French is spoken by 74 million people across the world. Being able to speak French can provide you with travel and work    opportunities. According to previous British Council statistics, 49% of UK businesses look for employees who can speak French, meaning that studying the French language will be a huge asset to your career. With a projected 750 million speakers by 2050, being able to speak the French language is a powerful skill to have.

What is the structure of the course?

The French A Level is made up of 4 core units – Aspects of French-speaking society—current trends, Artistic Culture in the French-Speaking world, Aspects of the French speaking society— current issues and Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world. These are supplemented by two cultural topics—”No et Moi” a novel by Delphine de Vigan and “Les 400 coups” a film by François Truffaut. Additionally students will explore a topic of their own choosing in depth for their    Individual Research Project which forms a key part of their final speaking exam. The course is assessed through three examinations at the end of Year 13. Paper 1 is a Listening, Reading and Writing paper which lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes and examines the content of the core units. Paper 2 is made up of 2 essays, 1 on the novel and 1 on the film, and lasts 2 hours. Paper 3 is the speaking exam which lasts for 21 – 23 minutes and includes 5 minutes supervised preparation time.

What skill/requirements are essential?

Students must be hard-working, versatile, resilient and passionate about languages. They will need and develop a range of generic and transferable skills including the ability to communicate clearly, independent learning and development, the skills of project-based research and the ability to recognise and use key grammatical points and ideas. Learning a foreign language is an accumulative skill, which has to be built up over time and practised as much as possible.

What do students think?

“Learning a language provides so many possibilities for the future and A-Level French gives you exciting new opportunities for language learning, through film, literature and gaining a greater insight into the culture”

Where can this course lead?

French is an official language of many international organisations such as The United Nations, The International Olympic Committee and The World Trade Organisation. French is also the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre and architecture so it partners well very with many career opportunities and industries. You will have the opportunity to develop key attributes and skills which many employers consider desirable by studying French at A-Level.