Additional preparation activities for French A Level

Films - French film is one of the modules we will study in Y12, so this is time very well spent!

Watch a few French films, with the subtitles on in French. Write a short review (~100 words) giving your opinion on each film you watch. Here is a suggested list of films you may enjoy.

• Amélie (Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain) – a funny romantic comedy about a whimsical young woman who intervenes in the lives of those around her to do little acts of kindness and affect their lives. • The intouchables (Intouchables) – a funny feel-good film about a paralysed millionaire who hires a poor man from a rough Parisian suburb to be his live-in carer. • Two is a family (Demain tout commence) – a feel-good, touching film about a man whose life is turned upside-down when his ex-lover leaves their infant daughter in his care. • Welcome to the sticks (Bienvenue chez les Tchtis) – a comedy about a man who has to move to the countryside in the North of France for work. The North is famous for being cold, wet, having weird accents, and drinking too much beer. But despite all this he begins to think the North might not be so bad after all. • The Chorus (Les choristes) – an unemployed music teacher is hired to work at a school for troubled children. The headmaster thinks that physical punishment is the best way to make the pupils behave, but the new music teacher has a rather gentler approach. Great soundtrack. • Pot Luck (l’Auberge Espagnole) – a young French economics student takes part in a European exchange program in order to land his dream job. He is sent to Barcelona, where he shares an apartment with a melting pot of European nationalities and has amusing adventures. • La Haine – a violent and powerful film that takes place in just twenty-four hours in the Paris projects (housing projects on the edge of Paris, known for poverty and violence). • La Vie en Rose (La Mome) – Edith Piaf was a French singer in 1930s Paris. Born into poverty, she rose to fame and fortune, but never truly found love. Excellent soundtrack of classic French songs. True story.

Songs - French music is one of the modules we will study in Y12 so get familiar with some French music to get ahead of the game!

We have a French Music playlist on Spotify, which includes songs our current Y12 love, as well as songs by all the musicians who are mentioned in the texts and listening exercises that we’ll be tackling in Y12. Have a listen: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7DZWTyvrmWk88td5UA4Zmd?si=Ok0lmVkDTsynftF-zeIhaw

You can listen to French music and learn the lyrics to boost your vocabulary in a fun way. Lyrics Training (https://fr.lyricstraining.com/fr/) plays you songs with an interactive gap fill of the lyrics. There are different difficulty levels (Green/Orange/Red) to get you started.

YouTube comedians

There are some great French comedians who have clips on YouTube that you may enjoy. Get started with content from these three comedians: Norman fait des vidéos, Hugo tout seul, and Cyprien. Write a short review (~100 words) giving your opinion on the comedians you liked, explaining why.

News

Watching and reading the French news will introduce you to French politics and society, which forms a major part of the A Level course. Having watched or read a few news articles, briefly summarise (~90 words) what you have read, and note any essential new vocabulary. The following news websites are good places to get started.

• https://www.20minutes.fr/actus - varied news (including serious political news, environment, celebrities, sports etc.) in French in video format. • www.lemonde.fr – French news website for a reputable print newspaper • https://savoirs.rfi.fr/fr/apprendre-enseigner/langue-francaise/journal-en-francais-facile - RFI (the main French radio broadcaster) produce a short daily news show in slightly slower/simpler French than normal

TV

Most Netflix originals are available with French subtitles or French audio. (Content not produced by Netflix usually doesn’t have French subtitles.) After clicking play, click on ‘audio and subtitles’ to change the language. Always put on French subtitles when they’re available, even if you’re listening in English. Look up words you often see but don’t know, or work them out from the audio if you’re listening in English. Try watching the same episode several times.