Our courses will enable you to become proficient in both written and spoken French. The study of French and francophone society and culture will provide the context for your language study.
Main features of the course:
- A detailed and in-depth study of spoken and written French
- Practical applications of French language
- Examination of aspects of French and francophone societies and cultures
- Modules in World literature
- Modules in World cinema
- Opportunities to study specific areas of interest
- Placements abroad
- Study as a single subject or combined with a wide range of other subjects
Why study French at Chester?
The courses will enable students to achieve their full potential in the language. Programme staff are dedicated to effective teaching and learning, using a range of methods. You will be taught in a friendly, lively department in a pleasant learning environment, offering a high level of student support and every opportunity to develop your language skills.
The department has two digital language laboratories, multimedia facilities and video/satellite TV viewing rooms.
Features:
The French programmes involve a variety of learning approaches, making extensive use of audiovisual media and computer-assisted learning as well as written sources. Language classes are in workshop mode and conducted mainly in French, and there is open access to the language facilities. You will have opportunities to study specific areas of personal interest.
One of the most distinctive features of the courses is the integration of two different placements abroad. These placements will give you vital, first-hand experience of working or studying abroad and will transform your command of French.
Programme Structure:
Level 4 (Year 1)
The emphasis, in the core language module, is on consolidating and developing your language skills and on extending your knowledge of aspects of contemporary France. Students have a core module which examines parts of the French-speaking world outside France (la Francophonie).
There are optional modules in European and World literature, cinema and politics, or you can take an introductory module in Spanish.
Core Modules:
- Introduction to Francophone Studies
Option Modules:
- Introduction to European Cinema
- Introduction to European Studies
- Introduction to Literature in Translation
- Introduction to Visual Cultures
- Introduction to Spanish
Level 5 (Year 2)
The core language module is again related to the continuing development of your language skills in the context of the study of important aspects of contemporary France and the francophone world. You will spend some time looking at the practicalities of living and working in France or another French-speaking country, in preparation for the placement(s) abroad. Students will write an extended essay, and again there are modules with a pan-European focus.
Towards the end of the second year, students have the opportunity to undertake a short study placement abroad in a French-speaking environment or a work-based learning placement abroad or in the UK.
Core Modules:
- Contemporary France
- Extended Essay in French
Option Modules:
- Modern European Cinema
- European Politics and Culture
- Further Literature in Translation
- Observing Cultures
- European Study Placement (in France)
- Languages Work Placement (in France)
- Work based learning (in UK)
- Learning in the Wider World
One-year Placements Abroad:
- Study placement (Erasmus)
- English language assistantship
Students will spend the third year of their four-year course on a placement in France or another French-speaking country. This will be as a student at one of our partner universities, such as Avignon, Nantes, Bordeaux or Brussels or as an English language assistant in a school. Alternatively you may seek a work placement.
Level 6 (Year 3)
The focus in the final year is on high-level language skills. Following your placements abroad, you will demonstrate the linguistic proficiency you have acquired thanks to your first-hand experience of living in a French-speaking environment.
You will continue the study of contemporary France and francophone societies and cultures. The Dissertation and Special Study modules enable you to research and write about a specific area of interest, and there are modules which will allow you to develop the specialised skill of translation.
Core Modules:
- Advanced French and Francophone Studies
- Dissertation
Option Modules:
- Translation Techniques and Application
- Extended Translation from French
- Business French
- Special Study
- Summary and Synthesis
- French Current Affairs and Media
- France in Contemporary French Literature
- France in the Cinema
- Fiction as Film in Europe
Assessment is varied and spread across each academic year. In the course of the programme you will be assessed via:
- Written coursework assignments, such as essays and translations
- Language portfolio
- Presentations, debate and other oral assessments in French
- Presentations in English
- In-class tests based on recorded or written sources
- End of module exams
- Dissertation, extended essay, extended translation
- Placement abroad projects and learning logs
There will be regular opportunities for formative assessment with feedback on your work.
In the global employment market, a qualification in French will enhance your ability to look beyond Britain for all or part of your career. Employers in this country are becoming more and more aware of the value of staff who can use languages and are likely to be looking for more graduate linguists.
More than half of UK companies say that they would be more likely to hire a candidate with language skills than one without and that they pay bilingual employees up to 20% more.
You may wish to add a further qualification to your first degree, such as the MA in European Languages and Global Cultures here at Chester.
Or you might consider language teaching as a career. The transferable skills acquired during your studies of the language and cultures of France and the francophone world will be an asset whatever your future employment may be.
French at the University of Chester was ranked 2nd in the UK for Graduate Prospects in The Complete University Guide 2012.
French Single Honours
| UCAS points: |
A minimum of 240-280 UCAS points from GCE A Levels or equivalent, which must include a grade C or above in GCE A level French |
| BTEC: |
BTEC National Diploma/Certificate: merit/distinction profile plus GCE A Level French |
| Irish/Scottish Highers: |
B in 4 subjects, including French |
| International Baccalaureate: |
26 points, including 4 in French |
| QAA: |
Open College Units or Open University Credits in French |
| OCR: |
OCR National Extended/Diploma: merit profile plus GCE A level in French |
| Extra Information: |
The Advanced Diploma: acceptable in combination with GCE A Level French
Welsh Baccalaureate (core) will be recognised in our tariff offer
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