French

The course explores the history and culture of France through a multidisciplinary analysis of literary, historical, and audiovisual texts. By examining key works by historians and writers from different periods, students will gain insight into the socio-historical contexts that shape literary creation and historical discourse. The course develops students’ ability to critically analyze texts, conduct independent research, and communicate effectively in French, while fostering a reflective and critical approach to works of art and cultural production.

This B2 level course is for students who have completed up to French level B1. It consolidates, activates, and expands knowledge and skills in French and acquires French academic methodology. The course develops skills to talk about one's experience in Lyon, drawing on intercultural skills; gives a presentation and write an argumentative essay, using the methodology used in France, (identifying an issue, creating an outline, introduction, conclusion); talk about Lyon and certain customs and current events in Lyon; understand current French issues by activating solid French cultural knowledge; express oneself effectively by drawing on solid knowledge of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary (anaphoric repetitions, complex sentences, words of speech); argue effectively in French (argumentative tools: subjunctive); write an argumentative essay; debate a current topic; understand primary-source written and audio materials. 

This course is based on the France Culture Novel Prize wherein students vote informally for one of the novels in the selection. Various exercises and discussions refine literary sensibility and critical thinking in order to choose the winning novel.  Throughout the semester, students progress through the readings and are invited to complete a personal reading journal. Discussion includes what makes a good novel, literary criticism, the origins of literary prizes, how to lead a literary discussion, reflection and debate, reading and analysis of excerpts, institutions behind the literary canon. The course includes meetings with the authors.

This beginner-level course introduces students to the French language and the cultures of France and other French-speaking societies. Organized around everyday themes, it develops both oral and written communication skills, focusing on comprehension and production. It builds foundational grammatical, lexical, and phonetic competence while providing insight into the sociocultural aspects of the Francophone world.

This course is designed to improve French-language skills and expand cultural knowledge of the French-speaking world. It aims to prepare students for the DELF B1 exam and to provide them with the opportunity to understand the French society.

Course Prerequisite: Completion of Advanced French I or equivalent language skills is required for enrollment.

This course is built around approximately 20 selected works by renowned French authors, aiming to systematically develop students’ literary analysis skills. It deepens their nuanced understanding of French at the levels of word, sentence, and discourse, while fostering a comprehensive awareness of major literary movements and styles in French literature. Weekly supplementary materials include social science texts and news listening exercises, designed to enhance the ability to parse complex structures and expand the use of advanced vocabulary. The course also incorporates targeted preparation aligned with the requirements of the Test for French Majors-Band 8 (TFM8), strengthening both comprehensive skills and exam readiness.

This is the first of a pair courses that build towards an overarching understanding of cultures of the French-speaking world in their historical and geographical diversity. It focuses on a range of primary materials in French that are diverse in various senses, notably: chronologically, in genre/medium, and in terms of the origins and identities of the authors/filmmakers. Students are expected to read and study these works intensively in order to participate fully in seminar discussion, and to get the most from lectures offering a framework of historical contexts and critical approaches. The course eases the transition from school to university through a focused introduction to materials and skills of critical analysis, in writing and more widely, that forms the basis of more advanced study in subsequent years. It is designed for students who have not reached the equivalent of A-level standard in French, with French-language materials studied in translation.

The course is aimed at students of French interested in the development of the French language and who want to specialize in the study of orthography and understand some of the difficulties that everyone who has ever had to learn to spell in French have been confronted with. The course starts with Medieval French, when there were no rules, and follows the public debate that resulted in the emergence of a normative language with respect to both grammar and spelling. Within the scope of the course, a number of texts from different periods are discussed. The course ends with an advanced assignment where the student is expected to carry out an analysis of a self-chosen text. The approach is chosen by the student in consultation with the lecturer and should be linked to the focus of the course, that is French orthography.

This practical intermediate-level course in French conversation provides students with a wide variety of dialogue models in audio and text form, which they are invited to listen to, read and reproduce, before writing and performing, in groups, their own dialogue on a common theme.

This course builds on the language skills and cultural knowledge acquired in previous studies. It's is to further develop students' reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in French, and to strengthen the capacity to reflect critically on cross-cultural differences between Francophone cultures and other cultures.