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AS French

This subject may be offered at more than one Southern Consortium school site. The teaching of this subject may be at any one of the sites listed below.

The information on this webpage is a guide only. Topics, units and course content may vary from those listed below.

AS French @ SRS

Modern Foreign Languages ‘AS’ and ‘A2’ Levels

At The Sydney Russell School, we offer ‘AS’ and ‘A2’ Level in French.

The course consists of Language work at a higher level to that studied previously, based around the world of media, film, work and current affairs, as well as an opportunity to study French literature, poetry, theatre and films.

Students who study a Modern Language at ‘A’ Level will find that this offers many opportunities for them, both in the world of work and future careers, and also for Further Education at University or College.

• Modern Languages offer several cross-curricular links with other subjects. When studied with other academic arts and humanities subjects such as English, History or Sociology, they offer an excellent step towards further academic study, perhaps at university. Many universities or colleges look very favourably at these combinations.
• When studied with Business or Economics, a Modern Languages ‘A’ Level offers excellent links with the world of business, finance and industry.

The career prospects for someone with ‘A’ Level Languages are many and varied, ranging from the tourism industry to banking and commerce.

The requirements for the course are as follows:

GCE French (2650)

AS outline 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

Assessment

Externally Examined

Written Paper: 2 hours

Weighting: 70% of total AS/ 35% of total A Level marks

Listening, Reading and Writing.

Candidates will answer a range of questions based on approximately 5 minutes of heard material and on a selection of written stimulus texts. They will also respond in writing to a question based on one of the AS topics.

The stimulus material for the Listening sections of specimen Unit 1 is available as a written transcript and as an electronic sound file. The material is not available on cassette tape or on CD. These arrangements apply to the specimen material only. Centres will be informed in due course of the arrangements for the examinations for the new specifications in January 2009 and beyond.

Unit 2: Speaking Test

Assessment

Speaking Test 35 minutes (including 20 minutes preparation time)

Weighting: 30% of total AS/ 15% of total A Level marks Speaking.

Candidates will discuss a target-language stimulus card based on one of the AS topics and take part in a conversation covering three further AS topics. ___________________________________________________________________________

A2 outline

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 20th 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

Assessment

Externally Examined Written Paper: 2 hours 30 minutes

Weighting: 35% of total A Level marks

Listening, Reading and Writing.

Candidates will answer a range of questions based on approximately 6 minutes of heard material and on a selection of written texts. They will also respond in writing to a question based on one of the four A2 cultural topic areas.

The stimulus material for the Listening sections of specimen Unit 3 is available as a written transcript and as an electronic sound file. The material is not available on cassette tape or on CD. These arrangements apply to the specimen material only.

Unit 4: Speaking Test

Assessment

Speaking Test 35 minutes (including 20 minutes preparation time)

Weighting: 15% of total A Level marks Speaking.

Candidates will present a point of view based on a target-language stimulus card from one of the A2 topic areas and take part in a conversation covering three further A2 topics.  

 

AS French @ JRCS

The course will enable you to develop understanding of the spoken and written forms of French and to communicate confidently and effectively. You will also understand and study aspects of contemporary society and culture in French speaking countries.

We are hoping to establish work experience placements in France.

In what is now a very competitive employment market, preference is often given to people with language skills, not only because they can communicate across borders but because having learnt a language often demonstrates that you have developed key skills.

• Skills you will develop include:
• The ability to read, write and speak the French language.
• Public speaking skills developed through language practice in unfamiliar situations, classroom presentations and informed debate.
• A broadened vocabulary and discriminating word choice.
• Team working through project work carried out in groups.
• Problem solving skills developed by regular analysis of issues.
• Time management skills organising your study workload and meeting deadlines.
• Adaptability
• Awareness of the importance of empathising with others
• Confidence
• Cultural awareness
• Determination
• Flexibility
• Good communication skills

Linguists are also trained to:

• Prepare and make formal presentations to an audience
• Present focused arguments
• Put ideas across clearly
• Reformulate text in different forms for different audiences
• Solve problems
• Think structurally
• Use language to persuade, argue or explain
• Work cooperatively in groups
• Work in international teams
• Write essays which gives good practice in thinking clearly

Assessment

	KEY DETAILS	NAME OF PAPER / UNIT	TYPE OF ASSESSMENT	TOPICS
AS	30% of AS / 15% of A2 15 minutes speaking test 60 marks Role Play = 30 marks Discussion of Topic = 30 marks	SPEAKING 1 (UNIT 1)	Role Play and Topic Discussion	Aspects of daily life Leisure and entertainment Communication and media Education and training.
	70% of AS / 35% of A2 2h15 written paper 140 marks 3 sections	LISTENING, READING AND WRITING 1 (UNIT 2)	Listening, Reading, Writing and responding in French / English
A2	15% of A2 15 minutes speaking test 60 marks Discussion of article = 30 marks Topic Conversation = 30 marks	SPEAKING 2 (UNIT 3)	Discussion of article and Topic Conversation	Society The environment Science and technology Culture
	35% of A2 2h30 minutes written paper 140 marks 3 sections	LISTENING, READING AND WRITING 2 (UNIT 4)	Listening, Reading, Writing and responding in French / English

You can study for a full A Level course (AS + A2) or just for the AS if you choose to do so.

Careers and further study

A language could help you with your university course, and could improve your chances of studying at a good university, whether you need it or not for your future career. If you study a language you will leave university with a degree showing that you are capable of learning something new and which will enable you to travel easily and possibly live/work abroad.

Europe is a growing market for job opportunities. There is a wide choice of jobs for graduates with languages. By choosing languages, you are not limiting your career options. Language graduates have a whole range of career opportunities open to them, for example:

Employability

• A foreign language stands out on application forms.
• A language is a USP (unique selling point).
• Language skills are viewed as an asset for initial job applicants.
• A language is an unusual qualification that employers respect.
• Some companies will only take graduate entrants on fast-track programmes who have languages.
• Questions about language skills are common at interview and may even be used as a tie breaker in a final shortlist.
• A language gives you more opportunities in terms of job location and communication worldwide.
• Increasingly, people find themselves working in a multilingual or multicultural environment locally.
• Learning a second language can boost an average worker's lifetime earnings by as much as £145,000.

Find out more http://www.lang.ltsn.soton.ac.uk/700reasons/700reasons.aspx