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For those with linguistic ability and an interest in other countries and cultures, this course will take you beyond the realms of simply getting by abroad and will encourage you to learn about issues relevant to France and Francophone countries.

You will learn how to extend your language to a more sophisticated level and take those extra steps towards fluency. By the end of the course you should have a greater understanding of the history, culture, geography and current affairs of French-speaking countries, as well as greater competence and confidence in the language.

Special Features

We are hoping to be able to offer you the opportunity to undertake Work Experience in France – a real chance to thrive and extend your linguistic and life experiences! You will have regular classes timetabled with our French assistant in order to boost your speaking skills on a one-to-one basis. You will have unlimited access to our satellite TV and computer facilities, as well as our library of reading and reference material.

Entry - Please refer to The John of Gaunt entry requirements.

Attendance - 2 years for the full A level

Assessment - A Level – AQA

You will be assessed in all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) via terminal examinations in the summer of your AS year and again in the summer of your A2 year.

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/french-7652

Paper 1:

Listening, Reading and Writing

How it’s assessed

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes

100 marks

50% of A-level

 

What’s assessed

Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends

Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues

Artistic culture in the French-speaking world

Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

Grammar

Questions

Listening and responding to spoken passages

Students have individual control of the recording.

All questions are in French, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in French (30 marks)

Reading and responding to a variety of texts.

All questions are in French, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in French (50 marks)

Translation into English; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks)

Translation into French; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks).
No access to a dictionary during the assessment

Paper 2: Writing

How it’s assessed

Written exam: 2 hours

80 marks

20% of A-level

 

What’s assessed

One text and one film or two texts from the list set in the specification

Grammar

 

 

Questions

Either one question in French on a set text (from a choice of two) and one question in French on a set film (from a choice of two) or two questions in French on set texts (from a choice of two questions on each text).
No access to texts or films during the assessment. No access to a dictionary during the assessment. Students are advised to write approximately 300 words per essay.

Paper 3: Speaking

How it’s assessed

Oral exam: 21–23 minutes (including 5 minutes preparation time)

60 marks

30% of A-level

 

 

What’s assessed

Individual research project

One of four sub-themes ie Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends, or current issues or Artistic culture in the French-speaking world or Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

 

Questions

Discussion of a sub-theme based on a stimulus card (5–6 minutes). The student studies the card for 5 minutes at the start of the test (25 marks).

Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9–10 minutes) of individual research project (35 marks).

No access to a dictionary during the assessment (including 5 minutes preparation).

Students may take the assessment only once before certification.

Moving on

An A Level in French will enable you to study a whole variety of degree subjects at university, ranging from a traditional French language course that may include elements such as Linguistics, European Studies, Politics, Economics, Literature or Translating, through to vocational courses such as Engineering with French or Law with French.

You could also choose to embark on a course in which you study a new language from scratch, such as Chinese or Swedish, or move away from Modern Languages into the study of Classics (Latin and Greek).

Outside academia, employees with the ability to communicate in another language are in high demand, in any number of industries. By offering A Level in a language you are opening many professional opportunities for yourself in terms of career progression, travel and variety.

The world really is your oyster!