French

Course summary

why study this subject? Learning a language is an amazing opportunity to gain a life-long skill which will boost your employability and make your university application stronger. The world is changing fast. More and more companies are going global and recruiters are increasingly looking for globally-minded people who can speak at least one foreign language. It also helps give your brain a boost and become a better learner. It develops your understanding of your own mother tongue, consolidating your literacy skills and therefore your communication ability. It will also be a real asset in your personal life, allowing you to establish deep connections and cross-cultural friendships or making holidays abroad more accessible and exciting. Students will be exploring aspects of French or Spanish-speaking societies, including current trends and issues, as well as the artistic culture and the political life in the French or Spanish-speaking world. Some of the sub-themes that will be covered within those main themes include the changing nature of family, the cyber-society, voluntary work, music and cinema, cultural heritage, the diversity in society, political commitment or immigration. Students will study a film in the first year (El laberinto del fauno or La Haine) and a book in the second year of A Level (Como agua para chocolate in Spanish and L’Etranger in French). The key skills covered will be reading (authentic magazine articles, online pages), writing (essays, research projects, articles, reviews), listening (authentic radio programmes, video clips, interviews) and speaking (debates, role-playing, videos, presentations). Other skills will include grammar, translation and summary