French

Course summary

Learning a modern language for GCSE is a matter of taking your first steps. You learn rudimentary grammar and vocabulary that enable you to get by but real conversations are still beyond your reach. It is at the sixth form level that you will deepen your grammatical competence and broaden your vocabulary so that you can converse about and debate real-world issues, and immerse yourself in the culture, literature and arts of the country. Even though we live in an age where it seems English is spoken everywhere and where Google Translate will help you where it is not, there is nothing like the experience and satisfaction of being able to step inside a different way of speaking and seeing the world. The French A level will introduce you to French society, history and culture. You will read the French press, listen to the French news and watch French films to develop your knowledge not just of the language, but of the countries where it is spoken. In the first year, you will focus on two major topic areas, grammar and translation, and the study in depth of a film. The first topic is Aspects of French-speaking Society: Current Trends, which will cover everything from traditional family values to cyberspace. The second is Artistic Culture in the French-speaking World where you will be talking about French culture music and heritage. The film you will study will be one taken from this list: Au revoir les enfants, La Haine, L’auberge espagnole, Un long dimanche de fiançailles, Entre les murs and Les 400 coups. In the second year, you will revise your knowledge of the first-year topics and the film, and you will cover two more topics, as well as undertake a detailed study of a literary text and its themes and context. You will also be required to research a French topic for your speaking exam. The new topics are Aspects of French Society in which you will look at various issues such as discrimination, a diverse society and integration; and Aspects of Political Life in the French-speaking World, where you will look at political issues, the right to vote and immigration. The study of a literary text will be a short novel or play drawn from the AQA-prescribed list.