French

During the course we immerse our students in French culture, current affairs and history.

Like many languages, English has a lot of French influence, so studying French A Level can greatly enhance our students’ broader language skills, equipping them to learn more languages or have a greater understanding of English.

French is a giant among international languages:

• Over 120 million people around the world speak French fluently, either as a native or adopted language, using it on a regular basis.
• It is the 11th most common first language in the world, with 77 million first language speakers and another 51 million second language speakers and is, after English, the most commonly taught second language in the world.
• French is the major or official language in over 30 countries, second only to English.
• Only French and English are spoken as native languages on five continents and they are the only languages taught in every country in the world.

French A Level

We follow the AQA specification for A Level French.

In Year 12 topics include:

• French grammar
• Family
• Culture
• Society
• Politics
• World of work
• Tourism
• Festivals
• Music and media of France and French–speaking countries.

We also study a French film in detail.

A firm understanding of grammar is essential in Year 12 and dedicated grammar lessons are an integral part of the course. This enables pupils to use French independently and creatively. Increased contact with our foreign language assistant helps students with their oral work and keeps them on top of current affairs.

In Year 13 topics include:

• French Grammar
• Immigration, integration and multiculturalism, both within France and the French-speaking world
• History of France, including the Second World War
• French novel

At the end of the course, students are assessed on their listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating and research abilities.

We provide weekly language clinics to support pupils at all stages of their learning, offering targeted and personalised language support.

The skills developed during the course will prepare students thoroughly for academic life at university – whether that’s studying a degree in French or using skills they have learnt in French to support them in another subject. Many of our students go on to combine French with another subject at university, such as other modern languages, English, Economics, Marketing, History, European Studies, Politics, Law and Medicine.

Co-curricular Activities:

• In Sixth Form, we offer the opportunity to spend 5 days in France, staying with host families, attending language classes and visiting cultural sites. It is a fantastic way to experience France and further develop language skills.
• We can also help students to arrange work experience in France to accompany their Sixth Form studies.
• The use of film is becoming increasingly prominent in our curriculum and we study films in every year group. We have an extensive French film lending library available to our Sixth Form students.
• Language Prefects are able to provide experiences and activities for our younger Junior language learners throughout the school year and work with other senior students to offer language clubs.
• Every September we provide a range of activities to celebrate Languages Week and the European Day of Languages.
• We host a city-wide translation bee competition annually and our A Level French students can choose to compete or support the event in other ways.

Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française (DELF)   

Our A Level French students have the opportunity to study for an additional French DELF B1 or B2 qualification. Awarded by the French Ministry of Education, these are the only official French language proficiency diplomas and we have two qualified DELF examiners here at Sheffield Girls’.

Our dedicated foreign language assistants help to bring language learning to life and support our A Level students to achieve amongst the top academic results in the region.