Specification at a glance

This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.

Subject content

Core content

Options

Assessments

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.

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