| Strands
In The Core French Curriculum
The Core French expectations are
organized into three strands, which correspond to the three
main areas of language use. The three strands are: oral
communication, reading, and writing. The grammar, language
conventions, and vocabulary expectations have been grouped
into one section. These specific skills and knowledge should
be developed in the context of oral communication, reading,
and writing activities. The overall expectations provide
a broad picture of what students should know and be able
to do at the end of the grade.
All the knowledge and skills outlined in the expectations
for Core French are mandatory. The curriculum in all grades
is designed to develop a range of essential skills in reading,
writing, and oral language, including a foundation in spelling
and grammar. Print and electronic media are used as learning
resources.
Oral
Communication
In the new Ontario
Core French curriculum, there must be a strong emphasis
on helping students develop the oral communication skills
they need to understand and interact with others, to express
themselves clearly and with confidence, and to use the various
media to communicate their own ideas. Development of oral
language provides the foundation that enables students to
learn to read and write. Because listening and speaking
are inseparable in real-life situations, these skills should
be developed together in the classroom.
Students should have an adequate "listening period" before
they are expected to communicate in French. They should
develop strategies (such as facial expressions, body language,
pictures, intonation, context, and familiar words) to deduce
the meaning of new words and to make sense of spoken language.
The program should give students numerous opportunities
to use French for real purposes and in real situations;
for example:
- listening to French spoken by
live and recorded voices, and by people of different ages,
speaking in different accents and at different rates;
- discussing subject matter, reading
materials, personal concerns and interests;
- preparing and giving oral presentations;
- playing roles in dramatizations
and simulations;
- conducting surveys and interviews.
Students should also have opportunities
to gain an appreciation of French culture in Canada and
in the world.
Reading
Reading is a complex process that
provides a bridge between speech and writing. In learning
to read texts in French, students build on the knowledge
and skills developed through oral communication in order
to understand and respond to written materials. Reading
skills and knowledge should be developed after language
has been introduced orally in a meaningful context that
encourages students to think about what they are reading.
Oral prereading activities build a bank of vocabulary, set
the context for the topic, and relate texts to the students'
experience or prior knowledge of a topic. These oral activities
play an important role in making written texts accessible
to students.
A well-balanced reading program will provide students with
opportunities to read for comprehension, consolidation of
language learned orally, vocabulary building, information,
and enjoyment, and to practice correct pronunciation and
intonation.
Students need to read a wide range of materials representing
different forms, genres, and styles, and appropriate to
their age, interest, and level of proficiency in French.
Materials should include signs, charts, menus, song lyrics,
poems, books, and selections from magazines, newspapers,
and electronic sources.
Students will be using all the basic reading strategies
(e.g., visual and verbal cues, information from context,
and knowledge of language patterns, conventions, and structures)
to help them understand written texts. Although the lists
of expectations might suggest that the skills involved in
reading are discrete skills, they are in fact aspects of
an integrated process that is best applied in a context
that students see as meaningful and that encourages them
to think about what they are reading.
Writing
The Core French curriculum emphasizes the
basic skills related to the conventions of written language
- grammar, spelling, and vocabulary - that must be acquired
if students are to produce clear writing. Writing activities
serve to support and reinforce the oral introduction of
language components. Prewriting activities build a bank
of vocabulary, set the context for the topic, and draw on
the students' experience or prior knowledge of a topic.
These activities play an important role in helping students
develop the ability to write in French.
As students read a variety of written texts, they increase
and gain command over their vocabulary, and learn to vary
their sentence structure, organizational approach, and voice.
To become good writers who are able to communicate ideas
with ease and clarity, students need frequent opportunities
to write for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Writing activities that students see as meaningful and that
challenge them to think creatively will also help them achieve
a fuller and more lasting mastery of the basic skills. Teachers
will find it necessary and even desirable at times to focus
a lesson on a particular aspect of grammar, vocabulary,
or spelling.
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