Modern Languages Subject Knowledge French Audit
Subject Knowledge French Audit
| Subject Knowledge Audit – French 2024 | Knowledge | ||
| Meta-linguistic challenges: preparing for the PGCE | Very confident | Quite confident | Uncer-tain |
This audit is the first step in your personalised Subject Knowledge Development work; during the year you will work individually on areas of subject knowledge. We begin with grammar here but you will also work on A level topics, set texts and films, choosing areas in which you feel you have gaps in your knowledge or confidence.
- Review your knowledge of the following lexico-grammatical points and self-assess your learning and your confidence in explaining the point (very confident = 3; quite confident = 2; uncertain = 1).
- Choose three areas about which you are less certain; research these areas to update your knowledge and then make brief notes to show how you would explain the points to learners. What key points would you need to make to make the lexico-grammatical points clear?
- For the three areas about which you are less certain, revise these and produce notes/summaries of the key points for submission to your subject tutor on the first day of the course. Please do not write more than four pages.
If you are a native speaker, review the extent to which you can give clear, comprehensive guidance about the chosen areas.
| Draw up a list of useful Proper nouns in French eg la Tamise, Jules César, le Siècle des Lumières Include a full list of non-European countries | |||
| When using common verbs in the Present tense, recognise patterns & make analogies. Contrast Present in French with the three English forms (I do eat/I am eating/I eat) | |||
| Identify patterns in the conjugation of irregular present tenses. | |||
| Explore the range of negative sentences in French, including ne…guère & ne…que Exemplify sentence structure with a negative as subject eg Personne… Illustrate how to make an infinitive negative eg “I prefer not to eat it” Explain how Si contradicts a negative statement or question | |||
| a. List key question words b. Identify register (formal vs informal) of three ways of asking a question c. Establish the word order for reflexive verbs in questions | |||
| a. Establish guidelines for forming the Present participle b. Discuss its meaning after « en » c. Identify irregular forms for savoir, avoir, faire & être | |||
| Establish patterns for the formulation of adverbs from adjectives | |||
| Explain the rules for agreement in adjectives of colour | |||
| Establish a list of adjectives which normally precede the noun Consider how word order can change meaning of adjectives, e.g. mes propres mains vs mes mains propres and find other examples | |||
| a. Reflect on how use of gender in possessive determiners presents particular difficulty for English learners b. Differentiate the use of possessive pronouns eg le mien as opposed to possessive determiners mon, ma, mes etc | |||
| Clarify the distinction between chaque & chacun, quleques & quelques-uns | |||
| Clarify the difference between bon & bien / mauvais & mal / meilleur & mieux | |||
| Contrast the use of the definite article in French and its use in English | |||
| Contrast the use of the indefinite article in French and its use in English | |||
| Explore the use of de as opposed to the partitive des and establish guidelines | |||
| a. Compile a list of prepositions whose use is unlike English, e.g. 9 sur 10, donner sur …. b. Explore different meanings of chez c. Establish the patterns of prepositions with countries & cities | |||
| Identify patterns and draw analogies between regular & irregular past participles | |||
| a. Discuss which verbs are more likely to take avoir in the past; b. Name a few verbs which can take either être or avoir in the pastand explain why . | |||
| Explain the concept of transitive / intransitive verbs giving examples in French | |||
| Explore the use of the past infinitive after après | |||
| Discuss the formulation of guidelines to explain the difference in usage between the passé composé & imperfect tenses | |||
| a. Explain how depuis is used with theimperfect tense b. Illustrate the meaning of venir de in the imperfect tense | |||
| c. Explain the preceding direct object rule. d. Establish patterns for the position of direct object pronouns in negative & interrogative sentences. | |||
| Discuss why English pupils find the indirect object pronouns lui & leur challenging | |||
| What is the difference between lui-même and soi-même | |||
| Explain the differences between: Elles se sont vues & Elles se sont écrit. | |||
| Explain the use of y & en | |||
| Recognise regular and irregular forms of the Past Historic (Passé Simple) | |||
| Give examples of French use of a singular verb after a group noun | |||
| How is distance away from expressed in French? Exemplify descriptions of dimension eg 2 metres wide | |||
| Explain how to express approximate numbers Comment on the use of commas & full stops in numbers in French and English Explain the difference between 2 mille, 2 milliers , 2 millions & 2 milliards Express fractions in French Write 200 & 216 as words and explain the spelling pattern | |||
| Establish patterns for regular and irregular Future tenses | |||
| Exemplify the use of double future tenses in sentences in French with time clauses, including use of the future perfect | |||
| Relate the use of pour / pendant + time ( eg 2 mois) to different tenses How is en 2 mois different? | |||
| Establish pattern of word order in pronoun use in Imperatives, including negative commands. | |||
| Formulate guidelines for the formation of the Conditional. | |||
| Consider the journalistic use of the Conditional & Conditional Perfect to express lack of certainty eg Il y aurait 2 blessés | |||
| Consider the meaning of devoir in the conditional. Contrast the meaning of Je devrais with that of J’ai dû & Je devais | |||
| Establish the function of Qu’est-ce qui? / Qui est-ce qui? / Qu’est-ce que? / Qui est-ce que? | |||
| Explain how qui & que function as relative pronouns | |||
| Explain the difference between ceux qui & ce qui. | |||
| a. Illustrate the use of dont & ce dont b. When are lequel, auquel & duquel used ? | |||
| Explain the different usages of C’est vs Il est | |||
| a. Consider how French expresses English passive constructions b. How does French avoid the full Passive voice? | |||
| Exemplify the pattern of tenses used with Si and compare with tenses in English after “If” | |||
| a. Consider use of structure être en train de to express aspect b. How can “-ing” be translated into French with the infinitive? | |||
| a. Establish three groups of structures: Verb + à + infinitive / verb + de + infin. / verb + infin. b. Exemplify more complex structures | |||
| c. Establish a list of alternatives to a full subjunctive clause when there is no change of subject of the verb eg avant de / à condition de/ afin de + infinitive. | |||
| Classify connectives into categories of time, consequence, reason & purpose. | |||
| Explore key differences between the Indicative & Subjunctive moods and exemplify their usage. | |||
| Explore the concept of the « grey » subjunctive eg Crois-tu qu’il a tort ? vs Crois-tu qu’il ait tort ? | |||
| Consider when Inversion occurs other than in questions | |||
| Discuss the distinction in elision & liaison between L’homme & le haricot and aux hommes & aux Halles How do dictionaries signal this distinction ? | |||
| a. Consider the Register of different letter endings eg Amicalement vs Veuillez agréer… b. Consider Register at word level eg époux / mari / mec | |||
| Explore the sociolinguistic implications of using tu or vous forms of address in different contexts such as the home, the workplace, school and the army | |||
| a. Reflect on ways to explain the function of accents in French b. Ensure you know the characters for typing accents in Word | |||
| Discuss the most common faux amis eg sensé = sensible sensible = ? | |||
| a. Discuss the difference between usage of savoir & connaître b. Establish the difference in meaning between penser à & penser de and jouer à & jouer de c. Distinguish the use of visiter vs rendre visite à | |||
| a. Collect idioms based on avoir b. Research proverbs that begin with the structure en + -ant c. Research idioms + body parts eg J’ai mal au coeur | |||
| Think of key expressions for classroom management and also the language of feedback e.g. Asseyez-vous; Bon travail | |||
| Investigate the language of IT and draw up a key list of terms for pupils | |||
| Consider the lexis which for you encapsulates the essence of French culture eg la bonne chère, le système “D”, L’Hexagone, la chasse, la laïcité, |