A-Level French

Bridging Tasks

Contents 1. Welcome - Description of course - Link to specification (AQA) - Outline of what you will study 2. Getting started -Consolidation of the key tenses at GCSE 3. Next Steps - Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan 4. Building Skills: Improving your cultural knowledge A-La musique francophone- reading comprehension B- C’est quoi être bénévole? – listening comprehension C -Les restos du cœur -research activity D- La Famille en Voie de Changement – research activity 5. A-Level Ready Written passage on Bonjour Tristesse – to be submitted. 6. Extension Tasks Links to additional activities you could complete during the summer holiday

1. Welcome

Welcome to the A Level French course- a stimulating course that will build on the knowledge, understanding and skills gained at GCSE to help you discover how French-speaking society has been shaped, both socially and culturally and how society continunues to evolve. You will study authentic spoken and written sources in French which will help develop communication in the target language, critical thinking, research skills and creativity. Alongside this, you will deepen your understanding of French grammar and become more adept at manipulating structures.

You will start Year 12 by developing your knowledge and understanding of themes relating to the culture and society of countries where French is spoken. You will study social trends such as the changing nature of family life, cyber- society and the role of voluntary work within society before considering what effect these trends have on society in French speaking countries, for example the benefits of a diversity in society and how those marginalised by society are treated. A study of artistic culture in the French speaking world will give you a greater appreciation of contemporary french music, cinema and heritage. Finally, you will learn about political engagement and who wields political power in the French-speaking world through a variety of themes such as the right to vote, the efficacy of strikes and protests and differing political attitudes towards immigration.

In Year 13 you will study further aspects of social background such as life for those on the margins of French speaking society and the positive influences that diversity can bring, immigration, the political landscape and how political power is expressed through actions such as strikes and demonstrations. The study of the film “La Haine” and literary text “Bonjour Tristesse” echo these themes.

You will also have the opportunity to hone your research skills by identifying an area of interest related to the themes studied and present your findings in the speaking exam. link to specification: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/french- 7652/subject-content Course Outline

2 – Getting Started

A solid foundation in Grammar is essential to your A level journey. There are a series of worksheets on the different tenses on Google classrooms (Class code sarvjyf) to guide your revision of the key tenses. If you need additional practice go on languagesonline.co.org. There is also an answer booklet on Google classrooms so that you can check your progress.

Use the check list below to help you ensure that you are A level ready!

Present tense: Regular er/re/ir verbs

Irregular verbs – including modal verbs

Reflexive verbs

Perfect tense: With avoir

With être

Imperfect tense:

Future tense: The near future (with aller)

The future tense

The Conditional

The Pluperfect Tense

3 – Next Steps

At the end of Year 12, you will be studying Bonjour Tristesse. Read the English copy of Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. (ISBN: 978-0140278781) and respond to the questions below in English.

1 A) In what year was the book written?

B) Google search Françoise Sagan and write a small paragraph (90words ) about her life.

2 Describe Cécile physically and her character.

3 Does Cécile have a good relationship with her father? Give 3 examples to support your answer.

4. Do you think Raymond is a good father? Explain.

5. Describe Anne Larsen.

6. Compare the character of Elsa with Anne. Use examples from the book.

7.A) Anne’s arrival changes the life in the villa. How?

B) Does Cécile’s relationship with her father change from that moment too?

8. Who is Cyril and explain his relationship with Cécile.

9. Cécile makes a plan to get rid of Anne. What is the plan and who does it involves? Is it successful?

11 In the last chapter, Cécile and Raymond are back in . Describe their mindset.

12 Do you think the title of the book was well chosen.? Explain. 13 What are the main themes of the book. Add some examples from the book to support your choices.

14 The author uses animals to describe some of the main characters. Could you find the one describing Cécile? Raymond? Anne?

15 The author uses nature to describe the mood of certain “scenes “. Find TWO examples. Do you find this technique effective?

4 – Building Skills

Cultural awareness is an essential part of success at A Level. In this section, you will be using authentic French texts and websites to explore two topics, to practise comprehension and research skills.

