Subject: French - Preparing for A level - Study Support Pack - Summer 2020 - The Bedford Sixth Form
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Preparing for A level – Study Support Pack – Summer 2020
Subject: French
The aim of this pack is to help you bridge the gap between GCSE and A level. It is
specific to one of the many A level subjects that are taught at The Bedford Sixth
Form and we encourage you to work through all the relevant packs for the subjects
that you would like to study.
www.bedfordsixthform.ac.ukIntroduction: Bonjour et bienvenu(e)… Hello and welcome! We hope that you and yours are well. It’s really important that you do some work before you start here at The Bedford Sixth Form. I am sure you want to make the transition from GCSE to the start of A Level as successful as possible. Firstly, look again at any notes, books, etc that you were given by your teacher for GCSE. They must have been useful, because that is why you did so well at GCSE and are going to start A Level with us! Secondly, in the following pages you will see a series of activities and exercises to practise your French and prepare you for the A Level course. This pack includes: -a couple of articles to read and understand -a couple of videos to watch and understand -a series of grammar exercises that focus on common mistakes that learners make The answers to all these exercises and activities are in this pack. Remember that you should read articles and watch clips/videos (and listen to*) topics that are in the first term of the syllabus (there’s a list at the end of the pack), but also do all this with regard to topics which are your hobbies and interests (it won’t seem like work!). *Listen to some radio news and podcasts, focusing again on the topics in the list and topics that are your interests. You should ideally read, watch and listen every day: as a minimum, do all this three times a week. Buy yourself a pocket-sized notebook and regularly note down the English meanings of new words in French…and learn them in both languages. Buy also: The course book-Edexcel A Level French ISBN 978-1-4718-5816-1 A good grammar book-ones published by Collins’ or Harrap’s are very good If you are able to talk to anyone in French, do it! It’ll help you a lot. There is a list of useful weblinks in this pack, and one of the sites featured is www.papaora.com, which is a free language exchange, wherein you can speak to somebody in their language in exchange for speaking to them in English, so they can practise it. Finally, have fun! Languages are fun to learn, and language qualifications are particularly sought after by employers. A bientôt! Martin Collinge Language Teacher
Reading and Listening activities-answers on the next pages Lecture/Reading 1 https://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2760483-20200414-coronavirus-46-jeunes-18- 30-ans-craignent-confinement-risque-sante-mentale Print off and/or read the above article, and then answer the following questions: 1. What does the title mean? 2. In each of the paragraphs in the article, there are numbers. Write what the numbers are and explain in English the significance of them. Lecture/Reading 2 https://www.20minutes.fr/arts-stars/people/2764051-20200420-meghan-harry- refusent-toute-discussion-tabloids-britanniques Print off and/or read the above article, and then: 1. Translate into English the article’s title, subtitle, the caption of the photo and the first paragraph. 2. Summarise the whole article in about 30 words in French. Écouter/Listening 1 https://www.afro.who.int/fr/node/12355 Watch the above video and copy in French the seven steps for protecting yourself from Coronavirus, leaving space after each one to translate each step into English. Écouter/Listening 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGAOnHbULZQ Watch the above video (about France and its structure)-pausing, rewinding and replaying as often as you want, and write in English at least five details you understand.
Answers to the reading/listening activities Lecture/Reading 1 https://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2760483-20200414-coronavirus-46-jeunes-18- 30-ans-craignent-confinement-risque-sante-mentale Print off and/or read the above article, and then answer the following questions: 1. What does the title mean? 46% of young people between 18-30 fear that isolation/confinement is a danger for their mental health 2. In each of the paragraphs in the article, there are numbers. Write what the numbers are and explain in English the significance of them. Paragraph 1 62 % of them have occasional bouts of ‘blues’ or depression 51 % have trouble sleeping 18 % admit to even having panic attacks Paragraph 2 Their ‘degree of worry’ about Covid-19 is only 3.3 out of 10 (0.3 points lower than the previous week). However, the consequences of their confinement is starting to really affect their morale. 55 % of young people state that the lack of freedom and solitude are the elements that have the most impact on their mental health. Paragraph 3 45% are questioning their future with regard to studying or work 44% are questioning the (outside) world in general Paragraph 4 42 % are eating more chocolate 18 % have increased their consumption of alcohol 14 % have increased their consumption of cigarettes 13% admit to breaking their confinement 20 % say they are prepared to do it Paragraph 5 11th May is the date when Macron will decide to continue or suspend the lockdown The poll was carried out online from the 10th to the 13th April, with a representative sample of 632 young people aged 18-30.
