Alongside English, French is the only language spoken on all five continents. Studying IGCSE French online will help boost your confidence in this widely-spoken language, and is an excellent choice if you:

• Like the opportunities learning a new language brings – in business, or for your own pleasure.
• Are a keen traveller, or would like to explore a new culture from your own home.
• Have a general interest in languages, how words work or how language is structured.
• Want to add an international angle to your choice of GCSE subjects which is something employers look for.
• Enjoy learning. Learning a language is ultimately a lot of fun!

Future opportunities

• Studying other Modern Foreign Languages or French at AS/A Level.
• Stronger employment opportunities in companies with international links or enhanced employability if you’d like to work abroad.
• A range of careers including those in education, international business, communication and translation through to cultural, tourism or governmental positions.

Getting started

• Introduction
• Making the most of the course
• IGCSE French course guide

Section 1: Home and school

• House and home
• School life and routine

Section 2: Food, health and the media

• Food and drink
• Common ailments and healthy lifestyles
• Media – TV and film

Section 3: Family and friends

• Relationships with family and friends
• Daily routine and helping at home
• Hobbies and interests

Section 4: Holidays and special occasions

• Special occasions
• Holidays
• Tourist information and directions

Section 5: Daily life

• Life in the town and rural life
• Shopping and money matters
• Public services

Section 6: The environment

• Environmental issues
• Weather and climate
• Everyday life in a French-speaking country

Section 7: Customs, childhood and travel

• Customs and festivals
• Travel and transport
• Childhood

Section 8

• School rules and pressures
• School trips, events, exchanges
• The importance of sport

Section 9

• Accidents and injuries
• The world of work
• Future plans

Section 10

• Work, volunteering, careers
• Communication – by internet, mobile phone, email, social media
• Keeping informed – radio, newspapers, TV, online

Study IGCSE French with us and benefit from:

• Flexible learning
• Support from a personal tutor by email, phone or Skype
• Any time enrolment
• Our exam booking service
• Assignments with tutor feedback
• Ongoing support from Student Support
• Forums to discuss your course with other students

learn@nec

Choose when and where you access your course, using learn@nec our 24/7 learning platform.

This easy-to-use learning platform includes interactive checkpoints, quizzes and activities to help you evaluate your progress.

You’ll have access to support from a personal tutor. All NEC tutors are subject experts, with experience of supporting online learners.

Meet Nathalie who is just one of our first-class French tutors:

“I have now been teaching for nearly 30 years. I took a PGCE, secondary French with the Open University, so I know how challenging it is to study on your own.

After obtaining my PGCE in 1996, I became a freelance teacher. I taught in primary and secondary schools, 6th form and adult education.

As a native French speaker, learning languages is one of my great passions. I love to understand how languages work, how sentences are constructed. Being able to express yourself and communicate in different languages is a great asset, I get great pleasure encouraging others to achieve this.

When I have some free-time, I enjoy cooking and sewing patchwork.”

Exam board

• Edexcel 4FR1

Format

• Online learning with support from a personal tutor

Hours

• Complete at your own pace
• Approx. 120-150* hours plus time for completing assignments

*The specification suggests that 150 hours is needed. You’ll also need time to complete assignments and prepare yourself for exams and some courses like English literature involve a lot of reading. Everyone is different so it’s impossible to say with certainty how long a course will take you, but you should expect to spend longer than 150 hours. Taken across the length of time we recommend, this equates to approximately 4 hours per week. This will increase if you choose to take it over a shorter time frame or may be less if you are retaking a subject and have covered a lot of of the course content.

Assignments

• 11 assignments (one introductory) – these do not contribute towards your final grade

Resources

• Set textbook – included as a free ebook with your course: French for Edexcel International GCSE (Second Edition)I, by Séverine Chevrier-Clarke,Jean-Claude Gilles, Karine Harrington, Wendy O’Mahony, Kirsty Thathapudi and Jayn Witt, Hodder Education, 2017, ISBN: 978 1 5104 0328 4

Requirements

• Internet access
• Computer operating system and browser to support learn@nec
• As part of the assignments, you will be required to record audio and send it to your tutor.

Our course fees are clear and transparent to help you plan for any additional costs.

Your course fee includes:

• 24/7 access to learn@nec platform and resources
• Expertly designed online course materials (including ebook versions of textbooks where specified) that you need to complete the course and written to cover the carefully selected awarding body specification
• Support from our Student Services team
• Structured assignments to help you track your progress throughout your course
• Guidance from your tutor for up to 18 months from your date of enrolment
• Constructive feedback on your assignments from your tutor, to help you improve and prepare for exams
• Guaranteed exam place
• NEC’s guide to study skills: How to Succeed as an Independent Learner
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar guide
• Time planner template to help you plan your study timetable
• Information on how to apply for exams

Your course fee does not cover:

• Any fees in relation to exam entries or assessments
• Centre Assessment Grades (CAG) in the event of exam cancellation
• Recommended textbooks for additional reading or set texts
• Equipment for core practicals

If you need more support, you can purchase:

• Online tutorials – if you need help with a specific topic you can arrange a 30 minute or 1 hour tutorial
• Additional past paper marking – to help with your exam preparation
• Revision tutorial –  to plan your revision and explore revision techniques
• Help with your UCAS application service

For further information on additional/optional support you can purchase, please visit our additional services page.

Why we all need to be bilingual

Exams (three):

• Paper 1: Listening – 25% of marks  (30 minutes)
• Paper 2: Reading and writing – 50% of marks (1 hour 45 minutes)
• Oral exam – 25% of marks (8-10 minutes)

There is no non-exam assessment (NEA) for this course

We know that our younger students often need an extra helping hand with their studies. In our experience learning online works best when either a parent or guardian are involved. This is why NEC has developed our unique Progress Tracker to help you to support your child.

NEC’s Progress Tracker will allow you to easily track your child’s progress across their subjects and gain insight to how well they are doing through access to their assignment grades and tutor feedback.  

Read more about how we work with young students who are studying at home or through a school.

Would you like to talk to our Course Advice Team about the best route for you? Visit our Contact Us page, fill in the form and a member of the team will get back to you!