A Level French

Blue Coat Church of England

Coventry

This presentation will cover..

• A level changes and Q & As• Year 12• Year 13• Exams• Grammar• trailer + task• A level what next• 10 reasons ...

NEW A LEVEL FRENCH

• New syllabus started in September 2016

• Greater emphasis on French culture and French-speaking countries

• A full A Level exam at end of year 13

Q+As

* What is different about the new A level in French?• Greater emphasis on the culture of France

and French-speaking countries. Study of a French film and a book are specified for all exam boards

• Which new skills are examined?• Translation (from French to English and

from English to French)• Creating a summary from both a listening

and a reading passage

Year 12 covers 2 themes:

Theme 1 - Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends

Theme 2 - Artistic culture in the French-speaking world

Topics Year 12

• Theme one – Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends

• The changing nature of family

• The cyber-society

• The place of voluntary work

• Theme two – artistic culture

• A culture proud of its heritage

• Contemporary francophone music

• Cinema: the 7th art form

The full A-level covers the Year 12 themes as well as 2 further themes and the study of a film and a piece of literature:

Theme 3 – Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues

Theme 4 - Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

TopicsYear 13

Theme 3

Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues:

• Positive aspects of a diverse society

• Life for the marginalised

• How criminals are treated

Theme 4

Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world:

• Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment

• Demonstrations and strikes –who holds the power?

• Politics and immigration

Study of a Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIaTVS7iQQk

What do you think?

Study of Literature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvXYgeYD1FA

What do you think?

• Paper 1: 50% • Listening• Reading• Translation into English• Translation into French

• Paper 2: 20%• 2 essays: one on the film and one about a piece of

literature – 300 words each

• Paper 3: 30%• Discussion based on a stimulus card from 1 sub-

theme• Individual research project – 21-23 minutes in total

ExamsA-level

Grammar

• We will revise grammar from GCSE and learn new tenses and grammatical structures

With the person sitting next to you, make a list of what tenses you think you covered

at GCSE

A levelPresent – present

tense/imperative/present participleFuture time frame – near future/future/conditional

Past time frame –perfect/imperfect/pluperfect/past

participlePlus – subjunctive/passive voice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmUDottECus

• Le……………….. s’appelle Jules Ferry.

• Il y a …………….. de réussite au bac.

• Gladys est la prof …………..

• Polochon est le prof …………..

• Tirocu est le prof de ………..

• Amina est prof de ………….

• L’objectif est de ………….. au bac

Complete with the words on the side here

pire/

redoubler/

cancre/

copier/

hyper fort

A level language what next…• University subject profile: modern languages and

linguistics :https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jun/07/subject-guide-modern-languages-linguistics

• BA Modern Languages at University of Birmingham:https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/lang/modern-languages.aspx

• Modern Languages at Warwick

https://warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses-2020/modernlanguagesandlinguistics/

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/

• Linguistics degree:https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/subjects/what-can-you-do-linguistics-degree

Language degree combined with…• BA Modern Languages with Business Management:

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/lang/mod-lang-business.aspx

• BSc Biomedical Sciences with a Modern Language https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2020/06245/bsc-biomedical-sciences-with-a-modern-language/

• History and Modern Languages http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/history-and-modern-languages

• Mathematics with Languages BSc (Hons) https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/mathematical-sciences-with-a-european-language-bsc-hons/overview/

• BA Translation, Media and Modern Languages https://www2.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree/detail/ba-translation-media-and-modern-language-double-honours

• Media with Languages - BA (Hons) https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/media-with-languages---ba-hons/

• Drama with a Language BA (Hons) https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/drama-with-a-language-ba

10 careers with

Languages

1.Foreign civil service

As a foreign civil, or public, servant in civil service, you’ll work overseas for a governmentaldepartment or agency, aside from the military. This type of position revolves aroundforeign affairs and international relations. Individuals with degrees in language are primecandidates, due to the fact that you’ll be placed abroad and likely in a country in whichthe primary language is not English. The duties assigned to each respective foreign servicewill vary based on your home country but can range from aiding international adoptionsto negotiating and communicating with foreign government officials. A job in foreignservice would be perfect for those who have a passion for immersing themselves in newcountries and cultures, but who also are highly motivated and dedicated in supporting theU.S. and helping the U.S. gain and maintain positive foreign relations.

