French

This course explores the architectural and pictorial inheritance of France, including urban and countryside architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts. It focuses on the architecture of Bordeaux and the region of Aquitaine during the 19th century. It presents the remarkable sites of the New Aquitaine region listed as World Heritage by UNESCO by analyzing some works to better understand them. The course discovers the region and its rich heritage through the ages, from prehistory with the parietal caves of the Dordogne to the contemporary era with the city of Fruges by Le Corbusier, passing through the Middle Age and modern times. Various arts are analyzed, including visual art, painting, sculpture, and the art of space which concerns architecture and heritage. Similarly, the course studies several styles, in particular Romanesque art, Gothic art, and classical art to acquire an artistic culture.

This course is comprised of three components: oral comprehension, oral expression, and phonetics. The comprehension part focuses on enhancing student's oral comprehension though radio, video, note-taking, and oral or written reproduction. The expression part of the course provides an opportunity to give oral presentations alone or in groups, with structured argumentation and role-playing. The phonetics part examines basic concepts of articulatory phonetics and French phonology, including perceptual phenomena, segmental and supra-segmental features, linking, neutralization, assimilation, germination, individual and dialectal variations, written and oral systems, and discourse analysis. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of French pronunciation, as well as oral and gestural expression.

This thematic course provides an opportunity to explore Geneva's iconic sites, historical and contemporary, urban and countryside. It enriches cultural knowledge of the city of Geneva as well as the linguistic knowledge of the urban landscape and expressing impressions and feelings. The course includes six walks, each alternating with an in-class session. It provides an opportunity to photograph and create a Geneva photo album containing 30 photos, each with a small commentary, as well as an introductory text. 

This course consists of three segments. The first part focuses on grammar, covering logical analysis, tenses, modes, style, and spelling, accompanied by regular dictation and vocabulary building. The second part focuses on writing skills to develop competence in French written expression. The third part on written comprehension focuses on understanding different type of texts: informative, argumentative, and authoritative.

This course improves conversational French at some of the highest levels of French grammar, such as the subjective, conditional, and simple forms. Grammar worksheets, in-class videos, debates, and class discussions are used to improve oral and reading comprehension to reach proficiency goals and prepare for language competency certification at the B2/C1 level.

This course is designed for beginners in the French language (i.e. no prerequisites or prior knowledge are needed). The content of this course consists of the basics of French taught through interactive listening, speaking and reading tasks. At the end of the course, students will be prepared for French A2 according to CEFR standards.

This course examines the fundamentals of French contemporary civilization. Topics include the functions of French society, such as the state organization, educational system, press and media, and demographics. Students are required to keep a diary in French and complete a 10-page written report on one of the following topics: political and administrative institution, economy, architecture, history, tourism, or gastronomy.

This course explores the literary and artistic foundations that contribute to the construction of the cultural space and the politics we inhabit. It examines how sources are managed, interpreted, and renewed over time; the architecture and art they inspired; and how they have been adapted to the religious and political installation of Christianity; all of which have informed our unique identity today. The French model is at the center of these lineaments of cultural anthropology. The artistic representations (literary, pictorial, architectural) that endure over time reveal how people in the Middle Ages viewed the world and will influence the identity of future European nations over time.

This course explores French language through the medium of the radio. It discusses the various types of podcasts and examines the forms that these can take. Students write scripts which are then made into a podcast for the final project. The course provides an opportunity to learn and use sound and podcast software.

This French language course consolidates the basics in oral and written French. It improves the four competencies: written production, written comprehension, oral production, and oral comprehension. Written production involves writing short texts respecting coherence and cohesion using the tenses (past, present, future) and introducing the notions of cause, purpose, and obligation. Written comprehension focuses on understanding short texts on daily life and activities with the past and present tenses. Oral production practices addressing someone to ask for information and precisions on facts. Oral comprehension practices understanding simple or more complex conversations on present daily life and on past events.