 girls currently have a 3-day residential trip to St Omer in Northern France during their last term at High March.

Studying a foreign language is great fun. The pupils are at an ideal age to start learning French and to develop their linguistic awareness.

We aim to stimulate an interest in France and other French-speaking countries, their people and their culture and to make the girls aware of the importance of foreign languages as a means of communication in the modern world.

The French Department aims to teach good comprehension and communication skills together with a firm understanding of the basics of French grammar so that the girls are well prepared for their transition to senior school.

The emphasis in class is very much on listening and speaking and lessons incorporate question and answer sessions, group and pair work, role-plays, games, poems, songs and listening comprehension exercises. Reading and writing tasks increase gradually in Years 5 and 6.

French is spoken as much as possible in the classroom and the girls are encouraged to ask questions and give answers in French whenever they can. More detailed explanations, for example of a point of grammar or a homework task, are given in English.