St. Mary's

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French

  • A Level
  • Head of MFL: Miss Lynch

Is this course for me?

Alongside English, French, spoken by over 250 million people worldwide, is the official language of the United Nations. It’s the only language other than English spoken on all seven of the world’s continents. Any modern language is highly sought after by employers and can be the key to success in the current job market, and French is one of the top five languages used in business. Top universities recognise and respect the demands of studying French and the wide array of skills acquired. This A level enables learners to achieve greater fluency, grammatical accuracy and confidence. The French department aims to instil a passion for this exciting language and to provide you with an invaluable tool for your future which will make you highly competitive and employable.

Areas of Study

100% examination.
Topics include: Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends, Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues, Artistic culture in the French-speaking world and Aspects of political life on the French-speaking world. You will also study in depth either one literary text and one film or two literary texts and you will research a topic of your choice for the speaking exam. You will develop your knowledge of French through reading and listening to authentic source materials and learning how to extract information, initiate conversations and respond to questions both orally and in writing.

Paper 1 (50%) – listening, reading and writing exam, including short translations from French into English and English into French.

Paper 2 (20%) – writing exam, an essay on each of the literary texts/films studied.

Paper 3 (30%) – speaking exam on the four themes and an independent research project.

Future Opportunities

French is seen as an academic subject by universities and at degree level combines well with almost any subject. A successful grade in this course offers valuable skills for foreign travel, further education and employment. Example careers are: translator or interpreter (United Nations, European Union, NATO), tourism, business, the airline industry, finance, e-commerce, teaching and the Foreign Service, among many other career paths.
Click here to view the AQA Specification
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