Havergal College Course Calendar, 2019-20 Academic Year

FRENCH French is the language of instruction at all levels of Core French at Havergal College. Teachers speak only in French to students in class and students are required to express themselves in French when speaking to classmates as well as to the teacher. Support for students is available through extra-help sessions with the classroom teacher and through peer tutoring. The department’s commitment to helping students acquire a strong oral foundation in the French language, to understanding the value of learning another language and to developing lifelong communication skills, allows students to interact effectively with increasing confidence and competency in a variety of social settings at different levels of the French program. While the knowledge of any language has value, French is not only a global language but the mother tongue of many Canadians and an integral part of the Canadian identity. Learning French allows students to communicate with French-speaking Canadians and millions of French speakers around the world and helps prepare them for their roles as active and engaged citizens in today’s bilingual and multicultural Canada. Learning an additional language not only challenges a mind, it also teaches understanding, encourages patience and fosters open-mindedness. Indeed, students in the French curriculum develop increased mental flexibility and problem-solving skills, a better understanding of other people and cultures, a greater awareness of global issues and expanded career opportunities. Enduring ideas throughout the entire French curriculum focus on the development of skills that are also necessary as a basis for lifelong language learning and include authentic oral communication, development of language learning strategies, interdependence of language and culture, emphasis on critical and creative thinking skills and making real-world connections.

Havergal College teaches languages to young women so they will excel beyond mere linguistic competence and expression and begin to think about, imagine, participate in and understand the complex and diverse world beyond their own linguistic community. The learning of languages is not just central to establishing a more civil, just and equitable world; it is the essential golden key that will help prepare young women to make a difference, to become leaders who strive to fulfill the school’s values of courage and compassion, inquiry and integrity. Enduring understandings for language learners: 1. Learn a Language. Learning a new language links us to the larger world, opens our minds and helps us to know ourselves and express ourselves in a richer way. The department’s aim is for students to acquire new language skills for them to function in a community of native speakers of the language. 2. Encompass the World. Students will be able to make connections between the language they are learning and other disciplines of study, whether in the Arts or the Sciences. They will begin to understand that in our increasingly interconnected global community, language is the only way we have of speaking across the divide. The lack of language skills limits our ability to understand, respond, participate, work and play in today’s world. A person who learns a new language becomes engaged in new parts of a cultural mosaic from which she was previously excluded. 3. Expand your Mind! Language is a source of personal enrichment, both cultural and mental. Students will experience for themselves how the study of a new language fulfills, satisfies and completes their humanity. Students develop a wide range of higher- order thinking skills: processes of alertness, attention to detail, memory, logic and critical reasoning. As a result, they become more aware of English grammar, strengthen their English vocabulary and are more able to learn other languages—all key skills in the development of self-knowledge and self-expression. The values of self-knowledge and self-expression are the cornerstones upon which human beings may grow, develop and flourish.

GRADE 7 Grade 8 French

Reinforcement of the four language skills continues with an emphasis on oral communication. Students acquire vocabulary and language structures through the practice and completion of a number of specific tasks based on a variety of themes. They are introduced to longer writing tasks. Intercultural understanding extends to include French in Europe. The final evaluation includes an oral interview as well as a written exam including reading comprehension and written production.

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