I got almost 100% at German GCSE, really enjoyed it and was really good at it. Got to AS and found it almost impossible. I got an A in the end, but it wasn't worth the stress.
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im an AS student doing french got an A* at gcse and its awesomeeee, i love my teachers and my small class and you'd be surprised how much you learn in just a term! ive gotten into the music,films,youtubers as well....my fave AS atm, but you MUST know your stuff, you cant get away with not knowing all vocab/grammar like GCSES...if you like french take it, its a respected A level and its fun 
Original post by lauzjw
I got almost 100% at German GCSE, really enjoyed it and was really good at it. Got to AS and found it almost impossible. I got an A in the end, but it wasn't worth the stress.
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How did you do it?
(I'm currently failing AS French).I'm doing A2 French and German at the moment, and I could not recommend French more - it is by far my favourite subject. It is hard yes, but with an A at GCSE, you'd cope fine. One thing I will say though, is that you have to really enjoy it to do well. Rather than just just reading through your notes a few months before exams, you have to develop your skills progressively. If you have a passion for it, it makes it so much easier as you'll listen to the language and read it for enjoyment so it won't really seem like you're working (if that makes sense). You'll find that you're confidence in spoken French and grammar really starts to improve (particularly if the lessons are taught in 100% French, that is uber helpful) and you get to talk about some really interesting topics other than just ' What I did at the weekend' etc.
My view may be a little biased though as I looove French.
It is hard yes, but with an A at GCSE, you'd cope fine. One thing I will say though, is that you have to really enjoy it to do well. Rather than just just reading through your notes a few months before exams, you have to develop your skills progressively. If you have a passion for it, it makes it so much easier as you'll listen to the language and read it for enjoyment so it won't really seem like you're working (if that makes sense). You'll find that you're confidence in spoken French and grammar really starts to improve (particularly if the lessons are taught in 100% French, that is uber helpful) and you get to talk about some really interesting topics other than just ' What I did at the weekend' etc. My view may be a little biased though as I looove French.
Original post by ggiraffe96
I'm doing A2 French and German at the moment, and I could not recommend French more - it is by far my favourite subject. It is hard yes, but with an A at GCSE, you'd cope fine. One thing I will say though, is that you have to really enjoy it to do well. Rather than just just reading through your notes a few months before exams, you have to develop your skills progressively. If you have a passion for it, it makes it so much easier as you'll listen to the language and read it for enjoyment so it won't really seem like you're working (if that makes sense). You'll find that you're confidence in spoken French and grammar really starts to improve (particularly if the lessons are taught in 100% French, that is uber helpful) and you get to talk about some really interesting topics other than just ' What I did at the weekend' etc.
My view may be a little biased though as I looove French.
It is hard yes, but with an A at GCSE, you'd cope fine. One thing I will say though, is that you have to really enjoy it to do well. Rather than just just reading through your notes a few months before exams, you have to develop your skills progressively. If you have a passion for it, it makes it so much easier as you'll listen to the language and read it for enjoyment so it won't really seem like you're working (if that makes sense). You'll find that you're confidence in spoken French and grammar really starts to improve (particularly if the lessons are taught in 100% French, that is uber helpful) and you get to talk about some really interesting topics other than just ' What I did at the weekend' etc. My view may be a little biased though as I looove French.
Im looking forward to A2 which book/movie are you doing? so excited for that!
and btw check out 'Cyprien' on youtube hes a french youtuber and he makes funny videos. #whyaminotfrenchOriginal post by Yasmin-9970
Im looking forward to A2 which book/movie are you doing? so excited for that! and btw check out 'Cyprien' on youtube hes a french youtuber and he makes funny videos. #whyaminotfrench
and btw check out 'Cyprien' on youtube hes a french youtuber and he makes funny videos. #whyaminotfrenchI don't know yet, our teacher hasn't told us! :'( I shall check that out! Yeah, I sometimes think I was born the wrong nationality...
Original post by EastGuava
How did you do it? (I'm currently failing AS French).
(I'm currently failing AS French).I'm doing as French aswell
What r u currently learning?
Original post by Alchemise
I'm doing as French aswell
What r u currently learning?
What r u currently learning?
The most recent topics we've done are technology and celebrities. You?
Original post by EastGuava
The most recent topics we've done are technology and celebrities. You?
Subjunctive et le cinema
Original post by Alchemise
Subjunctive et le cinema
Cool, how are you finding it then?
Original post by EastGuava
How did you do it? (I'm currently failing AS French).
(I'm currently failing AS French).I have literally no idea. I had WJEC though so exam may have been easier... Nail the oral and learn essays that way you can easily guarantee marks. Don't bother with too much grammar only as much as you need to and don't stress I literally resigned myself to failure and so didn't worry too much which may have helped!!
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I did A2 French, I was on AQA. Each year we had a speaking exam, then a written paper with listening & reading sections, English-French translation, French-English translation and an essay question.
I feel like the jump between GCSE and AS was probably the biggest of all the subjects I've done. I felt a bit out of my depth at first but once I got into the swing of things (and by around Christmas time in AS year I felt I had) I really enjoyed it.
We had speaking lessons with a French assistant- once a week in Year 12 and twice a week in Year 13- and I feel like it really helped. Spontaneous one-on-one conversation with a native speaker is the absolute best way to prepare for the speaking tests and improve your conversation skills in the language in general.
Class sizes for languages tend to be pretty small which is an added plus. We had 8 in the class at AS and 2 in the class at A2, which was great because the lessons could be more tailored to our needs. I should add that I went to a sixth form rather than a college, so it might be different for others.