2. Airline services

In working with an airline that flies internationally, you’ll have passengers from all over theworld on every international flight. This isn’t to say you will be required to speak in everypassenger’s native tongue, but most likely, you’d be flying back and forth from the U.S. tothe same foreign country, and you will need to know both English and the language ofthat country. For example, if you’d work for Spanish airline Iberia, you would need tospeak both Spanish and English to accommodate the majority of the passengers on flightsbetween the U.S. and Spain. Whether as a pilot or a flight attendant, you would get to useboth your native and second language on a daily basis at work and be constantly travelinginternationally – the perfect job for someone with a language degree and wanderlust.

3. Advertising

You could be taking goods and services to an international level of recognition. You could beworking in a specific language or cultural division of an agency, in which you are creatingadvertisements in your second language. In advertising, you could be doing either of these thingsand more with your language degree. For example, in areas of the U.S. that have a highpopulation density of native Spanish speakers, there are typically entire departments dedicatedto creating advertisements in Spanish for a Spanish-speaking market. A career in advertisingwould be ideal for creative types who are excited by innovation and the ability to evokereactions and emotions of people through their work.

4. Editing and Publishing

The editing and publishing industry includes but is not limited to newspapers, magazines andpublishing houses. In fact, most businesses require someone on staff with copy editing abilities toproofread and clean up written work, like newsletters, press releases and important documents.Additionally, there are likely more businesses than you could ever possibly imagine whose dailyproceedings demand for bilingual and/or multilingual employees. This could mean drafting andediting letters to clients or business partners in both English and another language. This couldmean editing the instruction manual for a product, which comes in a number of differentlanguages. It could even mean editing and publishing software in multiple languages. Editingand publishing is a field that has its hands in every other, putting its finishing touches on theworld’s text and giving you the opportunity to exhibit your language degree in internationalbusinesses and corporations of all kinds.

5. Subtitles and Voice-Overs

Being able to speak properly and write well in another language might mean you’re the perfectfit for the television and movie industries. With a language degree, you could be writing subtitlesor doing voice-overs for films, documentaries and series. While major film making takes places inmany countries worldwide, the United States is the crux of the industry. When American films arereleased in other countries, subtitles or voice-overs are necessary for the film to be understood onan international level. For those who feel their strengths lie in written language, writing subtitlesfor films is a unique career opportunity, in which you must not only translate the word but alsotheir sentiments. On the other hand, voice-overs would be ideal for those who excel in spokenlanguage and have impeccable pronunciation, enunciation, and grammar.

6. Event Management

Every day, events are happening all over the world, joining together people from differentcountries and cultures. Say, for example, you’re planning the wedding of a couple from twodifferent countries. You’ll not only have to cater to the cultures of both families, but it’s likely thatyou’ll be speaking in more than one foreign language, especially if the event is happening inanother country. An event coordinator that is bi- or multilingual would be a huge asset in manyarenas, from businesses that have international relationships and are bringing everyone togetherin one room or an individual wanting to throw a party with international guests in attendance.Thinking on an even larger scale, world events, such as the Olympics, need employees that canspeak more than one language to help accommodate the people from over 200 nations thatcome in for the games, whether as athletes, spectators, reporters and more.

7. NursingNo matter what the medical situation is – whether it be a regular check-up or a surprise trip tothe emergency room – the first people you’re going to deal with, and frankly, the people you’regoing to interact the most with, are the nurses. While knowing a second language isn’t a nursingrequirement, nurses that can help someone struggling with the native language of the doctor’soffice or hospital they’re in are invaluable. What can be a panicked and scary situation for apatient or a patient’s family can be turned into a tranquil and smooth-rolling process in thematter of seconds, due to a nurse’s knowledge of a patient’s native tongue. Look for areas of thecountry you want to live in that have a high population of the second language you speak forplaces where you’d surely be welcomed with open arms as a member of the nursing staff.