Lecture/Reading 2
https://www.20minutes.fr/arts-stars/people/2764051-20200420-meghan-harry-
refusent-toute-discussion-tabloids-britanniques
Print off and/or read the above article, and then:
1. Translate into English the article’s title, subtitle, the caption of the photo and
the first paragraph. Meghan and Harry refuse any contact with British tabloids/ The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex have taken legal proceedings against the owners of
the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Daily Mirror/Prince Harry and his wife, the actress
Meghan Markle.
2. Summarise the whole article in about 30 words in French.
Écouter/Listening 1
https://www.afro.who.int/fr/node/12355
Watch the above video and copy in French the seven steps for protecting yourself
from Coronavirus, leaving space after each one to translate each step into English.
1) Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or with a water/alcohol gel.
2) Sneeze/Cough into a hanky or into the hollow of your elbow, then wash
your hands
3) Keep at least one metre from people, especially if they cough, sneeze or
have a high temperature
4) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
5) Avoid contact with live animals (if it’s not possible, wash your hands after)
6) Don’t eat raw or undercooked animal products: wash hands, surfaces and
utensils afterwards
7) If you have a high temperature, cough or breathing difficulties, contact a
doctor
Écouter/Listening 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGAOnHbULZQ
Watch the above video (about France and its structure)-pausing, rewinding and
replaying as often as you want, and write in English at least five details you
understand.
It’s the political system of France.
In a republic, people choose their representatives, a sign of democracy.
The French Republic is more than 200 years old.
The French Revolution brought to an end the monarchy.
The Fifth Republic started in 1958.
The Republic has a constitution.
The President has lots of powers, so s/he
-nominates the Prime Minister
-is the Head of the Army
-regulates the parliament
-Charles de Gaulle decided this in 1958
-He was in power 1959-1969
-All French (18+) can vote and choose the President
-Some politicians think the President has too many powers and want a new (Sixth)
republicOu sont les erreurs? Each sentence contains a number (given in brackets) of errors. Can you spot them, writing the correct version of each sentence in the gap after each question? The answers are at the back of this booklet! 1. Je voudrais parle beacoup des langues. (3) 2. Je besoin de un dictionnaire bon. (3) 3. Il à cesse de parle (3) 4. Bien qu’il sait le, il fait un autre chose. (3) 5. Il est tres difficile d’ecrire sans errors. (3) 6. Ils parle anglais, mais le professeurs ne rien font. (3) 7. Etre prof et un proffesion tres important. (5) 8. Les dernier questions est toujours tres important. (4) 9. Sur lundi j’ai fait toujours mon cours de francais.(3)
Answers to ‘Ou sont les erreurs?’ First error… the title should be ‘Où sont les erreurs?’: ‘où’=where, ‘ou’=or So be careful when you read, and when you write, re-read your work for accents, spelling mistakes, adjectival endings/agreements, etc. Fewer mistakes mean higher marks and grades! Here are the answers 1. Je voudrais parle beacoup des langues. (3) Je voudrais parler¹ beaucoup² de³ langues. ¹=the verb ‘vouloir’ is followed by an infinitive, if a verb follows it ²=spelling (it’s frequently misspelt!) ³=a lot of in French is ‘beaucoup de’: a lot of the is ‘beaucoup des’ 2. Je besoin de un dictionnaire bon. (3) J’ai¹ besoin d’²un bon³ dictionnaire. ¹=I need is ‘J’ai besoin de’ ²=d’, because