Introduction

XIC French students are encouraged from the very start to immerse themselves in the language to build their confidence and fluency. The subject is taught by a native French speaker who brings great expertise, passion for his language and an excellent range of original learning resources are tailored toward students’ needs and interests to help them explore the major themes of the course. Before the professional opportunities arrive, there are many academic benefits of learning a language like French at A-Level. Not only do languages enrich your global cultural knowledge, but they can also improve your comprehension and critical thinking skills – both of which are useful for many university courses.

Teaching

At A-level French we follow  the Edexel International Advanced Level syllabus. The two-year course covers a variety of topics such as Environment, Education, Technology or Society in the Spanish speaking world.

A thematic approach is taken to language teaching in covering the above topics. In lessons we use a variety of methods to promote learning and you will do individual, pair and group work, writing and reading tasks, listening activities, presentations, role-plays and translation from English into French and French into English. IT will play a part in your learning for listening, grammar practice and topic research.

Authentic materials from the Internet, television and films will be used, alongside textbooks, workbooks and on-line study platforms (Dynamic Learning and Moodle). Our students tell us that this all leads to a very positive and interesting learning experience!

As with learning any language, there are four key skills that you will gain with A-Level French:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing

Why study French at XIC

French is spoken by 74 million people across the world, notably in France and former French territories. Being able to speak French can provide you with travel and work opportunities. In fact, according to the British Council’s report ‘Languages for the Future’, 49% of UK businesses look for employees who can speak French, meaning studying the language will be a huge asset to your career. With a projected 750 million speakers by 2050, being able to speak the French language is a powerful skill to have. Small class sizes, combined with expert teaching, means that everyone gets full attention in class with constant help and support in order to surpass their high targets.