AS and A Level

To study a language beyond GCSE is an invalu­able asset. You can explore other cultures, find a success­ful career, work for an inter­na­tional company and bene­fit from glob­al­isa­tion. Many univer­sit­ies offer degree courses which enable students to combine a modern language with a broad range of other discip­lines. More and more employ­ers are demand­ing exactly the skills which language degrees develop, such as commu­nic­a­tion skills, inter­per­sonal and present­a­tion skills, prob­lem solv­ing, team work­ing, organ­isa­tional skills, independence.

There is a great and increas­ing demand in the work­place for people who can speak languages other than English for the follow­ing reas­ons: 75% of the world’s popu­la­tion does not speak English, other European coun­tries are aiming for skills in three languages, 60% + of Brit­ish trade is with non-English speak­ing coun­tries and Brit­ish busi­ness has the poorest language skills in Europe.

Why French?
Art, liter­at­ure, music, food, wine, fash­ion and worldly soph­ist­ic­a­tion, the study of French and Fran­co­phone cultures is fascin­at­ing in itself. But it also gives insight into the values of our own language and culture.

French is also a prac­tical language that will expand your world and your job prospects. Learn­ing French will prepare you for careers in educa­tion, inter­na­tional law and busi­ness, the arts, inter­na­tional health organ­isa­tions, anthro­po­logy, diplomacy and more. French is spoken not just in France, Canada, Belgium or Switzer­land, but also in Guade­loupe, Marti­nique, Maur­i­tius, Cameroon, Réunion, Sénégal, Mali and in parts of India and Viet­nam. In fact, it is the second most widely used language, after English, at the United Nations.  French is the first or second language in more than 40 coun­tries, spoken on every contin­ent.  It is the mother tongue of over 100 million people. French is one of the offi­cial work­ing languages in dozens of inter­na­tional organ­isa­tions. Brit­ish compan­ies and organ­isa­tions have many links with France.

The study of French and Fran­co­phone texts will train you to think crit­ic­ally, to develop your research skills, and to under­stand the power of language. You will be consid­er­ing issues of import­ance in contem­por­ary soci­ety, while at the same time study­ing in some depth the culture of a French speak­ing country.

You will be able to:
Under­stand language spoken at normal speed by native speak­ers, drawn from a vari­ety of authen­tic contexts.

Under­stand prin­ted and writ­ten texts from a vari­ety of sources and in a vari­ety of registers.

Commu­nic­ate effect­ively in the spoken language to exchange inform­a­tion, ideas, and opin­ions (includ­ing the possib­il­ity of inter­pret­ing between English native speak­ers and speak­ers of the foreign language).

Develop know­ledge of and crit­ical insights into the culture, herit­age and contem­por­ary soci­ety of France or a French-speaking country.

Commu­nic­ate effect­ively in writ­ing and show appro­pri­ate and accur­ate hand­ling of the writ­ten language.

Specific­a­tion: AQA French  AS 1651  A 2651
Click here to down­load the current specific­a­tion for this A level course.

In order to study for the language at this level you should normally have acquired the know­ledge, under­stand­ing and skills specified for GCSE at Higher Tier. The course encour­ages maximum use of the foreign language and all four exam­in­a­tion units have instruc­tions in French.

You will have access to listen­ing equip­ment over which you have indi­vidual control as well as to satel­lite tele­vi­sion and French websites. The course is topic-based and the progres­sion through AS and A level is assured by having distinct units at each level. Candid­ates take two units for the Advanced Subsi­di­ary GCE and then take a further two units to achieve the full Advanced GCE award. There is no writ­ten coursework.

The AS course will cover:

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.

The AS specific­a­tion has 2 units:
Unit 1: listen­ing, read­ing and writ­ing
Unit 2: Speak­ing test

The A2 course will cover:

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 target language speak­ing region/community or the study of a period of 20^th century history from a target language-speaking country/community or the study of a novelist/dramatist/poet from a target language-speaking country/community or the study of a director/architect/musician/painter from a target language-speaking country/ community.

The A2 specific­a­tion has 2 units:
Unit 3: listen­ing, read­ing and writ­ing
Unit 4: Speak­ing test