YEAR 12

FILM STUDIES - Au Revoir Les Enfants (RCH)

Thème 1 – Les changements dans la société française

Unité 1: Les changements dans les structures familiales (RCH)

1.1 La structure de la famille en France

1.2 L’Institution du mariage

1.3 Les relations en famille

Unité 2 : L’éducation (DBY)

2.1 L’enseignement en France

2.2 Aïe ! L’école me stresse !

2.3 Je m’oriente vers l’enseignement supérieur

2.4 De l’enseignement au boulot

Unité 3 : Le monde du travail (DBY)

3.1 L’équilibre travail – vie personnelle ; ça marche ?

3.2 Les grèves et les Français : un droit national ?

3.3 L’égalité homme-femme au travail : un mythe ou une réalité ?

Thème 2 : La culture politique et artistique dans les pays francophones

Unité 4 : La musique (RCH)

4.1 La musique francophone

4.2 Les tendances musicales

4.3 L’influence de la musique

Unité 5 – Les médias (RCH)

5.1 Peut-on tout dire ?

5.2 La presse écrite en voie de disparition ?

5.3 L’influence des médias et des nouvelles technologies.

Unité 6 : Les festivals et les traditions (DBY)

6.1 Les célébrations francophones

6.2 Les festivals francophones

6.3 Les coutumes et les traditions en France

6.4 Les coutumes du monde francophone

 YEAR 13

LITERATURE STUDIES - No et Moi (DBY)

Thème 3 : L’immigration et la société multiculturelle française

Unité 7 – L’impact positif de l’immigration en France (RCH)

7.1 Les immigrés en France : d’où viennent-ils et pourquoi sont-ils venus ?

7.2 L’immigration – une nécessité pour l’économie française

7.3 L’immigration et l’enrichissement culturel de la France

Unité 8 : Les défis de l’immigration et de l’intégration en France (RCH)

8.1 vivre ensemble

8.2 Les défis et bienfaits de l’immigration et du multiculturalisme

8.3 Les enjeux du multiculturalisme en France

Unité 9 : L’extrême droite (RCH)

9.1 Le Front National (Le Rassemblement National)

9.2 La montée du Front National

9.3 Les objectifs des chefs de file du FN

9.4 L’opinion publique

Thème 4 : L’Occupation et la Résistance (DBY)

Unité 10 : La France occupée

10.1 La France sous l’Occupation et la collaboration

10.2 L’antisémitisme et l’Occupation

10.3 La vie sous l’Occupation et les représailles d’après-guerre

Unité 11 : Le régime de Vichy (DBY)

11.1 Le maréchal Pétain et le régime de Vichy

11.2 La Révolution nationale

11.3 La politique de Vichy et ses conséquences

Unité 12 : La Résistance (DBY)

12.1 La Résistance française

12.2 L’importance de Jean Moulin et des femmes dans la Résistance

12.3 Les Français libres et le général de Gaulle

Unité 13 : Approfondissement (RCH / DBY)

13.1 Une société compatissante

13.2 Employées et étudiants bénévoles

13.3 Étudier à l’étranger

13.4 Les deux côtés d’Internet

Paper 1: Listening, Reading and Translation (*Paper code: 9FR0/01)

Written examination: 2 hours 40% of the qualification

80 marks

Content overview

   This paper draws on vocabulary and structures across all four themes. Themes are based on the society and culture of the language being studied (See 

   lists above in the outline)

Assessment overview

   Students are not permitted access to a dictionary during the examination. The examination is made up of:

Section A: Listening (30 marks)

   A listening assessment based on a recording, featuring male and female French speakers. Students will respond to comprehension questions based on a variety of contexts and sources.

 PRINCIPAL EXAMINER'S COMMENT: 

Candidates should manipulate  the language in order to show their comprehension and answer the question successfully;  they should not attempt to simply transcribe what they hear. In this paper, there are no  marks awarded for grammatical accuracy; however, responses which are too inaccurate  to successfully communicate the message will not score. Candidates should aim to offer  concise, accurate answers which convey the correct idea.  