the next word starts with the letter ‘e’ ³=’bon’ comes before the noun: most adjectives in French come after the noun 3. Il à cesse de parle. (3) Il a¹ cessé² de parler³. ¹=’a’ without an accent means ‘has’: à means at/in/to ²=needs an é because it is the past participle of a regular –er verb ³=the verb needs to be infinitive after a preposition 4. Bien qu’il sait le, il fait un autre chose. (3) Bien qu’il le¹ sache², il fait une³ autre chose. ¹=pronoun always before the main verb in French ²=’bien que’ always needs the subjunctive ³=’chose’ is a feminine noun 5. Il est tres difficile d’ecrire sans errors. (3) Il est très¹ difficile d’écrire² sans erreurs³. ¹=needs a grave accent ²=needs an acute accent ³=needs the French spelling, but remember, about 6,000 words in English are originally French 6. Ils parle anglais, mais le professeurs ne rien font. (3) Ils parlent¹ anglais, mais les² professeurs ne font rien³. ¹=ils/elles verb (in present) end –ent, apart from ils/elles font/ont/sont/vont ²=les, because ‘professeurs’ is plural ³=note that in French that you usually have a double negative, and that the second negative element normally comes after the main verb
7. Etre prof et un proffesion tres important. (5) Etre* prof est¹ une² profession³ très⁴ importante⁵. *Accents on a capital A or E is optional in French ¹=’est’ means ‘is’; ‘et’ means ‘and’. ²=all nouns ending –ion are feminine, except un avion (aeroplane)/un camion (lorry) ³=spelling: one f, two s ⁴=a grave accent ⁵=adjectival agreement 8. Les dernier questions est tousjours très important. (4) Les dernières¹ questions sont² toujours³ très* importantes⁴. ¹=adjectival agreement: ‘e’ because ‘question’ is a feminine noun (ends in – ion),‘s’ because ‘questions’ is plural. Note also the grave accent on the first e of ‘dernières’, whuch is added on to the feminine form, singular or plural of –ier nouns/adjectives ²=’est’ means ‘is’, but you need ‘sont’ (=are) because ‘questions’ is a plural noun ³=spelling: no ‘s’ before the ‘j’ *did you spell ‘très’ with the grave accent…third time right, not lucky! ⁴=adjectival agreement, because ‘questions’ is a feminine plural noun 9. Sur lundi j’ai fait toujours mon cours de francais.(3) Le¹ lundi je faisais² toujours mon cours de français³. ¹=’on’ a day doesn’t need ‘sur’: use ‘sur’ to mean ‘on’ when talking about position, e.g. La tasse est sur la table (=The cup is on the table) ²=you need to use the imperfect tense ‘je faisais’ because it is a repeated action in the past: the perfect past (‘j’ai fait’) is used for one-off actions in the past ³=’français’ needs a cedilla on the ‘c’
Useful French Links www.20minutes.fr French newspaper-read lots of articles www.20minutes.fr/podcast/ Scroll down the link and pick a podcast! www.francetvinfo.fr/en-direct/radio.html Live French radio www.tv5.org French news, grammar quizzes, etc. fr.euronews.com News-With transcript www.thoughtco.com/french-4133079 Loads and loads of stuff-great for grammar! www.tf1.fr Great for topic clips! Just use its search function. fr.forvo.com pronunciation of words www.vokabel.com/french.html Language exercises www.papora.com Learn and chat! Exchange your English for their French!
A Level French topics: Autumn Term Theme 1-Changes in French society Unit 1-Changes in the family structure 1.1-The family structure in France 1.2-The institution of marriage 1.3-Relationships Unit 2-Education 2.1-Education in France 2.2-Help! School stresses me out! 2.3-I’m planning on doing higher education/studies 2.4-From education to work Unit 3-The world of work 3.1-Work-life balance 3.2-Strikes in France 3.3-Gender equality
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