"C'est une langue belle avec des mots superbes
Qui porte son histoire à travers ses accents
Où l'on sent la musique et le parfum des herbes
Le fromage de chèvre et le pain de froment"
Yves Duteil.
Famous French composer and poet
Why learn French and Spanish?
Facts....
"Over 120 million people in the world speak French in 51 countries"
"French and Spanish are the most popular foreign languages taught in International Schools"
"Spanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is an Iberian Romane language. It was spoken by roughly 364 million people in the year 2000. Current estimates place them at 410 million, making Spanish the most widely spoken romance language."
It has been proved that studying a foreign language develops students' social skills. They become more aware of the diversity of peoples and cultures in the world around them and hopefully become more tolerant and knowledgeable individuals as a consequence.
At the International School of Brunei, students of all abilities can study French as a foreign language from Year 3 to Year 13 and Spanish at beginner level in Year 12 and 13.
In our MEL (Modern European Languages) department, we always develop authenticity and creativity. Our students are encouraged to practise their four skills (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) through a huge range of fun and dynamic activities. We emphasise spontaneity in communicating as we strongly believe that it is very important for our students to feel confident and happy to use the foreign language in different situations.
We constantly look for new up-to-date resources for our students. ICT and audio-visual support are widely used by teachers and students alike to maintain motivation and facilitate learning.
ISB is also a member of the Alliance Française of Brunei and we are proud to be represented in most of their cultural and linguistics events.
Recent Events
on progress
Curriculum
French as a Foreign Language in Primary:
Year 3:
At ISB, children have the opportunity to start French as a Foreign Language as early as Year 3 with Salut Céline et Antoine! This fabulous course is designed for 7/8 year olds and gives a good introduction of the core vocabulary through mini stories, rhymes, songs and activities suited to the age group. This methodology is based on real communication situations suited to the interest, experience and social and intellectual development of each group. It is also aimed at encouraging children to use language in their own purposes!
With Céline et Antoine, the children will have fun learning and developing their four skills in French.
Year 4-6:
Children are becoming more confident and mature with the language. This is why we introduce a brand new French method called Alex et Zoé in Year 4. This method will be carried out until the end of Year 6. It comes with CDs and interactive material to develop all four skills and creativity. Alex et Zoé is an authentic material, produced in France by French specialists. It always encourages cultural awareness and cultural interaction amongst learners. All tasks are in the target language and are especially designed for a multicultural audience.
Lower Secondary
French as a Foreign Language is based on the British National Curriculum and is taught with Métro1-3 (respectively from Year 7 to 9). Métro is a lively, creative and cultural easy-to-use 11-16 French Course designed for pupils of a wide range of ability. It is a topic-based course which is underpinned by a clear grammatical progression. It contains interesting and original activities in all four skills and emphasises spontaneity and creativity. Métro comes with CDs, flash cards and colour OHT file full of fun activities for the learners.
Métro 1-3 also offers a very solid, steady and consistent base for future IGCSE French students.
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
IGCSE
In Year 10, ISB students have the opportunity to chose French as a foreign Language and prepare for the highly academic Cambridge IGCSE examination. It is a two-year course and is recognised by the British National Curriculum and gives a very strong base for students wishing to pursue further studies in French at IB Level or A/AS Level. This course is designed to develop the ability to use the language effectively for purposes of practical communication within the country of residence, where appropriate, and in all the countries where the language is spoken. It also offers an insight into the culture and civilisation of the French speaking world.
This is a non-coursework final examination course with differentiated entries to suit the wide range of abilities.
During these two years, students build up a huge range of vocabulary and grammar patterns. With a good grade in their final examination, they can definitely go and get by in any French speaking country in the world!
For those who wish to continue their French studies at ISB, they can do so at IB Level.
FRENCH - FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Course Summary
The topics studied in IGCSE Foreign Language French are:
- Everyday activities
- Personal and social life
- The world around us
- The world of work
- The international world
Students will continue to develop the four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing.
The course aims to:
- Develop a student's ability to understand and communicate effectively for purposes of practical communication
- Form a sound base of the skills, language and attitudes required for further study, work and leisure
- Offer insights into the culture and civilisation of the countries where French is spoken
- Provide enjoyment and intellectual stimulation to encourage further study of French
Assessment Summary
IGCSE Foreign Language French is assessed by final exams. Students may be entered for the Core (grades C - G) or Extended (grades A* - G) curriculum:
- Paper 1 - Listening exam; counts for 33% of Core grade, 25% of Extended grade
- Paper 2 - Reading and directed writing; counts for 33% of Core grade, 25% of Extended grade
- Paper 3 - Speaking; counts for 33% of Core grade, 25% of Extended grade
- Paper 4 - Continuous writing; counts for 25% of Extended grade
International Baccalaureate (IB)
At ISB, students have the opportunity to:
- Carry on their French studies and enrol in Language B at Higher or Standard Level.
- Start Spanish at beginner level and enrol in Language Ab Initio Spanish.
Language B French, Higher/Standard Level:
This programme is a language learning course for students with some previous experience of learning in the target language. The main focus of this course is on language acquisition, the development of skills and cultural awareness.
Language B French course gives students the opportunity to reach a high degree of competence in French and explore the culture(s) using the language.
At ISB, we emphasise authenticity and creativity. All our resources are constantly updated using the Internet to access current issues in the French Speaking world. The ISB library is also well resourced and has subscriptions to many cultural magazines.
ISB is also a member of the Alliance Française of Brunei which contributes to many of our intercultural exchanges.
Spanish Ab Initio Level:
At ISB, students have the opportunity to start Spanish at beginner level in Year 12 with the Language Ab Initio programme.
The course is a language learning course for beginners, designed to be followed over two years by students who have no previous experience of learning Spanish. The main focus of the course is on the acquisition of language required for purposes and situations usual in everyday social interaction. It aims to develop a variety of language skills, and a basic awareness of the culture(s) using the language, through the study of a core syllabus and a language-specific syllabus.
We emphasise spontaneity and communication. We use the Internet and have different subscriptions to authentic documents in order to provide the students with the most up-to-date material from the Spanish speaking world.
Assessment Information
French:
Year 7-11:
The course is a topic based course and the students have a formal assessment at the end of each unit. The four skills are evaluated (Listening, Speaking, Writing and Reading) This is marked according to the British National Curriculum and each task is evaluated with the assessment criteria given by the text book.
Each student is also evaluated every week with a vocabulary "check up" in order to monitor each individual's learning and progress.
Useful Links
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/HotPotatoes/index.htm www.musicalspanish.com www.languagesonline.org.uk www.realspanish.net www.realfrench.net www.frenchteacher.net www.momes.net www.atantot.com www.lajolieronde.co.uk http://www.thelearningbank.co.uk/shireland/vocational/ www.donquijote.org/spanishlanguage www.mflgames.co.uk www.mflresources.org.uk http://www.zut.org.uk/index.html http://www.classtools.net www.intute.ac.uk www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/
