Higher Speaking

Speaking is worth 25% of your overall Higher result. You will have to carry out a speaking assessment around the start of March (date still to be confirmed): this assessment will consist of a presentation by you, with a follow-up discussion with your teacher. The assessment has to be recorded and may be sent off to SQA for assessment/moderation. This Speaking assessment will also count as the Speaking assessment for the Language Unit (NAB). You can choose any topic area in the course.

Presentation

The presentation must last for up to two minutes and is worth 10 marks. You will be allowed to use notes consisting of 5 headings of up to 8 words each.

You will be able to prepare this topic well in advance and learn it so that you can be absolutely sure of what you want to say. Your French should be accurate and you should use a variety of tenses and structures. You must be sure to go beyond the ideas, structures and vocabulary expected at Standard Grade, as discussed in class. There should be a clear beginning, middle and end. Expressing your opinions is essential, and you should also include reasons for some of these opinions.

Your talk: Dos and Don'ts

Choose a topic you feel comfortable with but one that allows you to show off what you know. Make sure that it allows you to express a range of opinions and language. You may want to base your talk on a small area of a topic, allowing you to expand on this and talk about this topic in a wider context in the discussion. For example, if you chose education, you could talk about the the importance of learning a foreign language and how you could promote this in school. This could naturally lead on to topics like careers, future plans and travel in the conversation.

As you can have up to five headings, (5 cue cards?), one way might be to structure your talk in to three to five parts. If you get mixed up in one part, your cue cards could help you get back on track. Once your talk is planned and structured, focus on your language. You should be sure that you:

• understand everything you intend to say.
• use previous classwork to help you. This is all at the appropriate level for you.
• include a variety of structures and ideas. Useful phrases have been brought to your attention throughout the course and you should have collected these in your vocab section.
• vary tenses and include complex phrases (again, using your vocab section) but make sure you are comfortable with this language.
• record the corrected version/final redraft well in advance.

There are also things you need to avoid, most of which you should know about already. For example:

• don't leave everything until the last minute. If you do, you make life more difficult for yourself and also for others.
• don't stick to 'safe' language. Simple may be easier but it will not get a good grade. Pick out phrases from your vocabulary.
• don't make lists or repeat language excessively.

Follow-up discussion

This is worth 15 marks and usually lasts around 5 minutes. While this is NOT prepared in advance, you will have some element of control over how the conversation proceeds. It should be like any other spontaneous conversation (except in French!). Questions could begin by picking up a point raised in your presentation but the remainder will go far beyond this.

You can and should remain in control throughout e.g. by giving detailed answers to your questions, that naturally to a further question or even by asking a question of your own. Short answers will prompt even more questions, and also give you less of a chance to 'show off' and get a good grade.

Again, try to vary your language and not simply stick to familiar structures and vocabulary.

Please note that this is a discussion, e.g. a conversation! It should flow and not be entirely one-sided. If you do get stuck, you can ask for help in French (asking your teacher to repeat, for instance) without it counting against you. Have a few useful phrases in mind just in case!

Higher: Something to think about over the break

Don't forget the impending deadlines noted in your diaries!

As we have been working our way through the Lifestyles unit, we have looked at the following topic areas:

* Family, Friends and Society
* The role of the individual in Society

I would ask that you treat page 11 of booklet A as a checklist; if you missed anything through late entry in to the class or for any other reason, it is worth completing the exercises and looking over each language point you're not sure of. The relevant SCHOLAR pages will also help and provide instant feedback.

At this point, I have to stress again that there is absolutely no substitute for learning the vocabulary!

If you're finding your workload challenging, use the break to think about how you manage your time given that you do get an appropriate amount of homework in all of your subjects. If you found recent class tests challenging, you need to look at the way you go about learning new words and phrases. Small chunks and often usually works best; I've also recommended finding ways of incorporating them in to your writing and speaking activities. There are more suggestions on a poster on my classroom door.

Standard Grade: revision hints

Over the next few weeks, you should be starting to think about your prelims. The earlier you start to revise, the more painless it will be!

• You will be tested not only on vocabulary covered in class but on your ability to cope with less familiar topics. This is why Past Paper-based lessons are so important and you are encouraged to approach such work with such focus.

• Your first port of call should be your vocab sheet and the work you've done in class over the past two years.

• For Reading, make sure that your dictionary skills are up to scratch (sheet recommended in previous post) and that you use techniques discussed in class.

• The Listening prelim is held the week before the rest of the prelims start. (update: Pupils have been invited to Supported Study on Monday 9th November, Tuesday the 17th November and Monday the 23rd November. Listening will be the main focus.)

• For all exams make sure that you attempt all questions. Remember that you are expected to pick out information and not necessarily understand everything.

• Useful sites have been/will be recommended for your use.

• Click the label SG Revision, for a variety of sites I've recommended in the past.

H/Int 2: The story so far

Just a quick recap of what you've looked at in my part of the course so far:

Grammar

* Present tense regular verbs (-er, -ir, -re)
* Present tense: 4 most common irregular verbs (aller, avoir, être and faire)
* Present tense: devoir, vouloir, pouvoir, prendre
* Present tense reflexive verbs (Wed)

Quick recap here or you can double-check conjugations when writing here should you need it, although this is no substitute for learning verbs!

Extended Reading and Viewing

* We have watched Amélie
* We have gone over the requirements of the NAB
* Task has been given out and you should be working on it
* Give yourself a practice run the weekend before the NAB, compare it to your correct version and see what you're not doing well

Listening

* Intermediate 2 tasks before the holidays (also on the topic of family relationships)
* Papa Poule (+new vocab) and related exercises
* Parents séparés (+ new vocab) and related exercises

Short Essay/Speaking

* Two given before the holidays
* Essay just completed, corrected and ready to redraft.

Higher/Int 2: building up vocabulary for Speaking/Writing

Your starting point should be the materials we use in class (which should now be copied on to your USB key) and the vocabulary lists we have referred you to. When we go through the vocabulary, you should be highlighting phrases you want to copy, contradict or adapt for your own circumstances and, if you have a specific question, do ask at the time!

There are some useful sites online but it often takes time to sift through all the things that you don't need for now. One such site is Frenchteacher.net; everything on this page is aimed at pupils preparing for A-levels but if you scroll down to near the bottom there are vocab lists, small sections of which could be of some help. No vocabulary list can or should contain everything you want to say. You should also be learning to find what you need in your own dictionary and grammar notes, and work at being more confident in constructing your own sentences independently. If you need help in this, let your teacher know.

Keep an eye on this post; if I come across relevant material that could be useful, I'll let you know here.

Materials

It is important to take care of the jotters, vocabulary sheets and any other materials you are given out. Whatever stage you are at, you will be expected to build upon your existing knowledge of French.

If you are in Standard Grade, keep in mind that you will be examined on topics from S3 and S4. Work from previous years is often a good starting point when you come across a similar topic that goes in to more detail.

Pupils in S5 and S6 are asked to come to all classes equipped with the following:

- their USB key
- a French-English dictionary
- a notebook to keep extra notes on grammar and vocab

Grammar

If you're not feeling confident about your grammar, it might just be a case of looking at it from a different perspective. Try looking at the following sites for alternate explanations and the chance to practise through interactive exercises.

I know you'll be glued to these sites this weekend :-)


http://french.about.com/od/grammar/French_Grammar.htm

http://www.french-linguistics.co.uk/grammar/

Let me know if you would like more practice!