Worked example · MFL · Year 11
DCF: Citizenship → Health and well-being
A secure Year 11 response, annotated so you can see which success criterion each part meets. It is also your answer key: the percentages tired are 22, 33, 50, 71 and 43 overall; 53 with the phone in the bedroom and 26 without. Both claims in the article are true. Every French answer has an English translation beside it so you can check pupils' work. The survey and the pupils in it are invented.
(a) 120 pupils in seconde and première at a lycée in Rennes; they recorded information for one school week.
(b) Screen time for homework was not counted — only leisure: social media, videos and games.
(c) What time they fell asleep, and whether they felt tired in the morning.
(d) She tells herself she will watch just one video, and then it is one o'clock in the morning.
(e) He leaves his phone in the kitchen at night. He falls asleep more quickly and is in a better mood in lessons.
(f) Because the survey shows a link but does not prove that screens cause tiredness. A pupil who is stressed or sleeps badly might use their phone more, so the tiredness could come first.
(g) Switch screens off an hour before going to bed; turn on "do not disturb" mode; do at least one screen-free activity every day.
Precise details rather than gist: sans compter les devoirs is understood as "not counting homework", and (f) catches that the cause could run the other way. Evidences criterion 1.
| Group | Pupils | Tired | % tired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moins de 2 h | 18 | 4 | 22% |
| 2 à 4 h | 45 | 15 | 33% |
| 4 à 6 h | 36 | 18 | 50% |
| Plus de 6 h | 21 | 15 | 71% |
| All pupils | 120 | 52 | 43% |
| Téléphone dans la chambre : oui | 78 | 41 | 53% |
| Téléphone dans la chambre : non | 42 | 11 | 26% |
(a) Both are true. Two thirds is about 67%, and 71% of the "more than 6 hours" group are tired, so it is more than two thirds. With the phone in the bedroom 53% are tired, without it 26%, and 53 ÷ 26 is about 2, so the proportion is twice as high.
(b) The two groups are different sizes: 78 pupils keep their phone in their room and only 42 do not. You have to compare percentages of each group, not the raw counts. As percentages it is about twice, not four times.
(c)
Parmi les élèves qui passent plus de six heures par jour sur les écrans, plus des deux tiers se sentent fatigués le matin.
Dans le groupe de deux à quatre heures, un élève sur trois se sent fatigué, mais dans le groupe de quatre à six heures, c'est la moitié.
En moyenne, les élèves dorment environ sept heures et demie par nuit, et ceux qui gardent leur téléphone dans la chambre sont deux fois plus souvent fatigués.
In English: Among pupils who spend more than six hours a day on screens, more than two thirds feel tired in the morning. In the two-to-four-hour group one pupil in three feels tired, but in the four-to-six-hour group it is half. On average pupils sleep about seven and a half hours a night, and those who keep their phone in their bedroom are tired twice as often.
All seven percentages are right and rounded, both claims are tested against them, and (b) names the trap: unequal group sizes. The overall average of 7.5 hours is worked out correctly by weighting each group (902.4 ÷ 120 = 7.52), not by averaging the four group figures. The three French sentences use all six suggested structures accurately. Evidences criteria 2 and 5.
No. It shows a link: the more screen time, the more tiredness. But the cause could run the other way — a pupil who is anxious or cannot sleep may pick up their phone because they are awake. Something else could also cause both, such as exam stress.
120 pupils in one school in one city might not be typical of all teenagers, and the "less than 2 hours" group has only 18 pupils, so a few people change its percentage a lot. The pupils also recorded their own screen time and tiredness for just one week, so the figures depend on honesty and memory.
Gives reverse causation and a third factor, then two separate limits of the sample (one school; small subgroup) and one of the method (self-reported, one week). Evidences criterion 3.
Last weekend, I decided not to use my phone for a whole day. At first it was hard because I was scared of missing something. In the afternoon, though, I went for a walk with my sister and we talked a lot. If I did it again, I would also turn off notifications in the evening.
Every tense lands: perfect j'ai décidé → "I decided"; imperfect c'était / j'avais peur → "it was / I was scared"; je suis allée me promener → "I went for a walk" (not "I am gone"); si + imperfect + conditional → "If I did… I would…". Pourtant is rendered naturally as "though", and rater quelque chose as "missing something" rather than a literal "fail". Evidences criterion 4.
Aujourd'hui, les écrans font partie de notre vie : on les utilise pour discuter avec nos amis, regarder des vidéos et même réviser. Personnellement, je passe environ trois heures par jour sur mon portable, surtout le soir.
Le mois dernier, j'ai remarqué que j'étais toujours fatigué en cours parce que je regardais des vidéos jusqu'à minuit. Alors, j'ai décidé de laisser mon téléphone dans la cuisine, et maintenant je m'endors beaucoup plus vite.
À mon avis, les écrans ont des avantages : ils nous permettent de rester en contact avec nos proches et d'apprendre gratuitement. Cependant, ils peuvent nuire au sommeil et nous rendre anxieux si on se compare sans arrêt aux autres.
À l'avenir, j'éteindrai mon portable une heure avant de me coucher. Si tous les jeunes faisaient une activité sans écran chaque jour, ils se sentiraient mieux. Il faut que nous trouvions un équilibre entre la vie en ligne et la vraie vie.
About 150 words and all four points, one per paragraph. Present (on les utilise), perfect and imperfect used correctly together (j'ai remarqué que j'étais… je regardais), future (j'éteindrai), a si clause with the conditional (faisaient… se sentiraient) and the stretch subjunctive (il faut que nous trouvions). Opinions are balanced with cependant, and rester en contact, nuire au sommeil and trouver un équilibre are reused from the article in new sentences. Evidences criterion 5.
In English: Today screens are part of our lives: we use them to chat with our friends, watch videos and even revise. Personally I spend about three hours a day on my phone, especially in the evening.
Last month I noticed that I was always tired in lessons because I was watching videos until midnight. So I decided to leave my phone in the kitchen, and now I fall asleep much faster.
In my opinion screens have advantages: they let us stay in touch with the people close to us and learn for free. However, they can harm sleep and make us anxious if we constantly compare ourselves to others.
In future I will switch my phone off an hour before going to bed. If all young people did one screen-free activity every day, they would feel better. We need to find a balance between life online and real life.