English Terminale — Full Programme Overview 2026

The French Terminale English programme is built around eight thematic axes (common core) and, for students taking LLCE (Languages, Literatures and Foreign Cultures), two in-depth thematic areas. The baccalauréat exam assesses four skills: reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking. This sheet covers the essential grammar, methodology, vocabulary and civilisation.

1. The 8 Thematic Axes

1. Identities and Exchanges — Personal and cultural identity, immigration, multiculturalism, diasporas, globalisation. Key vocabulary: identity, heritage, melting pot, belonging, diversity, assimilation, integration.

2. Private and Public Spheres — Privacy vs. exposure, surveillance (CCTV in the UK), social media, whistleblowers (Snowden, WikiLeaks), data protection (GDPR).

3. Art and Power — Art as propaganda or protest. Banksy's street art, 1960s protest music, dystopian literature (Orwell, Huxley), Hollywood as soft power.

4. Citizenship and Virtual Worlds — Digital citizenship, fake news, filter bubbles, online activism, AI ethics, the digital divide.

5. Fictions and Realities — Boundaries between fiction and reality. Dystopias (1984, Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale), Black Mirror, post-truth era.

6. Scientific Innovations and Responsibility — Genetic engineering (CRISPR), AI and automation, climate change, renewable energy, space exploration.

7. Diversity and Inclusion — Civil rights movement (MLK, Rosa Parks), feminism and #MeToo, indigenous peoples' rights, affirmative action, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights.

8. Territory and Memory — Colonialism and post-colonialism, the memory of slavery, the Partition of India, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Brexit.

2. Essential Grammar

Tenses

• Present simple: habits, general truths. She works every day.
• Present continuous: actions in progress, temporary situations, planned future. I am reading.
• Past simple: completed past actions. Regular (-ed) and irregular verbs. She visited London last summer.
• Present perfect (have/has + PP): past-to-present link, life experience, result. Markers: ever, never, already, yet, since, for. I have never been to Australia.
• Present perfect continuous: emphasis on duration. They have been waiting for two hours.
• Past perfect: action before another past action. When I arrived, they had already left.
• Future: will (spontaneous decision, prediction), be going to (intention, evidence-based prediction), present continuous (arrangement).

Modals

Can (ability, permission), could (past ability, polite request), may (formal permission, medium probability), might (low probability), must (strong obligation, certainty), should (advice), would (conditional, past habit). Have to = external obligation.

Conditionals

• Zero: If + present, present. General truths.
• First: If + present, will + BV. Probable future.
• Second: If + past simple, would + BV. Unreal present. If I were rich, I would travel.
• Third: If + past perfect, would have + PP. Unreal past. If I had studied, I would have passed.

Passive Voice

Subject + be (conjugated) + past participle. English is spoken worldwide. The book was written by Orwell.

Reported Speech

Backshift rule: present → past, past simple → past perfect, will → would, can → could. Time markers change: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day.

Relative Clauses

Who (people), which (things), that (defining clauses), whose (possession), where (place), when (time). Defining clauses: no commas, essential information. Non-defining clauses: commas, extra information, no "that."

Comparatives and Superlatives

Short adjectives: -er/-est. Long adjectives: more/most. Irregulars: good → better → best, bad → worse → worst. Equality: as + adj + as.

3. Methodology

Reading: skimming (general idea), scanning (specific information), inference (implicit meaning from context).

Writing: introduction (hook + thesis + outline), 2-3 body paragraphs (topic sentence + evidence + analysis), conclusion (summary + opening). Key linking words: Moreover, However, Therefore, On the other hand, To conclude.

Listening: note key words and numbers on first listen, identify stressed words, track discourse markers (firstly, however, in conclusion).

Speaking: work on pronunciation (th sounds, word stress, intonation), use fillers naturally (Well, Actually, Let me think), interact with your interlocutor (I agree, I see your point but...).

4. Civilisation

UK: constitutional monarchy, Parliament (House of Commons + House of Lords), PM as head of government. Key events: Magna Carta (1215), Industrial Revolution, British Empire, decolonisation, Brexit (2016-2020).

USA: federal presidential republic, separation of powers (President / Congress / Supreme Court), Electoral College, two-party system. Key events: Declaration of Independence (1776), Civil War (1861-65), Civil Rights Movement (1950s-60s), 9/11 (2001), Obama's election (2008).

Commonwealth: 56 nations, former British territories, post-colonial debates on reparations and cultural restitution.

5. LLCE Speciality

Two themes: Imaginaires (literary genres — dystopia, gothic fiction, postcolonial literature) and Rencontres (cultural encounters, migration narratives). The exam (3h30, coefficient 16) includes a document synthesis and a literary commentary or translation. Key literary devices: point of view, narrator, tone, imagery, symbolism, irony.

Frequently studied authors: Shakespeare, Orwell, Huxley, Atwood, Toni Morrison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.