A-La Musique Francophone

READING AND WRITING (6)

Petite bibliographie de

Le chanteur belge Stromae – anagramme de maestro – est né Paul Van Haver à Bruxelles le 12 mars 1985. Parfois comparé au légendaire pour sa qualité d’interpré- tation, Paul a grandi avec sa mère, flamande, sa sœur et ses trois frères. Son père, un architecte rwandais, est parti peu après sa naissance et il ne l’a revu que rarement avant sa mort, lors du génocide au Rwanda, en 1994.

A l’âge de 10 ans, le jeune Paul commence à jouer de la batterie et des percussions. En 2000 il se lance dans le rap et choisit Stromae comme pseudonyme. Trois ans plus tard il monte le groupe Suspicion avec le rappeur J.E.D.I. Leur composition Faut k’t’arrête le Rap les fait remarquer, mais le duo se sépare et Stromae continue sa carrière en solo.

Stromae participe alors à de nombreux projets musicaux. En 2008 il collabore avec le rappeur français Kerry James et compose également un morceau pour Anggun. En même temps il diffuse en ligne Les leçons de Stromae, des petits films dans lesquels il explique comment construire un morceau. Tandis que ses vidéos font le buzz, il sort en septembre 2009 le single . Ce mélange entre paroles graves et musique électro a un succès énorme. Le titre se classe en tête des charts en , Allemagne et Belgique et se vend à près de 3 millions d’exemplaires dans le monde. Il se produit alors dans de nombreux clubs en . Son album, “Cheese”, sort en juin 2010 et remporte, en 2011, une Victoire de la musique dans la catégorie album de musiques électroniques ou dance de l’année.

Le tube Alors on danse est également remarqué par le rappeur américain qui en fait un remix, ce qui permet à Stromae de mettre un pied sur le continent américain

En 2013, pour son second opus, Racine Carrée, Stromae se sert de nouveau d’Internet pour créer le buzz. Il laisse fuiter sur le Web des images de lui apparemment ivre dans les rues de Bruxelles. Il s’agit en réalité d’extraits de son clip à venir, Formidable, premier single l’album. Plus encore que le disque précédent, Racine Carrée mélange les genres et les influences. Celle de Brel, très présente dans Formidable, laisse place à des rythmes africains et électro sur le single , autre énorme succès. On trouve également une participation du rappeur sur deux morceaux. Dans Bâtard, la référence à Jacques Brel est présente. Il y dénonce les divisions en cases de la société, en évoquant le racisme, l'homophobie ou le sexisme.

Sorti le 16 août 2013, le disque se classe très rapidement dans le haut des charts en France et en Belgique. En décembre 2013, plus de 700 000 exemplaires avaient déjà été vendus. Preuve que le chanteur belge intéresse de plus en plus outre-Atlantique, il a eu droit à son portrait dans le très prestigieux New York Times. En 2016 il gagne le Grand prix de la Francophonie, accordé par l’Académie Française.

Côté vie privée, Stromae épouse le 12 décembre 2015 sa compagne depuis trois ans, la styliste Coralie Barbier.

Informations : gala.fr et Wikipédia

Vocabulaire legendary - ______performance - ______(f) to grow up - ______Flemish - ______during - ______to set up - ______to get known - ______piece - ______(m) to broadcast - ______while - ______to be all the rage - ______mixture, blend - ______(m) lyrics - ______(f.pl.) copy - ______(m) to perform - ______hit - ____ (m) work, creation - ____ (m) to leak - ______drunk - ____ to criticise, attack - ______compartment - _____ (m) to allude to, reference - ______proof - ______(f) to be entitled to - ______- _ to award - ______partner - ______(m/f)

Questions

1. Why did he choose the pseudonym Stromae ? 2. What did his Dad become ? 3. What did he do at the age of 10 ? 4. Which artists has he collaborated with in hs career ? 5. Which media did he use to release his work? 6. What were the « Les leçons de Stromae » ? 7. What happened in 2009 ? 8. What did Kanye West do with his piece Alors on danse ? 9. How did Stromae create attention en 2013 ? 10. What does Stromae denounce in his song Bâtard ? 11. How do you know that he has become well-known in the United states ? 12. What did he do in 2015 ?

