'A' Level Languages

Subject Content

Core Content

1. Social issues and trends

2. Political and artistic culture

3. Grammar

Options

4. Works: Literary texts and films

Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing

What's assessed

Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends
Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues
Artistic culture in the French-speaking world Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world
Grammar

How it's assessed

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
100 marks
50% of A-level

Questions

Listening and responding to spoken passages from a range of contexts and sources covering different registers and adapted as necessary. Material will include complex factual and abstract content and questions will target main points, gist and detail. Studio recordings will be used and students will have individual control of the recording.
All questions are in French, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in French (30 marks)
Reading and responding to a variety of texts written for different purposes, drawn from a range of authentic sources and adapted as necessary. Material will include complex factual and abstract content and questions will target main points, gist and detail.
All questions are in French, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in French (50 marks)
Translation into English; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks) Translation into French; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks). No access to a dictionary during the assessment.

Paper 2: Writing

What's assessed

One text and one film or two texts from the list set in the specification Grammar.

How it's assessed

Written exam: 2 hours
80 marks in total
20% of A-level

Questions

Either one question in French on a set text from a choice of two questions and one question in French on a set film from a choice of two questions or two questions in French on set texts from a choice of two questions on each text.

All questions will require a critical appreciation of the concepts and issues covered in the work and a critical and analytical response to features such as the form and the technique of presentation, as appropriate to the work studied (eg the effect of narrative voice in a prose text or camera work in a film).

No access to texts or films during the assessment.
No access to a dictionary during the assessment.
Students are advised to write approximately 300 words per essay.

Paper 3: Speaking

What's assessed

Individual research project

One of four themes

Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends
Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues
Artistic culture in the French-speaking world
Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

How it's assessed

Oral exam: 21–23 minutes (including 5 minutes preparation time)
60 marks in total
30% of A-level

Questions

Discussion of a sub-theme with the discussion based on a stimulus card (5–6 minutes). The student studies the card for 5 minutes at the start of the test (25 marks).

Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9–10 minutes) of individual research project (35 marks). No access to a dictionary during the assessment (including 5 minutes preparation).

Students may take the assessment only once before certification.

Where can it take me?

Apparently earn between 8-20% more than people without a foreign language
Better position yourself in the job market (as speaking a foreign language in the UK is so rare for Britons,it’s a real asset in any job application)
Count yourself in the 5.5% of the British population who speak a foreign language (isn’t it shocking thatthat is so low?!)
Combine any language with any other subject at university (eg. History and Spanish, Geography andFrench, Law and Italian)

Assessments will be conducted by either the centre or a visiting examiner and marked by an AQA examiner.