GCSE French - Teaching from 2025

The GCSE French qualification will support the Curriculum for Wales by:

• Supporting the statements of what matters, giving learners the opportunity to:
  • ensure that knowledge and skills in one language are transferred to and developed in other languages
  • develop their understanding, empathy and their ability to respond and to mediate effectively
  • use languages in order to be effective as they interact, explore ideas, express viewpoints, knowledge and understanding
  • provide them with literary experiences that can engage them as listeners, viewers, readers, narrators and creators.

• Supporting the principles of progression by giving learners the opportunity to:
• build on their linguistic skills
  • grow holistically in their understanding and purposeful use of languages, literacy and communication
  • develop their linguistic repertoire through understanding how their own languages work
  • adapt and manipulate language to communicate effectively to a range of different audiences
  • develop receptive, interpretive and expressive language skills
  • transfer existing knowledge and skills into new contexts including the social and cultural aspects of language.

• Supporting the key considerations for language development by giving learners the opportunity to:

• • develop phonological awareness and phonemic awareness
  • continue to progress in all their languages from their different starting points.

The GCSE French qualification will also be based on the following:

• understanding and responding to spoken and written language
• identifying messages and drawing conclusions
• using knowledge of grammar
• translating from and into the language of study
• communicating clearly and effectively in speaking and in writing
• a core vocabulary list based on high frequency vocabulary and everyday language
• using accurate pronunciation and intonation
• using knowledge of cultural and regional familiarity.

Units 1, 3 and 4 will be based on the following broad themes (sub-themes are provided in brackets as examples of what each broad theme could include):

• language for leisure and wellbeing, for example: healthy body, healthy mind, self and relationships, using technology and media
• language for travel, for example: travelling around the world, the culture of where the language is spoken, sustainability
• language for study and work, for example: study and work opportunities, working with languages at home and abroad.