French

This course consists of three segments: oral comprehension, oral production and expression, and phonetics. Oral comprehension focuses on listening and understanding conversations, radio shows, and interviews; taking notes; and writing a summary. Oral production and expression develops oral skills through discussions and presentations. Finally, phonetics emphasizes rhythm and intonation, articulation, phonetic notation, elocution, pronunciation, and oral and gestural expression.

This course analyzes Francophone literature and the stylistic choices authors make to enhance and create certain points in their writing. It focuses on contemporary Francophone literature with a postcolonial approach, its different forms in comedy/humor/irony, and different genres such as the novel, poetry, theater, and essay. It covers historical background and analyzes different literary details.

This course, the fourth in our intensive summer language program sequences, with its contiguous course FR45B, is roughly equivalent to the fourth and fifth quarters of French language instruction on students’ home campuses. FR45A and FR45B provide students who have completed a university-level first-year French course or its equivalent the opportunity to expand and improve their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as expand their cultural knowledge of the French and Francophone world. The course is based on a presentation of intermediate-level forms of grammar, an expansion of students’ basic working vocabulary, and practice of oral and written communicative skills. Placement in this course is determined by students’ previous experience and the results of a language assessment taken prior to arrival. Course material includes: MOTIFS: AN INRODUCTION TO FRENCH, by K. Jansma, Heinle, 5th Edition, 2011, and RÉSEAU: COMMUNICATION, INTEGRATION, INTERSECTIONS, by J.M. Schultz and M.P. Tranvouez, Prentice Hall, 1st Edition, 2010. Through the 45AB course sequence, students gain the ability to communicate in spoken and written French and develop an understanding of intermediate French grammar points and working vocabulary including contemporary sociological and cultural issues that touch on questions of family and professional relationships, class, social, ethnic, multicultural, and political identities, and the role of the arts in contemporary contexts. Following the 45AB course sequence, students are familiar with all the verb tenses of high-frequency regular, irregular and reflexive verbs, the indicative, imperative, conditional and subjunctive moods, as well as subject and object pronouns, articles, prepositions, possessive and demonstrative adjectives, negative and interrogative expressions. Students apply these aspects of French grammar (such as verb tense, mode and conjugation) to written and oral communication and use listening strategies and skills necessary to understanding a wide variety of discourse. Additionally students are required to give individual and group presentations; read, understand, answer questions and discuss selected literary and journalistic texts as well as multimedia material; write summaries, dialogues or skits, as well as produce short compositions. Students reflect upon basic cultural differences as reflected in a variety of French and Francophone contexts, such as varying levels of familiarity/formality, etiquette, cuisine and dietary habits, family structures, commerce and the professional world, etc., as well as in cultural products such as film, performances, news, and music. Assignments include class participation, small group and pair work, role play, games, individual and group presentations, written exercises, grammar, dictation, presentations of cultural products such as songs, films, audio texts, a variety of short and simple texts on cultural perspectives, and writing activities.

This fifteen-week advanced beginning conversation and grammar course immerses students in the French language and culture through bi-weekly class sessions and occasional instructor-led site visits. The course includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing with a focus on communication. Students have the opportunity to use everything they learn in class as they go about their daily activities. Students can expect to be able to talk about daily life, food, travelling, Paris, and a wide variety of activities. While students are learning how to speak the language, they continue their introduction to the culture of the French-speaking world. To immerse students in the language, only French is spoken in class. Although students are not expected to understand every word, they should try to follow the gist by paying attention to the context. Students find their comprehension increasing as the course progresses. By the end of the course, students are able to understand, perform, and possess the following at a level appropriate to a novice-high learner. Understand the basic structures of French grammar and use the present, and use occasionally the past, near future, and future, of high-frequency regular and irregular verbs, use reflexive verbs to talk about their daily routines, use reciprocal verbs, and use occasionally the imperative, conditional and subjunctive moods, as well as use subject, object, and relative pronouns, articles, prepositions, possessive and demonstrative adjectives, adverbs, interrogative expressions, negative expressions, idiomatic expressions, expressions of quantity, and time and weather expressions. Possess a basic working vocabulary and engage in short conversations with a sympathetic interlocutor in French, using simple sentences and basic vocabulary, with occasional use of past and future tenses, on familiar topics (such as the academic environment, family, food, and the home environment, habitual activities, memories, travelling and accommodations, facts and beliefs, opinions and emotions, health and illness, friendship, love and romance, etc.) and express their basic everyday needs. Understand information on French and Francophone culture on the following topics: greetings, leisure activities and sports, vacation time, family structures, schooling and values of the French Republic, the distribution of  household chores, environmental protection, cuisine, grocery shopping and eating habits, the workplace, café life, multiethnic society, youth culture, fashion trends, the education system, values, politics, French national identity, the geography and cultural aspects of France’s regions, and the geography, music, and cuisine of the francophone world. Read, understand, and discuss short, non-complex and highly predictable texts, for which there is contextual/extralinguistic support, on familiar topics. Write with some accuracy on familiar topics in simple French, using the recombination of practiced vocabulary and structures to construct sentences. Understand basic French spoken by someone who is sympathetic to non-native and beginning students of French on familiar topics, using context and extralinguistic support to determine meaning. Reflect upon basic cultural differences as reflected in a variety of French and Francophone contexts, such as varying levels of familiarity/formality, etiquette, cuisine and dietary habits, family structures, commerce and the professional world, etc., as well as in cultural products such as film, performances, news, and music.

This is an advanced C1 level French language course for students who have completed a minimum of four semesters of university level French and also have had experience in a francophone context (educational, professional, or touristic) that enables them to be comfortable communicating orally and in writing. The course focuses on the four competencies of spoken expression, written expression, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. The spoken expression section masters providing clear, detailed descriptions on complex subjects, integrating related themes, developing particular points, and concluding in an appropriate manner; expressing oneself fluently and spontaneously without searching for words; using language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes; and expressing ideas and opinions with precision and relating statements to those of one's interlocutors. The written expression section practices expressing oneself in clear and well-structured text and present one's own point of view; writing about complex subjects in a letter, essay, or report, highlighting what the important points; and adopting a style appropriate to the intended reader. The listening comprehension section focuses on understanding a long speech even if it is not clearly structured and the connections are only implicit, and understanding TV programs and films with minimal effort. The reading comprehension section practices understand long and complex texts, both factual and literary, appreciating differences of style, and understanding specialized articles and long technical instructions even when not related to one's field.

This course is a tutorial for LING 105. The course provides an overview of several disciplines of linguistics, including morphology, semantics, syntax, phonology, and pragmatics. It looks specifically at how they shape the French language's grammar, orthography, and pronunciation. Students are introduced to basic syntactic properties in addition to reference and strategies for studying syntactic rules.