8. SommelierParticularly for those who have a language degree in French, although also extremely pertinentto Italian and Spanish as well, becoming a sommelier is a unique career path that could leadyou to a position in a fine dining establishment in any number of countries. A sommelier is awine professional, who deals with every aspect of the wine for a business, most commonly arestaurant, from procurement and storage to cellar rotation and consumer services. Tasks suchas creating wine pairings and lists can also be part of the job description. As France, Italy andSpain are the top three wine-producing countries in the world, the ability to speak French,Italian and/or Spanish, while not necessary, would be extremely beneficial to this career path,especially when communicating with vintners, i.e., winemakers, international dining guests or atinternational wine events.

10. Hotel Management

Hotel management is the perfect career opportunity to live and work in another country – or yourown country – and put your language degree to good use. If abroad, you’ll likely be using yoursecond language with fellow hotel staff and locals the majority of the time, but your native tonguewill also come in handy with guests from your home country. If you’re based at a hotel in your homecountry, try to find a position in a hotel that receives a large number of international guests,particularly from countries that speak the language you studied in college. By working in a hotel, oreven a hostel, you will get the most well-rounded use of your language degree, since you will beexplaining many basic things to people, like the layout of the hotel and attractions nearby.

9. Import/Export Specialist

While the international shipment of products is a process that is constantly happening all around us, itis a process we are largely unconscious of. However, import/export specialists are the individuals whoperform the tasks of making sure products meet customs rules and regulations, helping clients withinsurance and reducing their taxes and duties, and preparing and tracking the shipments.Import/export businesses are stationed all over the world, providing you with the opportunity to useboth your native language and second language on a daily basis when communicating with clientsand customs agents.

10 reasons to learn French.

1.A world language

More than 220 million people speak French on the five continents. The OIF, an international organisation of French-speaking countries, comprises 77 member States and governments. French is

the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the sixth most widely spoken language in the world.

French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language

courses for close on a million learners.

2. A language for the job market

The ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. A knowledge of French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking

parts of the world (Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, and the continent of Africa). As the world’s fifth biggest economy and third-ranking destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic

partner.

3. The language of culture

French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture. A knowledge of French offers access to great works of literature in the original French, as well as films and songs. French is the language of Victor Hugo, Molière, Léopold Sendar Senghor,

Edith Piaf, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alain Delon and Zinedine Zidane.

4. A language for travel

France is the world’s top tourist destination and attracts more than 79,5 million visitors a year. The ability to speak even a little French makes it so much more enjoyable to visit Paris and all

the regions of France (from the mild climes of the Cote d’Azur to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps via the rugged coastline of Brittany) and offers insights into French culture, mentality and

way of life. French also comes in handy when travelling to Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Monaco, the Seychelles and other places.

5. A language for higher education

Speaking French opens up study opportunities at renowned French universities and business schools, ranked among the top higher education institutions in Europe and the world. Students with a good level of French are eligible for French government grants to enroll in postgraduate

courses in France in the discipline of their choice and qualify for internationally recognised degrees.

6. The other language of international relationsFrench is both a working language and an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross and

international courts. French is the language of the three cities where the EU institutions are headquartered: Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.

7. A language that opens up the world

After English and German, French is the third most widely used language on the Internet, ahead of Spanish. An ability to understand French offers an alternative view of the world through

communication with French speakers from all over the world and news from the leading French-language international media (TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale).

8. A language that is fun to learn

French is an easy language to learn. There are many methods on the market that make learning French enjoyable for children and adults alike. It does not take long to reach a level where you

can communicate in French.

10. The language of love and reason

First and foremost, learning French is the pleasure of learning a beautiful, rich, melodious language, often called the language of love. French is also an analytical language that structures

thought and develops critical thinking, which is a valuable skill for discussions and negotiations.

9. A language for learning other languages

French is a good base for learning other languages, especially Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian) as well as English, since fifty per cent of current English

vocabulary is derived from French.