Studying French at Chesterton is an exciting challenge that will open your mind to a broad range of issues affecting the world today. You will secure your linguistic skills with a French native speaker and develop an awareness of the Francophone world as well as establish your place as a global citizen. This rich course will give you the opportunity to take part in cinema visits and trips to France.
Subject Information
Learning French offers the pleasure of learning a beautiful, rich, melodious language. Also known as the language of love, French is spoken across the world. It is also an analytical language that structures thoughts and develops critical thinking, which are valuable skills for discussion and negotiation. French develops your linguistic knowledge alongside your understanding of the culture and society of the Francophone world.
Course Details
The first year of the course consists of two themes: Social Issues and Trends and Artistic Culture. In practice, this means that you will be studying topics such as the changing nature of families and the place of information technology in society, as well as popular topics such as music and films. You will study many interesting aspects of life in society such as cultural heritage, cinema as the seventh art, the role of volunteering and how to protect the French culture.
In the second year, more complex grammatical structures are introduced. You continue to widen your vocabulary and improve your accuracy and use of idiomatic language in spoken and written work. We will help you to develop your powers of analysis when writing an essay. You will study a book and themes such as cultural diversity, law and order, and the right to vote. There is also the opportunity to research a topic related to France or French-speaking communities that is particularly interesting to you.
Studying French you will:
- read and understand texts
- write extended essays
- listen to and comprehend the spoken language
- understand the key social and cultural aspects of France
- express ideas and opinions about key modern issues in written form
- talk about important issues in French
- study a film (‘La Haine’) in the first year and a novel (‘No et moi’) in the second year
Subject Specific Entry Requirements
- Grade 6 in GCSE French.
Where could French take me?
More than 220 million people speak French on the five continents. French is alongside English the only language taught in every country in the world and is the second most widely learned foreign language after English. It is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world.
French offers a fantastic opportunity for international travel! The ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. A knowledge of French opens the doors of companies worldwide.
The course forms a sound basis for studying French in higher education and many students continue with it either as a single-subject degree or in combination with another subject such as European Studies, Business Studies, Marketing, Law, Politics or History.
Some French graduates use their language skills as translators, interpreters or teachers. Others embark on careers in areas ranging from banking to tourism.
Reading List
Books
- Le Petit Prince, Antoine de SaintExupéry
- L’Etranger, Albert Camus
- Bonjour Tristesse, Françoise Sagan
- Les Mains Sales, Jean-Paul Sartre
- Le Château de ma Mère, Marcel Pagnol
- Le Tartuffe, Molière
- Un sac de Billes, Joseph Joffo
- Coule la Seine, Fred Vargas
- Une vie, Guy de Maupassant
- L’Ecume des jours, Boris Vian
- L’Avare, Molière
- Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
- Les Malheurs de Sophie by La Comtesse de Ségur
- Le tour du monde, Jules Verne
- Le Diable au corps, Raymond Radiguet
- Le Zèbre – Alexandre Jardin
Media