In Q4(b)(i) and Q4(b)(ii), candidates are required to summarise two passages of spoken  French, giving the information required in the bullet points. Candidates should signpost  their answers by using bullet points or three clear separate sentences. In this question,  candidates should remember that the purpose is to summarise and so they should keep  the answers as short as possible with each bullet point containing one idea or element.  Candidates should offer a short succinct answer (although not a single word) to each bullet  point and signpost clearly. Candidates should avoid attempting to transcribe material from the recording; any direct  "lift" from the recording is unlikely to score as there will have been little or no attempt to  summarise. Candidates should answer in the space provided on the question paper;  candidates who use supplementary sheets invariably give answers that are too long and  are therefore likely to lose marks.

Candidates must aim to write accurate French and to use their knowledge of linguistic  structures to ensure that they offer a concise and targeted answer. Linguistic errors which  cause the meaning to be changed or offer ambiguity in the answer will cause the mark to  be withheld. It is noticeable that many candidates struggle to produce accurate language  when using the passé compose and many do not understand the difference between the  uses of the perfect and imperfect tenses. Too often, inaccurate language causes  communication to break down and so the mark cannot be awarded.

Section B: Reading (30 marks)

A reading assessment based on a variety of text types and genres where students will have to respond to comprehension questions.

  PRINCIPAL EXAMINER'S COMMENT: 

Candidates must be aware of  the need to change the language from the text in order to give the answer and also that  some questions will require candidates to use inference to arrive at the correct idea.  Answers that contain more ideas than marks also run the risk of not scoring; in a 1-mark  question, the examiner can only consider the first idea given and so, if the correct answer  is offered as an additional idea, it cannot score. It is interesting to note that candidates show excellent comprehension across the multiple choice questions while their performance is often more varied across the open-response  questions where they have to use their knowledge of the language to communicate their  answers.

Section C: Translation into English (20 marks)

An unseen passage to be translated from French to English.

  PRINCIPAL EXAMINER'S COMMENT: 

Candidates should aim to produce a piece of well written English which exactly conveys the message of the original text in an appropriate  register; they should not attempt to paraphrase or stray from the original text. Candidates would benefit from regular reading of  newspapers in order to have a wider knowledge of vocabulary and a better understanding  of the register needed. Candidates should consider each verb tense, ensuring that they are  conveying the same meaning as the English, and they must be careful to pay attention to  detail, particularly with words such as ces rather than les or des. They should also be  aware of negative constructions like ne…que and they should ensure that every word is  considered, taking special care to offer the correct English spelling for words that are  similar in the two languages (mesures, professionnels, gouvernement, mouvement) or  those that are faux amis (conducteurs, blocages). This year, candidates lost marks for  the use of the English ‘lead’ when they meant ‘led’; this cannot be tolerated as a spelling  mistake as the words have different meanings in English.

Paper 2: Written response to works and translation (*Paper code: 9FR0/02)

Written examination: 2 hours and 40 minutes 30% of the qualification

120 marks

Content overview

This paper draws on the study of two discrete French works: either two literary texts, or one literary text and one film. The works must be taken from the list provided in Appendix 2: Prescribed literary texts and films. The literary texts listed include a range of novels, plays and a series of short stories. All of the films are feature length.

Assessment overview

This paper includes a translation exercise and two essays on either two literary texts, or one literary text and one film (students must not answer questions on two films).

Students are not permitted access to a dictionary or any documentation relating to the works during the examination.

Section A: Translation (20 marks)

  Students translate an unseen passage from English into French.

Section B: Written response to works (literary texts) (50 marks)

Students must write an extended response on either one or two of the literary texts listed in

Appendix 2: Prescribed literary texts and films.

Students select one question from a choice of two for each of their chosen literary text(s). If a student answers questions on two literary texts then they do not complete Section C.

Section C: Written response to works (films) (50 marks)

Students who answer only one question from a literary text in Section B must now write an extended response on one of the films listed in Appendix 2: Prescribed literary texts and films.

Students select one question from a choice of two for their chosen film.

PRINCIPAL EXAMINER'S COMMENT:

 Candidates who write at such length invariably do not do themselves any favours.

