Advanced Level / International Advanced Level

French

The International GCSEs French enable successful progression to Level 3 qualifications (such as the International A Level) and beyond.

The Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary in French and the Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level in French are modular qualifications. The International Advanced Subsidiary can be claimed on completion of the two International Advanced Subsidiary (IAS) units at the end of Year 12. The International Advanced Level can be claimed on completion of all four units in this specification at the end of Year 13. All units are externally assessed.

The content is relevant and engaging. It covers the first four general topic areas (GTAs) in the IAS and all seven GTAs in the IAL. 

  • Youth matters
  • Lifestyle, health and fitness
  • Environment and travel
  • Education and employment 
  • Technology in the French-speaking world 
  • Society in the French-speaking world
  • Ethics in the French-speaking world.  

These qualifications will equip students with transferable skills such as autonomy, resourcefulness, creativity, critical and analytical thinking, and linguistic, cultural and cognitive flexibility. Speaking communication skills are assessed separately in Units 1 and 3, while skills of listening, reading and writing are assessed in Units 2 and 4.The aims and objectives of these qualifications are to enable students to develop: 

  • an understanding of a wide variety of complex texts in different cultural contexts in order to build up competence in communication
  • an understanding of standard spoken language, whether live or broadcast, on both unfamiliar and familiar topics normally encountered in personal, social, academic or vocational contexts
  • the ability to write clear, well-structured texts using an appropriate style, highlighting relevant salient issues, providing points of view with supporting arguments (where relevant) and showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices
  • the ability to express themselves fluently, spontaneously and appropriately in a range of speaking contexts with little obvious searching for expressions or use of avoidance strategies.