How to Revise A-Level French
Advance your A-Level French with practice on grammar, literature, film studies, and essay writing at an advanced level.
Revision Strategy
Revising French effectively means practising all four skills — listening, reading, writing, and speaking — not just the ones you find easiest. Many students focus on reading and writing because they are easier to do alone, but listening and speaking skills deteriorate quickly without regular practice. Build all four into your weekly revision schedule.
Vocabulary acquisition is the foundation of everything in French. Use spaced repetition — either with physical flashcards or a digital tool — to learn and retain vocabulary systematically. Aim to learn vocabulary in context rather than as isolated words, and always learn the gender of nouns and any irregular verb forms at the same time.
For the writing and speaking components, learn a set of high-quality phrases and structures that you can adapt to any topic. Examiners reward accuracy and complexity, so having a repertoire of subordinate clauses, opinion phrases, and connectives that you can use confidently is more valuable than trying to be creative with language you have not fully mastered. Practise writing and speaking responses under timed conditions to build fluency.
Study Tips for A-Level French
- ✓ Immerse yourself in French daily — listen to French podcasts (such as France Inter or RFI Journal en francais facile), watch French films and series with French subtitles, and read articles on Le Monde or 1jour1actu. Regular exposure to authentic French dramatically improves your listening and reading comprehension.
- ✓ Learn sophisticated opinion phrases and connectives (neanmoins, en revanche, bien que + subjunctive, force est de constater que) and practise using them until they become natural. These elevate your spoken and written French from GCSE level to A-Level standard.
- ✓ Practise speaking French aloud every day, even if it is just narrating your thoughts. Record yourself answering practice questions and listen back critically — this builds fluency and helps you identify pronunciation and grammar errors.
- ✓ Create grammar revision cards for the trickiest areas: subjunctive triggers, agreement of past participles with avoir, and the distinction between imparfait and passe compose. Test yourself regularly using spaced repetition.
Exam Tips for A-Level French
- ✓ In the speaking exam, do not give one-word or one-sentence answers. Develop your responses by giving your opinion, justifying it with a reason, and adding an example. Use a range of tenses and complex structures to demonstrate your linguistic range.
- ✓ For essay writing on your set texts and film, plan your response in French before writing. Include an introduction with a clear thesis, developed paragraphs with specific references to the text or film, and a conclusion. Use literary and cinematic terminology appropriately.
- ✓ In the listening exam, read the questions carefully before the audio plays. This primes you to listen for specific information. Write your answers in French where required and check that your French is grammatically correct — marks can be lost for language errors even in comprehension questions.
Topics to Cover
8 topics in A-Level French
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is A-Level French? +
What grade do I need in GCSE French for A-Level? +
Is there a speaking exam in A-Level French? +
What careers does A-Level French lead to? +
Start Revising French Free
Join the waitlist and be among the first to access UpGrades when we launch
Join the Waitlist