French

Congratulations! You are considering taking your languages further and can look forward to so many new and exciting experiences! Here you will find useful resources to help you to develop your French beyond A Level and help you to prepare for further study.

Reading list

These are the books and films that are on the AQA A Level French syllabus and it would be a good place to start to get to know some of the other texts and films that are studied at this level. 

Texts

  • Molière Le Tartuffe
  • Voltaire Candide
  • Guy de Maupassant Boule de Suif et autres contes de la guerre
  • Albert Camus L’étranger
  • Françoise Sagan Bonjour tristesse
  • Claire Etcherelli Elise ou la vraie vie
  • Joseph Joffo Un sac de billes
  • Faïza Guène Kiffe kiffe demain
  • Philippe Grimbert Un secret
  • Delphine de Vigan No et moi

 Films

  • Les 400 coups François Truffaut (1959)
  • Au revoir les enfants Louis Malle (1987)
  • La Haine Mathieu Kassovitz (1995)
  • L’auberge espagnole Cédric Klapisch (2002)
  • Un long dimanche de fiançailles Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2004)
  • Entre les murs Laurent Cantet (2008)

Other materials and links

Follow people, artists or news feeds on social media:

Your favourite artists or bands eg. Stromae, Indila, Maître Gims

News feeds from major newspapers:

Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/

Le Figaro: https://www.lefigaro.fr/

Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui en France: http://www.leparisien.fr/

Métro/20 minutes: https://www.20minutes.fr/

L'Équipe: https://www.lequipe.fr/

MLATS tests

This link will take you to the MLATs; the Oxford University Modern Languages Admissions Tests. There are past papers which are excellent grammar practice; useful even if you are not applying to Oxford!

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/tests/mlat

Free online courses

https://hwb.gov.wales/playlists/view/bbf64e57-3191-4a6d-94b3-f08b3dc5af69/en/1 these courses have been specifically designed for U6 pupils to help with their transition to University

hwb.gov.wales/playlists/view/bbf64e57-3191-4a6d-94b3-f08b3dc5af69/en/4? Language courses

www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue Open University free courses

www.coursera.org/browse/language-learning/other-languages

Podcasts

This site recommends an excellent array of French podcasts about different topics and for differing levels of fluency: https://frenchtogether.com/french-podcast/#French_podcasts_for_intermediate_and_advanced_learners

These are fairy stories, read and illustrated beautifully and really good for improving listening skills grammar: https://www.thefablecottage.com/french

Art

Find your way around museum websites to find out more about the masterpieces of famous French-speaking artists.

Le Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

Le Musée d'Orsay: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris

TED Talks

Watch some TED Talks in French (all sorts of different topics):

https://frenchculturalcenter.org/2019/01/02/12-ted-talks-en-francais-to-inspire-your-french/

And you can always relax and learn some more French...

Recent popular series on Netflix and Amazon Prime (https://thevore.com/french-tv-series/)

  • Le Bazar de la Charité 
  • Mortel. 
  • Marianne. 
  • Il était une seconde fois (Twice Upon a Time)
  • Les rivières pourpres (The Crimson Rivers)
  • Maroni
  • Glacé: The Frozen Dead
  • La Forêt