French

This course is a collective exercise to establish a portrait of each of the past ten presidential elections in France and create a systematic comparison with the 2021-2022 campaign and the 2022 vote. Through close investigation of these elections, the course examines fundamental, far-reaching elements in order to better understand the 2022 election. Studying the candidates, their platforms, their profiles, non-votes, votes against the system, the campaign, the context, and the debates, it identifies the most relevant criteria and establishes a description of each election to draw conclusions as to the elements that characterize the current campaign.

This course is composed of three parts: grammar and spelling, written comprehension, and written production. Grammar focuses on verbal morphology, morphologies of nouns, adjectives, determinants and pronouns, simple and complex sentence structures, use of the most frequent articulations, lexical spelling, and grammatical spelling. Written comprehension section focuses on written production for linguistic and lexical deepening. From various themes, the learner is led to produce different types of written texts (descriptions, stories, friendly letters, etc.) in relation to the grammar points studied. Finally, reading comprehension enables learners to read direct factual texts on various topics with a satisfactory level of comprehension in order to locate and understand global information, specific information, detailed information, word formation, punctuation, and text structure.

This advanced intermediate course improves communicative skills in oral French. It consists of 3 parts: oral production, phonetics and pronunciation, and listening comprehension. Oral production involves interaction in class on topics related to daily life and immediate environment (sketches, dialogues). Phonetics and pronunciation includes sound recognition, pronunciation exercises, and reading. Listening comprehension focuses on listening and analysis of everyday messages and lexicon. The course develops French oral skills to reach a B2 level (comprehension, production). It provides an opportunity to practice the French language in a relaxed atmosphere, without fear of making mistakes.

This course, the fifth in our intensive summer language program sequences, with its contiguous course FR56B, is roughly equivalent to the fifth and sixth quarters of French language instruction on students’ home campuses. FR56A and FR56B provide students who have completed more than 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 FR56AB sequence course, students gain the ability to communicate in spoken and written French and develop a understanding of intermediate French grammar points and a working vocabulary of information on French and Francophone culture including family structures, the distribution of household chores, housing, health, politics, the education system, leisure activities, the arts, multicultural society, and vernacular French. Following the 56AB course sequence, students should be able to use all the verb tenses of high-frequency regular and irregular verbs including reflexive verbs, use the indicative, imperative, conditional, subjunctive and infinitive moods, as well as use subject, stressed and object pronouns, articles, expressions of quantity, prepositions, possessive and demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, negative and interrogative expressions, relative pronouns, hypothetical sentences and the passive voice at the high-intermediate level. Students apply aspects of French grammar (such as verb tense, mode and conjugation) to written and oral communication, engage in conversations in French on familiar topics and express their basic everyday needs, and discuss themes presented in contemporary French culture and society. Students are required to do 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 2½ - 3 page compositions. Additionally students are encourage to 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 course focuses on the development of students' ability to communicate on fairly complex topics of general interests. It will continue to adopt an integrated approach to language learning and cultivate students' proficiency in all areas of language learning, including their learning competence. Strategies to be developed include writing and speaking strategies such as brainstorming, arranging ideas and collecting linguistic expressions prior to the writing or speaking tasks. 

This is an introductory course in French for students with no prior knowledge of the language. The course, which enables students to reach the A1.1 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for languages, introduces the four fundamental skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with a focus on communication. Students also develop some awareness of French culture.

This course provides a study of French culture and society. The course starts with the modern French characteristics and its way of thinking, then moves on to French cultural, educational, and political policies. Lastly, the course covers architectural culture and the history of France through art and films.

French 53A is the first part of the three-part 53ABC intensive advanced beginning conversation and grammar course sequence. The course immerses students in the French language and culture through daily class sessions and occasional instructor-led site visits. The 53ABC course sequence 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. The goal of the 53ABC course sequence is to help students develop the ability to communicate in spoken and written French. By the end of the course sequence, students should be able to understand the following at a level appropriate to a novice-high learner. 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. 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. Read, understand, and discuss short, non-complex, and highly predictable texts, for which there is contextual/extralinguistic support, on very 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 course examines the place of religious and biblical culture in literature and literary studies, as well as general historical, philosophical, and artistic culture, to better understand literary and artistic works, philosophical thoughts, and historical facts through the most contemporary topicality. It consists of an introduction to the Bible, a historical journey through Biblical Antiquity, and a book-by-book presentation of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, while considering the issues of interpretation of these texts.