Their essays tend to ramble, to digress and become generally irrelevant. Many indulge in lengthy

description and narrative for their own sake and to the detriment of analysis. There is a great

temptation, which is understandable, to include everything known about a book or film in an attempt

to impress a reader. This is something to be avoided, as it tends to have the opposite effect to the one

intended. The best essays are those which answer the precise question set succinctly with relevant

analysis illustrated with accurate references to the work. Such references do not have to be in the form

of direct quotations, although the latter can be effective, if used properly. Some candidates learn a

series of quotations and are determined to insert them into any answer. Introductions appear to be

becoming longer. Often a synopsis of the whole text or film is given, including an explanation of the

circumstances in which it was produced. This merely provides a delay to what should be the essence

of the task. There is a widespread tendency to round off such openings with a statement that the

candidate is going to answer the question set, often using word for word the title given in the paper.

There is arguably no harm in this, perhaps it is done to focus the mind but often to examiners it appears

to be a waste of time.

Paper 3: Speaking (*Paper code: 9FR0/03)

Internally conducted and externally assessed

Total assessment time: between 21 and 23 minutes, which includes a single period of 5 minutes’ formal preparation time

30% of the qualification 72 marks

Content overview

Task 1 draws on vocabulary and structures across all four themes (listed on pages 8–9).

Task 2 is based on independent research selected and carried out by the student. The research may be based on one of the themes or on the student’s own subject of interest related to the society and culture of the language studied.

Students will be assessed on their ability to use a range of language accurately, communicate and interact effectively, summarise and analyse findings from written sources relating to their research subject, and show knowledge and understanding about the culture and society where the language is spoken.

Assessment overview

Students complete two tasks. Task 1 is worth 30 marks and Task 2 is worth 42 marks.

  Task 1 (discussion on a Theme)

  Students discuss one Theme from the specification based on a stimulus containing two different statements.

Task 2, Part 1 (independent research presentation)

  Students present a summary of at least two of the written sources they have used for their research and give a personal response to what they have read.

Task 2, Part 2 (discussion on independent research)

  Students answer questions on their presentation and then have a wider discussion on their research.

PRINCIPAL EXAMINER'S COMMENTS:

AO3 - Accuracy and Range of language

Candidates should understand that to score in the upper ranges of the mark scheme, they will

need to show a range of complex structures and sophisticated vocabulary. A list of complex

structures is available on the Pearson website. Whilst it is possible to succeed in the examination

without doing this, the marks obtained will not be as high as for those who demonstrate greater

variety.

Candidates should not fear the requirement to be accurate. This is obviously the goal but accurate

communication, as opposed to grammatical precision, is what the Mark Scheme rewards. If the

message is immediately clear despite mistakes, then a good mark is achievable. The important

thing is to produce material that can be assessed and the way to do this is by concentrating on

expressing the content rather than the language.

Pronunciation and Intonation are assessed independently, so it is important that candidates pay

attention to this area as poor performance here will be reflected in the overall mark. If what is

said is rendered unclear by the way it is said, then the message will not be communicated

effectively.

AO4 - Knowledge and understanding of society and culture

Candidates should take great care to address the questions as set. That is, their answer must

provide knowledge and understanding of the points raised by the question. Disappointingly, too

many candidates produce responses that relate to the wider topic but fail to answer the question.

Unfortunately, un-targeted material cannot be rewarded for the Knowledge and Understanding part

of the task. They must also be prepared to go beyond their initial response and develop their

answer through well-chosen examples and well-made conclusions. Knowledge and understanding

are not the only features rewarded by the Mark Scheme. Candidates are also expected to have

opinions on the knowledge they have acquired and the skills to explain these if challenged, through

argument. This ability is rewarded specifically by the Mark Scheme.

IRP

Although this part of the task is described as a discussion, in fact this is not quite true. It is more like

an interview, where one person, the examiner, seeks to encourage the other, the candidate, to talk,

whilst remaining in the background.

Advice to candidates

Candidates should be aware that this is a discussion that they should seek to dominate, by offering

appropriate ideas and opinions unprompted. Providing the correct answer is only part of it. The oral

examination is a test of the extent of a person’s knowledge and views and the ease with which they

can impart this knowledge. Holding back for fear of making a mistake is not the right tactic.

Candidates should be aware that regurgitation is to be avoided. Naturally, having studied the themes,

they will have learned what to say in answer to the initial question on a given topic but they must also

show that they are capable of responding to further questions on other aspects of the sub-theme or

on things they may have said, by adapting their resources to fit the new situation. At all times,

candidates should endeavour to answer the question as put and not be content to produce material

that is only vaguely related to it.