Grade 8/9

Grade 8 students are required to take the mandatory French course, French 8. It is an introductory course that focuses on basic pronunciation, such as alphabets and numbers. Fundamental and everyday greetings will also be practiced in the classroom. Students will learn how to greet others at different times of the day, use simple verbs, use simple adjectives, identity and express prepositions, and more. This information are used to practice students'  speaking, writing, and listening skills. 

​

Pronunciation is an important part of every language. English-speaking students might find it difficult to master the French pronunciation at first because of how different the two languages are. For example, grammar structures, pronouns, and other language rules are completely new and not practiced in English. 

​

The teacher will guide the students with their pronunciations, correcting them when needed. Students first learn the French alphabet. Although the writing is the same, the pronunciation varies from time to time. Students will practice everyday to eventually get tested on it. 

​

The next thing students will learn is how to read and pronounce French numbers. The teacher gradually exposes them to the numbers a little bit at a time so that students get enough time to absorb the information and memorize it. When students reach 100, they will get tested on numbers from 1-100 a final time. 

​

Greetings, simple verbs and adjectives, pronouns, and lots of vocabulary will be taught throughout the course. In between units and groups of vocabulary, there will be tests and projects. For example, after students have learned the family members in French, they will be required to make a family tree and present it in front of the class, all in French. For vocabulary like the days of the week, months of the year, and birthdays, students will get a test that covers all related ideas and material. 

​

After experiencing this course, students will get to decided if they want to continue taking French next year or not. If students enjoyed French 8, they are encouraged to take French 9 so that they don't lose the knowledge. In Canada, knowing French is extremely beneficial. Otherwise, students have the opportunity to pick another language, or none at all. The other choices are either Japanese or Spanish. There are no introductory courses for both of these courses in Grade 8. 

​

In Grade 9, students will study verbs, their tenses, a wider range of adjectives and prepositions, and subject agreements. At this level, students are already setting a foundation for future, more advanced French classes.