The topics are much more interesting than at GCSE, especially in Year 13, because rather than just learning how to say pretty obvious things in French, you're also learning new things. In Year 13 we studied a French novel (although some people do a film or a play instead) and a period of French history, so it was like having Lit and History lessons but in French, which was pretty cool.
I really recommend doing French, and with your predicted grades at GCSE I definitely think you could handle it
I feel like the jump between GCSE and AS was probably the biggest of all the subjects I've done. I felt a bit out of my depth at first but once I got into the swing of things (and by around Christmas time in AS year I felt I had) I really enjoyed it.
We had speaking lessons with a French assistant- once a week in Year 12 and twice a week in Year 13- and I feel like it really helped. Spontaneous one-on-one conversation with a native speaker is the absolute best way to prepare for the speaking tests and improve your conversation skills in the language in general.
Class sizes for languages tend to be pretty small which is an added plus. We had 8 in the class at AS and 2 in the class at A2, which was great because the lessons could be more tailored to our needs. I should add that I went to a sixth form rather than a college, so it might be different for others.
The topics are much more interesting than at GCSE, especially in Year 13, because rather than just learning how to say pretty obvious things in French, you're also learning new things. In Year 13 we studied a French novel (although some people do a film or a play instead) and a period of French history, so it was like having Lit and History lessons but in French, which was pretty cool.
I really recommend doing French, and with your predicted grades at GCSE I definitely think you could handle it
(edited 9 years ago)
If you enjoy French, I recommend it! It was originally my backup choice for AS but I completely fell out of love with history so took up French and I'm so happy I made the decision! You start learning more skills like essay writing and debating! I got an A at GCSE and a B at AS. The oral exams are quite nice, when you get to A2, they're simpler! If you're good at it, it's an easy way to get a good A-Level! Bonne Chance!
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I took French as my fourth AS, thinking that it would be the thing I'd be most likely to drop after my first year. However, after not getting a good grade in AS Maths, I decided I'd apply to my universities with Biology, Chemistry and French instead!
I got an A at GCSE and really enjoyed the subject; already taking the required subjects to apply to my course (I'd already done my research) I opted to take something I enjoyed and had a genuine interest in! It's definitely harder than GCSE, though that goes without saying:
- There's a greater emphasis on grammar
- The vocabulary to learn becomes slightly more specialised
- The exams probably differ slightly (they did for me, at least)
- Writing essays is harder as you won't write one, get it marked and get it back to learn, you need to be able to write it using just what's in your head
Small class sizes (my AS had just 4 people, my A2 has 3) and a greater understanding of France and French culture really make this subject interesting for me, I can't recommend it enough!
Yours,
Grey
I got an A at GCSE and really enjoyed the subject; already taking the required subjects to apply to my course (I'd already done my research) I opted to take something I enjoyed and had a genuine interest in! It's definitely harder than GCSE, though that goes without saying:
- There's a greater emphasis on grammar
- The vocabulary to learn becomes slightly more specialised
- The exams probably differ slightly (they did for me, at least)
- Writing essays is harder as you won't write one, get it marked and get it back to learn, you need to be able to write it using just what's in your head
Small class sizes (my AS had just 4 people, my A2 has 3) and a greater understanding of France and French culture really make this subject interesting for me, I can't recommend it enough!
Yours,
Grey
Original post by ThenameisGrey
I took French as my fourth AS, thinking that it would be the thing I'd be most likely to drop after my first year. However, after not getting a good grade in AS Maths, I decided I'd apply to my universities with Biology, Chemistry and French instead!
I got an A at GCSE and really enjoyed the subject; already taking the required subjects to apply to my course (I'd already done my research) I opted to take something I enjoyed and had a genuine interest in! It's definitely harder than GCSE, though that goes without saying:
- There's a greater emphasis on grammar
- The vocabulary to learn becomes slightly more specialised
- The exams probably differ slightly (they did for me, at least)
- Writing essays is harder as you won't write one, get it marked and get it back to learn, you need to be able to write it using just what's in your head
Small class sizes (my AS had just 4 people, my A2 has 3) and a greater understanding of France and French culture really make this subject interesting for me, I can't recommend it enough!
Yours,
Grey
I got an A at GCSE and really enjoyed the subject; already taking the required subjects to apply to my course (I'd already done my research) I opted to take something I enjoyed and had a genuine interest in! It's definitely harder than GCSE, though that goes without saying:
- There's a greater emphasis on grammar
- The vocabulary to learn becomes slightly more specialised
- The exams probably differ slightly (they did for me, at least)
- Writing essays is harder as you won't write one, get it marked and get it back to learn, you need to be able to write it using just what's in your head
Small class sizes (my AS had just 4 people, my A2 has 3) and a greater understanding of France and French culture really make this subject interesting for me, I can't recommend it enough!
Yours,
Grey
I'm exactly the same! I thought I was going to drop french and carry on with maths but I did so much better in French and now I've applied for medicine with French, Biology and Chemistry! Maths was always a struggle yet french comes naturally!
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Original post by lifeistoff
I'm exactly the same! I thought I was going to drop french and carry on with maths but I did so much better in French and now I've applied for medicine with French, Biology and Chemistry! Maths was always a struggle yet french comes naturally!
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For sure, I got an A* at GCSE Maths but AS was entirely different and I just couldn't get it! French wound up being something I thought I could get by with instead of Maths, so it's just as well I took it! French, with enough practice, seems to come second nature to me... maybe it's the fact that Maths always takes ages to do whilst French can be done with some degree of speed and ease.
Yours,
Grey
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