A-LEVEL FRENCH
A Level – French
Introduction
Do you like travelling? Are you interested in communicating confidently in French about a wide range of different topics including: the arts; social media; poverty; family life and much more?
More than 220 million people on all five continents speak French. French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture.
It is a major language of international communication and the second most widely learned language after English. The ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. In addition, learning another language has been shown to help improve memory. It also equips you with a much better grammatical knowledge of English, as well as making it easier to learn other languages, especially Romance languages: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian.
To sum up, Post-16 French is for students with a lively interest in language, who are interested in how other people think and live, and who want to be part of the global workforce in the twenty first century.
Recommended GCSE Subjects and Grades
GCSE French Grade A* / A
Other Contributory Subjects
Any other language, English Literature, Politics, Sociology, Business Studies
Overview of the course:
You go further and deeper into topics worthy of debate and discussion, by:
- Analysing either novels or film)
- Studying vocabulary and grammar
- Learning how to understand fairly complicated written and spoken sources
- Writing essays
- Preparing and presenting on topics you find interesting
Course Content for AS level
Relationships, including:
- Family structures; challenges roles, responsibilities and relationships
- Intergenerational issues; influences on young people, for example peers, family and friends
Culture and Lifestyle, including
- Physical well-being
- Risk-taking behaviour; dealing with stress and challenges
- Hobbies and interests, for example sport or music; the arts, film, fashion and design
- Social media and new technology
- Holidays, festivals and tourism
Course Content for A2 level
Young People in Society, including
- Part-time jobs; careers; education and employment
- Young people and democracy; European citizenship
- Societal attitudes and young people.
Our Place in a Changing World, including
- Equality/inequality and discrimination/prejudice
- Poverty; immigration and emigration
- Multicultural society and cultural
- Sustainable living and environmental issues
Method of Assessment
AS 1: Presentation & Conversation
AS 2: Listening, Reading & Use of language
AS 3: Extended Writing: an essay response to one set work – either text or film
A2 1: Discussion & Conversation
A2 2: Listening & Reading
A2 3: Extended Writing: an essay response to one literary text
Career Possibilities
Accountancy, Architecture, Banking, Diplomatic Service, Engineering, Export, Marketing, Hotel and Catering, International Business, Interpreting, Journalism, Law, Librarianship, Linguistics, Politics, Retail, Marketing, Teaching, The Media, Tourism, Translating and Interpreting, Transport.
Other Information
It is recommended that students spend some time in France in Year 13. The globalisation of the world economy has placed anyone possessing good language skills in a strong marketable position as regards employment. Companies and other organisations are, more than ever before, operating on an international rather than a national basis.
