Course Length: Full academic year (30 weeks)
This Year's Schedule: Click here to view
Who Is French Level Two For?
French Level Two is for continuing students of French who have a fairly good grasp of the basics of French sentences, are able to understand simple written French and to create comprehensible sentences on a range of ordinary topics, and can communicate spontaneously in speech (albeit haltingly and with lots of errors). The CEFR (DELF) equivalent level is A2, which can be considered “beyond beginners” but not yet intermediate.
The course is ideally suited to children aged 13 to 17 who have completed and enjoyed French Level One, who have spent a few years learning informally or according to the Charlotte Mason method, or who have about two years of formal learning elsewhere. They will need to be ready to put in at least three hours of practice and study per week.
An evaluation paper is available for students to take if you are not sure whether the Level One or Level Two course would suit them. If you think they may be suited to the Level Three course, please request an appointment to discuss it with the teacher by emailing dreamingspireshomelearning<at>gmail<dot>com.
Aims of the Course
Dreaming Spires French courses all have two goals at their heart: to produce independent, delight-led language learners; and to inspire and equip students to speak French fluently and confidently, using the language in real life and enjoying it. Everything we do in the language courses works towards the fulfillment of these goals. We don't treat languages as school subjects to be “taken” but as real, living languages to be spoken and lived. Students are encouraged to incorporate their new language increasingly into their daily lives and to engage with authentic texts and other resources from the Francophone world.
Speaking and listening therefore feature prominently in a diverse range of learning activities. The courses do not shy away from grammar and linguistics, but instead of being rote-learning, these take a methodical and practical approach to mastering the elements of French.
Right from the beginning of the course, students will need to spend a few hours a week reading French texts, building their vocabulary, practicing their language skills, using drills to improve their fluency, studying and asking questions of the language. The vast majority of students succeed at this and the results are excellent. All a student needs is the desire to learn and the discipline to do frequent practice.
Conversation Add-On Option
The conversation session add-on for Level Two courses involves listening activities, one-to-one conversation, group discussions, reading aloud with pronunciation feedback and word games and challenges in French. It is ideal for students who enjoy participation and conversation, and gives these students a great boost towards fluency in the spoken language.
The language courses are all socially interactive, and the conversation add-on is an especially social element. It is highly recommended to those who wish to make the most of the class setting to practice using the language in a safe and encouraging environment.
How It Supports Your Child's Education
Graduates of French Level Two will be confidently conversational in the language. For US students, this course provides one high school credit in a language, meaning that students who complete both French Level One and Level Two will fulfill most states' requirements for two years of high school foreign language.
For UK students, successfully completing French Level Two will provide the linguistic understanding and ability necessary to take a French GCSE or IGCSE exam and to achieve a very good grade, although the courses do not teach to any particular exam. Separate exam preparation will be needed in addition to the courses.
Who Teaches French Level Two?
Joel Baker, known to students as Maestro B or Maître B, lives in Somerset, England with his five children whom he has been educating at home for the last 14 years. He is a linguist with a passion for delight-led learning, specialising in Romance languages, speaking and teaching French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. After completing his degree in Spanish and Portuguese at King’s College London in 2006, he trained as a secondary school teacher of French and Spanish, taught at a prep school in Dorset, was employed as a youth worker and ran café language classes for adults for several years. He joined Dreaming Spires in 2017 and currently teaches French 1, 2 & 3 and Spanish 1, 2 & 3, as well as IGCSE crammer courses in French and Spanish. Outside Dreaming Spires, Joel gives private tuition and coaching, including for the US college AP exams, and he conducts GCSE speaking exams at an international school. He also works as a barista-missionary in a nearby Christian café project!See all courses taught by Joel