Complétez les phrases avec un mot approprié

1. Stromae est né en ______. 2. Sa mère est ______. 3. Son père est ______au Rwanda. 4. A 10 ans il a ______à faire de la batterie. 5. Il a ______Stromae comme pseudonyme. 6. Il a fait ______de projets musicaux. 7. Il a ______avec des artistes divers. 8. Il s’est servi d’______pour se faire remarquer. 9. Il s’est ______dans beaucoup de clubs en Europe. 10. Ses morceaux sont un ______d’influences diverses. 11. Son deuxième ______s’appelle Racine Carrée. 12. Brel a été une ______importante sur Stromae. 13. Ses chansons se sont vendues à des millions d’______. 14. Son portrait a été ______dans le New York Times. 15. En 2015 il a ______son amie Coralie Barbier.

B : C’est quoi être bénévole?

Watch this video clip and answer the questions in English https://www.1jour1actu.com/info-animee/cest-quoi-etre-benevole

1) Give 3 examples of activities that volunteers do? 2) How do they define the term “faire du bénévole”? 3) Give 4 examples of where you can volunteer 4) What percentage of volunteers prefer to volunteer for a charity? 5) What 2 reasons are given for becoming a volunteer? 6) What fraction of people volunteer in France? 7) At what age can you start to volunteer?

C :Les Restos du Cœur.

A popular place to volunteer is “ Les restos du cœur”. Use this link to help you research the history of this charity. https://www.restosducoeur.org/ Who does it help? What musical event happens each year to raise money for the charity.

D: La Famille En Voie de Changement.

The poster below is a summary of the first module you will study

It is a topic about changes in the family from the around the 50s to present day. Once you look at life back then it is astonishing to see how many things have changed.

You should pick out a few of the headings below and then see if you can find any evidence to the statement.

Eg Pacs

You should look up Pacs to see what it is, when it happened, how it was viewed then and how it is viewed now. You should give your opinion on the change and whether it was a good or bad idea. Would you have introduced Pacs? You could discuss the advantages and disadvantages and suggest any improvements you would make.

5- A-Level Ready

Ecrivez en français entre 200 et 300 mots sur le livre Bonjour Tristesse; de quoi s’agit-t-il? Quelles sont vos opinions sur le livre et pourquoi?

Phrases utiles:

Dans le livre il s’agit de Le personnage principal s’appelle Le livre aborde les thèmes de… L’action de ce livre se déroule en/à D’une part D’autre part Pour ma part D’après moi

Please submit this piece of work via Google Classrooms by the 3rd July 2020

6 – Extension Tasks

These French films are all on the syllabus and deal with the themes you will be studying at A level. They are a good starting point for an introduction to the cultural topics. (* are available from the MFL office to borrow-please speak to a member of MFL staff)

Les 400 coups François Truffaut (1959)*

Au revoir les enfants Louis Malle (1987) -Available on YouTube : https://youtu.be/UCMwCRix7tE

L’auberge espagnole Cédric Klapisch (2002)

Un long dimanche de fiançailles Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2004)*

Entre les murs Laurent Cantet (2008)-Available on You tube : https://youtu.be/rBXlPg7nj-Y

Tune in to French radio

Try “Radio Garden” and explore live radio from around the globe. Visit different French speaking countries at the click of a button and hear differences in accents and culturtal variations.

Slow news in French : Topical bulletins on cultural and political themes . There is also a G.U.T.S section (Get Up To Speed) which features a range of activities to further enhance your understanding of expressions and grammar. https://www.newsinslowfrench.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoqf3g6Kf 6QIVy7HtCh0hdgBtEAAYASAAEgLqqPD_BwE https://mrlowemfl.com/a-la-une-french-magazine/: Online magazine with short articles linked to the A level specification. Linked activities to highlight useful expressions and information

Grammar practice: Languagesonline.org.uk : interactive grammar excercises to help you master tense work