French

A Level 

WATCH THE VIDEO TO FIND OUT ABOUT STUDYING FRENCH

QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED TO START THE COURSE

6 or above in French

Need to have taken higher papers at GCSE

IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?

You will be interested in different cultures and keen to use a different language to understand and to communicate your own ideas and opinions to others on different topics and issues. You will enjoy reading, speaking, writing and listening. You will need to acquire an increased knowledge and understanding of language structures in your chosen language and show that you can apply these effectively when speaking or writing in the language. You will also need to be interested in learning about other cultures.

This course is suitable for you if you:

• Enjoy language learning
• Enjoy learning about other cultures
• Want to communicate with speakers of a foreign language
• Want to use a language for further study (e.g. at university)
• Want to work and live abroad
• Want to work for companies with international links
• Want to develop opinions about current issues (e.g. climate change, immigration)
• Have a good memory and a logical mind

COURSE SPECIFICATION

• Aspects of French speaking society: current trends
  The changing nature of family
  The cyber – society
  The place of voluntary work

• Aspects of French speaking society: current issues
  Positive features of a diverse society
  Life for the marginalised
  How criminals are treated

• Artistic culture in the French speaking world
  A culture proud of its heritage
  Contemporary francophone music
  Cinema: The 7^th art form

• Aspects of political life in French speaking world
  Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment
  Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power?
  Politics and immigration

LEARNING AND SKILLS

• To understand spoken language from a variety of sources and respond in writing or speaking.

• To understand and respond to written language in speech.

• To manipulate language accurately in spoken and written form.

• To show knowledge and understanding of French societies and to respond critically and analytically.

By the end you will:

• Be an effective communicator
• Speak and write the language in a range of different situations and for different purposes
• Use the language to express facts and ideas orally and in written form as well as be critical and analytical about them.
• Understand more about the cultures/literatures/films where the language is spoken and be critical and analytical about them.
• Develop presentation skills to show a point of view and argue against opposing ones.List of skills to be learnt/developed in the course.

EXAMINATION AND ASSESSMENT

 EXAM BOARD: AQA

A level linear – all exams are at the end of the 2 year course

Paper 1: Listening, Reading and Writing

Listening: All questions are in the language; students have control over recording

Reading: All questions are in the French

Translation: From French into English

Translation: From English from French

Paper 2: Writing

Pupils will need to study one text and one film and answer:

• One question in French on a set text from a choice of two questions
• One question in French on a set film from a choice of two questions

Paper 3: Speaking

• Individual research project
  Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9–10 minutes) of individual research project.

• One of four sub-themes
  Discussion of a sub-theme with the discussion based on a stimulus card (5–6 minutes). The student studies the card for 5 minutes at the start of the test.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

Employers value the skills acquired in learning a foreign language and students who are considering careers in law, industry, commerce, medicine, business or government benefit from language qualification. Some may wish to specialise further and take up careers in interpreting, translation, journalism or teaching abroad. Research shows that a qualification in a modern language leads to an enhanced salary.  A language can easily be combined with other subjects at university as a single module or as a joint honours degree.  This will give you the opportunity to study or work abroad for a year.  Many businesses now are international and as such many employers look for employees with language skills and the ability to understand and work with other cultures.