French
French at Nottingham High School
French is one of the core languages at Nottingham High School. Boys start French in Year 7 and it is a compulsory subject for the first two years. In Year 9, it becomes an option, though most boys continue to study it up to Year 11 with approximately 80% of the year sitting the GCSE exam.
The addition of the new Digital Language Suites in, opened in September 2009, will revolutionise the way our pupils will learn French with a vast range of dynamic resources now at our fingertips.
At GCSE, we follow the AQA specification, whilst at AS and A2 we follow the Edexcel Specification. Results at GCSE and A Level continue to be excellent and a number of pupils choose to study French at University each year.
French is taught by Mr Allerton, Mr Brown, Mr Holding, Mr Knifton, Mr Jackson , who is the Head of Department, and Mr Winter. Each year a French Assistant is appointed, though in 2009 we have succeeded in recruiting two. This means that for the first time, every class from Years 7-13 will have the opportunity to develop their pronunciation and spoken French with a native French speaker on a weekly basis. The French department uses a wide range of external resources to deliver the French curriculum, such as, text books, magazines and websites.
The department organises regular cinema visits for boys in Year 11 and above to the Broadway cinema in Nottingham. In addition to this, the French department runs regular trips to France. In Year 7, Mr Holding organises a trip to Paris and Normandy, whilst there is an annual trip for the Sixth form.
Why learn French?
In 1999, French was the 11th most common first language in the world, with 77 million first language speakers and another 51 million second language speakers, according to the Ethnologue Report. French is the second most commonly-taught second language in the world (after English).
Another source, La Francophonie dans le monde 2006-2007, looks at it differently:
128 million Francophones: speak French (as a native or adopted language) fluently and use it on a regular basis.
72 million “partiel” Francophones: live in a francophone country but do not speak French regularly, due to limited knowledge.
100-110 million students of all ages: do not live in a francophone country, but have learned/are learning French in order to communicate with Francophones.
French is spoken officially in 33 countries – that is, there are 33 countries in which French is either the official language, or one of the official languages. This number is second only to English, which is spoken officially in 45 countries. French and English are the only languages spoken as a native language on 5 continents and the only languages taught in every country in the world. French is the official language of France and its overseas territories as well as 14 other countries:
- Bénin
- Burkina Faso
- Central African Republic
- Congo (Democratic Republic of)
- Congo (Republic of)
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Luxembourg
- Mali
- Monaco
- Niger
- Sénégal
- Togo
French is also the official language of certain regions of multilingual countries:
- Belgium: Wallonie region
- Canada: Québec province
- Switzerland: Jura, Genève, Neuchâtel, and Vaud districts
French is one of the official languages in the following countries:
- Belgium
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Chad
- Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey)
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Haiti (the two official languages are French and French Creole)
- Madagascar
- Rwanda
- Seychelles
- Switzerland
- Vanuatu
Where is French used?
French is considered an international language not only because it is spoken in dozens of countries, but also because it is one of the official working languages in many international organizations, including
- African Union (AU)
- Amnesty International
- Council of Europe
- European Commission
- Interpol
- International Criminal Court
- International Olympic Committee
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- Organization for Economic Cooperation + Development (OECD)
- United Nations (UN)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
Text by Mr Jackson
Picture from Flickr by franz88
