Curriculum, Teaching & Learning

French

At Tiffin, the French department creates a caring, stimulating, secure and most of all fun learning environment for all pupils, regardless of ability. We want our students to have an understanding of cultural differences and thus have a broader view on the world in general. We provide them with the necessary grammatical tools to learn more languages and at the same time consolidate their understanding and handling of English. As languages are less and less taught in England we are proud to
be a school which underlines the importance of being multilingual in our modern world and we give our best to keep our students enthused.

In today’s world, speaking one foreign language is not enough. Students who speak several languages will increase their chances of finding a job, whether at home or abroad. Learning another language enriches the mind and opens up new horizons, both personal and professional.

More than 220 million people speak French on all five continents. French is a major language of international communication. It is the second most widely learned language after English and the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. French is also the second most widely taught language after English, and is taught on every continent.

The ability to speak both French and English is an advantage for finding a job with the many multinational companies using French as their working language in a wide range of sectors (retailing, automotive, luxury goods, aeronautics, etc.). And as the world’s fifth biggest economy, France itself attracts entrepreneurs, researchers and the cream of foreign students. France is often considered the language of culture. A French lesson is a cultural journey into the worlds of fashion, gastronomy, the arts,
architecture and science.

Learning French also offers access to the works of great French writers such as Victor Hugo or Marcel Proust and famous poets like Charles Baudelaire or Jacques Prévert, in the original text. It means being able to hear the voices of actors Jean Dujardin or Juliette Binoche, and the pleasure of being able to understand the words of French songs sung by an Édith Piaf or a Charles Aznavour and even sing them yourself.