Topic 2: Technology in everyday life — AQA GCSE French

Topic 2: Technology in everyday life explores how digital tools and online platforms have transformed the way we communicate, work, and socialise. You'll learn to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of social media, smartphones, and the internet, using a range of tenses and opinions. This topic is central to the AQA GCSE French course because it connects to real-life experiences and appears frequently in both the speaking and writing exams.

You will study vocabulary related to online activities (e.g., 'naviguer sur Internet', 'télécharger'), social media ('les réseaux sociaux', 'publier un commentaire'), and technology in general ('un ordinateur portable', 'une application'). Grammar focuses on using the present tense for habits, the perfect tense for past experiences, and the conditional to express wishes or hypothetical situations. Mastering this topic allows you to express nuanced views about modern life, which is a key skill for higher-tier responses.

This topic builds on basic personal descriptions from Theme 1 (Identity and Culture) and prepares you for discussing future plans in Theme 3 (Current and Future Study and Employment). By the end, you should be able to argue both for and against technology, using connectives like 'd'une part... d'autre part' and giving justified opinions with 'parce que' and 'car'.

• →Key vocabulary: 'un ordinateur', 'un portable', 'une tablette', 'les réseaux sociaux', 'envoyer un texto', 'surfer sur Internet', 'jouer en ligne', 'regarder des vidéos'.
• →Using the present tense to describe current habits (e.g., 'Je passe deux heures par jour sur mon téléphone').
• →Using the perfect tense to talk about past technology use (e.g., 'Hier, j'ai téléchargé une nouvelle application').
• →Expressing opinions with 'je pense que', 'à mon avis', 'selon moi', and justifying with 'parce que' or 'car'.
• →Structuring a balanced argument: 'D'un côté... D'autre côté...' and 'Cependant'.

• Ability to express and justify opinions on technology
• Use of vocabulary related to social media and mobile devices
• Ability to discuss advantages and disadvantages of technology
• Use of appropriate tenses to describe past, present, and future experiences with technology

• 💡Use a variety of connectives to link ideas about technology
• 💡Ensure you can express both positive and negative opinions
• 💡Practice using specific vocabulary like 'télécharger', 'en ligne', and 'réseau social'
• 💡Prepare to discuss how technology has changed your life or how you use it daily
• 💡Use a variety of tenses: present for habits, perfect for past events, and conditional for what you would do (e.g., 'Je voudrais un nouveau smartphone'). This shows range and boosts your grade.
• 💡Always give a reason for your opinion. Instead of just 'J'aime les réseaux sociaux', say 'J'aime les réseaux sociaux parce que je peux rester en contact avec mes amis'.
• 💡Learn key phrases for discussing pros and cons: 'avantage' (advantage), 'inconvénient' (disadvantage), 'c'est pratique' (it's practical), 'c'est une perte de temps' (it's a waste of time).

• Over-reliance on simple sentence structures
• Failure to justify opinions
• Confusing the use of 'tu' and 'vous' when discussing technology habits
• Inaccurate use of past and future tenses when narrating experiences
• Confusing 'un portable' (mobile phone) with 'un ordinateur portable' (laptop). Remember: 'un portable' alone usually means a mobile phone in everyday French.
• Using 'le portable' to mean 'tablet' – the correct term is 'une tablette'. A common error is to say 'un portable' for all devices.
• Forgetting to change the tense when giving examples. For instance, saying 'Je joue aux jeux vidéo hier' instead of 'J'ai joué aux jeux vidéo hier'.