French / Spanish Advanced Higher

Recommended Entry

Students will have achieved an A or B at Higher.

Course Details

The course consists of one 80 hour language unit which covers the 3 themes of:

• Topical Issues
• Personal and Social Issues
• Environmental Issues

There is also one 40 hour unit entitled 'Extended Reading/Viewing'. This unit involves reading a short novel in the foreign language and the study of a background topic of their choice.

Students will complete work involving all four skill areas of reading, listening, speaking and writing in multi-skilled activities. Students are expected to show a high level of commitment to working on their own, especially when involved in research for their folio. The folio is generated by the Extended Reading/Viewing unit and consists of 2 essays written in English.

Assessment

Internal : - Students will be assessed at the end of the units and must pass 1 reading, 1 listening and 1 speaking assessed by their teacher. Students must also pass 1 writing assessment for 'Extended Reading/Viewing'.

External : - This takes place during the SQA exam diet in June and consists of 1 reading passage including translation and 1 listening/discursive paper. Students also complete 1 speaking assessment, conducted by a visiting examiner in February/March. Successful completion of internal and external assessments will lead to the award of Advanced Higher.

French / Spanish Higher

Recommended Entry

Students entering Higher French/Spanish are expected to have achieved a Standard Grade at level 1 or 2 and a writing grade of at least 2. Students with grade 3 are recommended to follow the Intermediate 2 course with the option of taking Higher in S6.

Course Details

The course consists of one 80 hour language unit which covers the three themes of:

• Lifestyles
• Education and Work
• The Wider World

There is also one 40 hour unit entitled ‘Extended Reading/Viewing'. This unit involves watching a DVD in the foreign language in French and reading a short novel in Spanish.

Students will complete work involving all 4 skill areas of reading, listening, speaking and writing in multi-skilled activities. There is a particular emphasis on writing. Students may expect 1 essay and 1 reading comprehension per week for homework in addition to regular vocabulary and grammar learning.

Assessment

Internal : An internal assessment is taken towards the end of each of the three themes in the language unit. Students must pass 1 reading, 1 listening and 1 speaking in total. The assessment for ‘Extended Reading/Viewing' consists of 1 writing.

External : The course assessment takes place during the SQA exam diet in June. Students sit 1 reading, 1 listening/writing and 1 writing assessment. Successful completion of internal and external exams will lead to the award of Higher.

French / Spanish Intermediate 2

Recommended Entry

Students opting for Intermediate 2 will have achieved at least a General pass at Standard Grade especially in the writing element or completion of Intermediate 1.

Course Details

The course consists of one 80 hour language unit covering three themes:

• Lifestyles
• Education and Work
• The Wider World

There is also a 40 hour unit entitled ‘Personal Communication'.

The work undertaken by students will involve all 4 skill areas of reading, listening, speaking and writing in multi-skilled activities. Students may expect 1 short writing task and 1 reading activity per week for homework in addition to regular vocabulary and grammar learning.

Assessment

Internal : An internal assessment is taken towards the end of each of the themes in the language unit. Students must pass 1 reading, 1 listening and 1 speaking assessment in total. The assessment for ‘Personal Communication' consists of 1 writing.

External : The course assessment takes place during the SQA diet in June. Students sit 1 reading, 1 listening and 1 writing assessment. Successful completion of internal and external exams will lead to the award of Intermediate 2. 

Spanish Intermediate 1

Course Details

The course consists of three 40 hour units entitled:

• Personal and social language
• Transactional language
• Language in work

Students will complete tasks in the four skill areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Assessment

Internal : - Students will be assessed at the end of each unit and must pass 1 assessment for each skill area.

External : - The course assessment takes place during the SQA exam diet in June and consists of 1 reading, 1 listening and 1 writing. Successful completion of internal and external assessments will lead to the award of Intermediate 1.

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