Modern Foreign Languages is the term for those commonly spoken languages in use around the world today. There are many languages spoken and studied, and we cannot focus on all of them, so we have compiled resources for French and Spanish, which are among the most common. Below, you will find a list of things that you could use to learn more about Modern Foreign Languages, or to improve a future application to university.
Books; Reading books in a foreign language is a good way to learn, but also a good indication that you are operating at a good level with that language. Some recommended books include the following:
FRENCH - Un Sac de Billes by Joseph Joffo
L’Étranger by Albert Camus
Paroles by Jacques Prévert
Le petit prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Le silence de la mer by Vercors (Pseudonym for Jean Bruller during the French Resistance)
SPANISH - Como Agua Para Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Crónica de una muerte anunciada and El coronel no tiene quien le escriba by Gabriel García Márquez
La fiesta del chivo by Mario Varga Llosa
La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruíz Zafón
Cuentos en Español (famous short stories in Spanish with an English translation)
La casa de Bernarda Alba and Yerma and Bodas de sangre by Federico García Lorca (A trilogy of well known Spanish plays)
Alongside novels and plays, you can read French or Spanish versions of the autobiographies of people you admire, or other non-fiction books, for example a book on History or Politics which is written in that language. You can also keep up with the news or current affairs by reading the magazines listed below:
Magazines and Journals;
FRENCH - Le Monde (globally respected newspaper); Le Figaro (also a globally respected newspaper); 20 minutes (Equivalent of the Metro - a newspaper given free to commuters); Cultureteque is a digital library of French journals and articles
SPANISH - El País (World news); El Mundo (second largest Spanish newspaper); El Cultural (arts and culture magazine); Bulletin of Advanced Spanish is more of a journal of topics of interest to Spanish communities.
Podcasts;
FRENCH - News in Slow French (major current news stories spoken in French but at a good pace for keeping up with the language); Inner French Podcast; French BlaBla (speak French like a native); Coffee Break French (choose your level)
SPANISH - El Pais Podcast (Podcast from the newspaper); Duo Lingo Podcast (the popular learning tool has interesting stories in the language that you are learning); Radio Ambulante (long podcasts about aspects of Latin American life and culture)
YouTube Channels;
FRENCH - Easy French (Interviews with French people about easy topics (tea or coffee etc.) conversational French);
SPANISH - BBC Mundo (Global news in Spanish from the BBC world service);
Film; Unique to Modern Foreign Language is the idea that you can watch almost anything from across any genre and learn, provided that it is in the language that you want to study. You should look out on Netflix and other services for foreign TV (it usually has to be pretty good to make it on there) but some carefully selected suggestions are:
FRENCH - Intouchables; Amelie; La famille Bélier; Les visiteurs; Un sac de billes; Entre les murs; Les choristes; Populaire; Au revoir les enfants; Taxi
SPANISH - Voces Inocentes; Valentín; El laberinto del fauno; El espinazo del diablo; Mar Adentro; Relatos Salvajes; Los diarios de motocicleta; Hable con ella; Todo sobre mi madre; Volver; la piel que habito; Julieta; El Orfanato
Competitions; Oxford University run the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators; Lancaster University run a language essay competition for pupils in their final two school years; Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a poetry competition for school pupils in Scotland; The Scottish European Educational Trust offer a film-making competition to S3 - 6 pupils through their school (school entry required).
Events or Activities; Looking out for French or Spanish film coming to your town (such as Glasgow's Film Theatre which has foreign language festivals on occasion), and keeping an eye out for French or Spanish plays in your local area are good ways to experience the language.
Several groups actively promote events for example; Alliance Francaise (this links to the Glasgow branch but they are active elsewhere); Insitut Francais (again this is in Scotland, but they are active elsewhere); You can still sign up to watch videos from the Languages Show and look out for details for next year.
You can start a club in your own school which embraces French/Spanish culture, or discusses a podcast that you all listen to etc. You may wish to ask your school if you can help with younger language classes.