1 year – AS
2 year – A2.

Exam Board: AQA

Minimum subject specific entry requirements: Grade C in GCSE French

Contact Person: Ms McGregor

Course Content:

AS/A2 French is the study of all four language skills to a depth which will enable students to partake in meaningful debates and gain insight into the culture of French speaking countries. The course covers both language, culture and contemporary issues.

AS Units consist of studying topics on:

Media: TV, advertising and communication technology
Popular culture: cinema, music and fashion/trends
Healthy living/lifestyle: sport/exercise, health and well-being and holidays
Family/relationships: relationships within the family, friendships and
marriage/partnerships.

A2 students take AS and then the following topics:

Environment: pollution, energy and protecting the planet
The multi-cultural society: immigration, integration and racism
Contemporary social issues: wealth and poverty, law and order and the impact
of scientific and technological progress
Cultural topic: the study of a French speaking region/community or one of the
following aspects of a French speaking region / community: a period of 20th
century history, a novelist/dramatist/poet or director/architect/musician/painter.

Assessment:

AS Unit 1: Listening, Reading and Writing - 2 hour exam
Unit 2: Speaking Test - 35mins
A2 Unit 1: Listening, Reading and Writing - 2½ hour exam
Unit 2: Speaking Test - 35mins

This course will suit you if you enjoy speaking another language in lessons, working in pairs and groups, learning songs and developing the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Also if you enjoy communicating with others and are interested in finding out about other people, cultures and different ways of life.

The course is aimed at showing how languages work and helping you to identify underlying
patterns. Above all, it is a challenge to grapple with expressing your ideas in written and
spoken form in French.

Progression:

French can be combined with many other subjects at university level. It provides a firm foundation for learning other languages. The course also provides you with the ability to study or work in French speaking countries around the world as well as offer it as a skill to employers in this country. Employers are constantly looking for employees who can speak other languages in every field of work in both public and private sectors from medicine to banking. Those who bring an additional language to their work often earn higher pay.