French

This thematic course is designed for complete beginners at Pre-A1 level. It covers grammar and vocabulary in French through games and fun activities that are designed to be progressive.

This course focuses on the major issues raised by the literature of the so-called “classical” period, a time that saw the invention of the principles of modern science (Descartes) and the establishment of the French language, with the first grammar and dictionaries of the vernacular developed within the Académie française. It examines the material and sociopolitical conditions of the development of cultural and intellectual life during this period, and studies its transformations, with the growing openness to new authors, including female authors, and to new audiences, with the publication of the first literary journals. Works studied: Pierre Corneille’s LE CID; Molière’s LES FEMMES SAVANTES; Antoinette Deshoulières’s POÉSIES; Racine’s PHÈDRE; Madeleine de Scudéry’s ARTAMÈNE OU LE GRAND CYRUS.

This course provides the knowledge and language skills needed to analyze literary texts: enunciative approach (subjectivity, modalities), relationship to reality (modes of reference), use of indicative tenses (values and uses).

This French language course is for students at the intermediate level who have completed level A2. Learning objectives and methodology include linguistic support; methodological support; and cultural input through the documents studied in class. The communication objectives include talking about simple cultural differences; explaining the main points of an idea or event with sufficient accuracy; giving a simple presentation on a familiar topic and answer questions related to the chosen topic; identifying the main ideas in various types of everyday documents; understanding the important points of an exchange in clear, standard language on familiar topics encountered in your environment; and writing simple, coherent texts on a range of varied topics. It utilizes language tools such as the present tense (to describe, express a fact or an opinion); past tenses;  expressing the future; questions; expressing cause, effect, and purpose; and prepositions of place and time.

This course is intended for students who have never taken a French course before. It introduces the French language and familiarize students with the basic skills required for level A1.1. Using a variety of materials, students practice different skills, such as oral and written comprehension and production, as well as interaction. Particular emphasis is placed on oral practice in order to promote the development of communication strategies.

The course is aimed at students of French with an interest in language learning and language instruction who want to learn more about teaching of French in Swedish schools. The course takes research about second language learning and the joint European language policy that influences how we teach French in Swedish schools today. Within the scope of the course, the syllabi for the modern languages and different factors that influence the learning and the teaching of French in the classroom are discussed both from a pupil and a teacher perspective. The course is completed with an independent advanced assignment in a chosen field that relates to the focus of the course on the learning and teaching of French.

The course is aimed at students who wish to learn more both about the French language's situation and global position in the twenty-first century, and about how the French language always coexists with other languages in different societies and how it can be studied scientifically e.g. through linguistic landscapes (paysages linguistiques). The course starts with a shorter series of lectures and seminars examining the question of multilingualism and identity based on sociolinguistics but also including elements from literature about cognition and psychology in multilingualism. Participants then choose a subject area within the scope of multilingualism with a specialization in French and work on under supervision.

This course is intended for students who have achieved level B1. It develops the language and methodological skills required for level B2, enabling students to express an opinion on a current topic and explain its advantages and disadvantages in a clear and detailed manner. These expression skills are developed using primary source materials (newspaper articles, literary texts, audio or video recordings, films, images, comic strips, etc.) related to a social issue. These documents are used in oral exchanges to express reasons for or against a given opinion in the form of a debate or discussion. This personal point of view is then defended in writing in a structured, clear, and coherent argumentative text such as an essay, an official letter, a discussion forum, or an article.

The course is intended for students in French or in other subjects who are interested in acquiring knowledge of Francophone Africa and in discussing in French issues of the relationship of France to its former African colonies. The course is taught entirely in French. The course reviews France and Francophone African countries from the perspective of their joint history and political, economic, cultural, and socio-linguistic aspects. Emphasis is placed on the present development of these countries and the remaining relations between them and France (the so-called Françafrique), and how these countries are organized in the French-speaking world. The teaching includes texts from papers and journals and television and online documents dealing with present-day Francophone Africa and la Françafrique. On the basis of this material, students practice oral skills in discussions and oral presentations in French.

This course is designed for students who have already completed one semester of French. It provides the language and communication skills required for the A1 level. The course introduce various aspects of Geneva and Switzerland while providing opportunities to practice French. Topics include the history, geography, and political structure of Geneva and Switzerland, as well as their traditions and other cultural aspects, presented through various written and video materials.