Theme 3: Communication and the world around us: Travel and tourism, including places of interest, Media and technology, The environment and where people live (Foundation and higher).

Select a course.

arrow_back

infoWhy this? Builds real-world relevance: Environmental issues and where we live are topical, motivating contexts that engage pupils and promote cultural awareness and responsible citizenship. Consolidates and extends core grammar: Pupils apply high-frequency structures (present, perfect, near future, modal verbs, verbs + infinitive, si/quand) in meaningful contexts, strengthening accuracy and fluency. Expands functional vocabulary: Daily eco-actions, global issues, housing, town amenities—useful lexis for GCSE-style tasks and authentic communication. Develops opinion and justification skills: Strong focus on giving views with reasons and balancing advantages/disadvantages—central to higher-mark GCSE responses. Interleaves phonics: Targeted sounds (a/à; h) support pronunciation, listening discrimination and spelling.

scheduleWhy now? Spiral curriculum: Revisits and deepens previously taught grammar (present, perfect, imperfect; modal verbs; verbs + à/de + infinitive) while adding nuance (avant de, pour/sans + infinitive, infinitives as nouns). Assessment readiness: Aligns with upcoming Theme 3 test/revision and composite grammar practice, ensuring pupils can handle mixed-tense narrative, description, and opinion tasks across skills. Cultural capital: Cannes mini-topic broadens cultural knowledge, supporting authentic listening/reading strategies and exam-style cultural items.

the imperfect tense is used to describe what life used to be like, including weather, age, routines and descriptions in the past
the imperfect forms of être, avoir and faire are important for talking about past life and past conditions
adjective agreement must be accurate when describing places and experiences
the future and near future can be used together to talk about travel plans and a gap year
dans and en are used in different ways when talking about places and location
the perfect tense is used for completed holiday events, while the imperfect tense gives background detail such as weather, accommodation and setting
pour and sans + infinitive are useful for expressing purpose and saying what someone did or did not do
the passive voice can be used in descriptions of cities and places of interest
y and en can be used to avoid repetition and improve fluency
the present tense is used for usual online habits and regular technology use
the perfect tense is used to describe recent online activity
the present and past tenses are often used together when discussing internet use
opinion verbs and modal verbs + infinitive help explain views about the internet, apps and social media
the digital world includes:
blogs
influencers
social media
apps
platforms
online safety
modal verbs in the perfect tense are used to describe what someone was able or wanted to do online
personne ne and rien ne are useful negative structures
three time frames can be combined to talk about technology in the past, present and future
the imperative is used to give online safety advice and commands
après avoir / être + past participle is used to explain events after something happened online
environmental topics include both global issues and the local environment
je voudrais is useful for saying what someone would like to do to help the planet
infinitives can be used as nouns in environmental discussions
negative structures are important when describing problems in a town or local area
partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) are needed when talking about resources and materials
towns, villages and neighbourhoods can be described using language for:
buildings
facilities
transport
tourism
activities for young people
modal verbs in the present tense help describe what people can do in a place
si and quand help extend ideas and add detail
the conditional is used to describe an ideal home or where someone would like to live in future
indirect object pronouns (plural forms) are part of higher-level grammar
students also learn about traditional dwellings in the francophone world
key grammar across these units includes:
the imperfect tense
agreement of adjectives
future and near future tenses
dans and en
perfect and imperfect tenses together
pour and sans + infinitive
present, perfect and imperfect tenses together
opinion / modal verbs + infinitive
modal verbs in the perfect tense
après avoir / être + past participle
the imperative
negatives
modal verbs in the present tense
si and quand
the conditional
indirect object pronouns (plural)

rocket_launchYou must be able to

say where they used to live
describe what life was like in the past, including:
weather
local life
weekends
who they lived with
talk about francophone islands and locations across the world
describe plans for a gap year abroad
give information about:
destinations
transport
accommodation
activities
reasons for travel choices
describe a recent holiday, including:
where they went
how they travelled
where they stayed
what the weather was like
what they did
what facilities were available
talk about favourite cities and explain why
describe a recent school trip
say where they will go in future holidays
refer to things to do and see in holiday destinations and large cities
explain how they use computers at school
say what they normally do online
say what they did online recently
give opinions about:
social media
apps
blogs
influencers
celebrities' influence
explain advantages and disadvantages of the internet
talk about the importance of the digital world for young people and society
describe their use of technology in three time frames
say how often they use different technologies
discuss dangers online
give advice and warnings about staying safe online
describe problems they have had on the internet
explain what happened after an online event using more complex structures
identify and describe environmental problems
say what they would like to do to help the environment
discuss issues such as:
cutting down trees
animal products
plastic use
natural products
recycling
describe the environment in their town or region
explain the biggest local environmental problem
say what they and others do to help the environment near home
describe their town, village or neighbourhood
say:
where it is
what there is
what there is not
what young people can do
what tourists can do
give opinions on their area, including advantages and disadvantages
talk about something they did in town recently
compare town and country life
describe their ideal home and area
explain where they would prefer to live and why
talk about future intentions for where they would like to live
describe traditional homes in parts of the francophone world
understand and use a range of time frames
move between present, past and future accurately
justify opinions with reasons
extend answers with more complex grammar
describe people, places and experiences in greater detail
write and speak with increasing accuracy and variety

Curriculum Portal