Student Profile
Students who enter this course will already be capable of achieving the outcomes of the Emerging Competent Abroad level as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. Students who take this level should already be familiar with most of the complex structures and linguistic functions that will be covered. They should not be surprised, however, to find that they will need to review these aspects of the language to develop greater fluency and more sensitivity to subtle and underlying linguistic and cultural meanings.
Students entering this level can succeed in a wide range of university courses designed for native speakers, provided they have met any prerequisites. Before registering, they should consult with the appropriate IES Abroad academic advisor on course selection.
By the end of this course, students will be fully able to meet the demands of living and working in the host culture. They will be able to communicate accurately, vividly, and expressively with their hosts on most topics. Students who succeed in this course will be able to function in a professional setting and to undertake further personal or professional projects in the host culture. Students will be able to understand local cultural attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior patterns well enough to make informed choices about which cultural features they would like to adopt or need to adopt in order to live harmoniously in the local culture.
Attendance policy:
Class attendance is mandatory. Any absence that is not justified will have a negative effect on your grade.
Learning outcomes:
Students who are placed in this level should be capable of achieving the outcomes in the Emerging Competent Abroad level as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication.
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve the outcomes for the Competent Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to express their own ideas, perspectives, and arguments thoroughly and yet tactfully, using language proficiency, sociolinguistic skills, and cultural knowledge.
B. Students will be able to perform any activity (social, academic, professional) a local student of their age, skills, and background would do with a reasonable degree of success.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to recognize and appreciate the beauty and richness of language when they hear it.
B. Students will be able to understand native speakers on a wide range of complex topics, including their digressions, side comments, and humor.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to talk about abstract ideas and concepts, engage in agreement or disagreement, and defend their opinions with supporting evidence.
B. Students will be able to use the language for a wide range of creative and presentational purposes.
C. Students will be able to use an extensive variety of colloquial expressions and humor effectively.
D. Students will be capable of varying their language to make subtle and complex distinctions (e.g. formality and informality) with a wide array of native speakers.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to read and understand a wide range of academic resources and popular texts (print or online).
B. Students will be able to understand the main ideas and supporting details when reading many works of literature and nonfiction with some assistance at times.
C. Students will be able to recognize and appreciate the beauty and the richness of the written word.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write academic texts that describe, relate, report, compare and contrast, analyze, and summarize with a high degree of precision and accuracy on a wide range of topics.
B. Students will be able to distinguish between the written style and the spoken style, and will be able to use the written style effectively with some support.
Required work and form of assessment:
Tests (listening, speaking, reading, writing, intercultural communication, midterm, Final exam).
Grades breakdown:
In-class tests + reflexive work on conferences or film 20%
Mid-terms (2) 30%
Final exam 30%
Regular attendance and punctuality 10%
Participation - active and spontaneous 10%
content:
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding
Learning
Outcome(s)
Week 1
1. Functional : understand and clarify a text
2. Grammatical : word endings that can indicate their gender
3. Vocabulary : communication
4. Culture : demographic vitality of France today
Oral rewording of written documents
I.B, III.A, IV.A, IV.B
Week 2
1. Functional : express yourself orally and continuously
2. Grammatical : express yourself in the past (1)
3. Vocabulary : culture
4. Culture : French people current craze for museums
Expound arguments of an article, develop them, classify them
I.A, II.B, III.B, IV.A.,
Week 3
1. Functional : oral comprehension and expression, written expression
2. Grammatical : express yourself in the past (2)
3. Vocabulary : geopolitics
4. Culture : the currents stakes in the Arab and Sub-Saharan world
Conference-debate outside of class : preparatory work, share with others, exchange-discussion, written report
II.A., II.B, III.A., IV.A., V.A. ,
Week 4
1. Functional : gather your ideas, link them, give them rhythm
2. Grammatical : logical connectors and punctuation
3. Vocabulary : idiomatic expressions
4. Culture : portrait of a publishing figure, the director of the collection « Folio 2€ »
3. Vocabulary : review of vocabulary previously studied
4. Culture : typography code : acronyms, common abbreviations, capital letters, numerals and numbers
Midterm 1
I.A., I.B.,V.A., V.B.
Week 6
Functional : understand a long speech
Grammatical : expressing time, prepositions (1)
Vocabulary : lexical field of time
Culture : Are French people optimistic or pessimistic ?
Second conference outside of class. Fill in the questionnaire chart and prepare the discussion to take place the following class
II.B, III.A, III.B, V.A
Week 7
1. Functional : choose the appropriate expression : distinguish the essential from the incidental
2. Grammatical : conditional uses, hypothesis and condition
3. Vocabulary : personality adjectives
4. Culture : Ionesco’s « Exercices de conversation et de diction française pour étudiants américains »
Summarize a document
IV.B., V.A., V.B.
Week 8
1. Functional : try to convince orally
2. Grammatical : values and use of the subjunctive
3. Vocabulary : feelings and judgments
4. Culture : controversial issues in France
Group discussion, debate, taking a stand
I.A., III.A., III.C.,
Week 9
1. Functional : implicit speech and connotations
2. Grammatical : expression of cause, effect and purpose
3. Vocabulary : antonyms
4. Culture : « The place of women in Maghreb today »
Third conference outside of class. Fill in the questionnaire chart and prepare the discussion to take place the following class
II.B., III.B.,
Week 10
1. Functional : writing practice, review of the main part of the program already studied
2. Grammatical :complement pronouns
3. Vocabulary : review of vocabulary previously studied
4. Culture : « From which language do we translate and to which language ?»
Midterm 2
V.A.,V.B.,
Week 11
1. Functional : understand and follow a film that uses familiar French, wordplay
2. Grammatical : expression of concession, opposition and reservation
3. Vocabulary : nouns pell-mell
4. Culture : the different language registers
Discussion on a film and written expression
I.A., II.B., III.C., V.B.
Week 12
1. Functional : express yourself clearly and precisely, including when using affective, allusive and humoristic registers
2. Grammatical : indefinite words
3. Vocabulary : words pell-mell
4. Culture : interjections, wordplay
Summarize a document
I.A., II.B., III.D.,
Week 13
REVIEW
REVIEW
Required readings:
Instructor’s choice - will change every semester
Recommended readings:
Dictionnaire Le Petit Robert
Grammaire du Français, Hachette
Newspapers and magazines
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Instructor of French at IES Abroad Nantes since 1991. Instructor of French at IRFFLE (Institut de Recherche et de Formation en Français Langue Etrangère, Université de Nantes); Masters in Specialized Translations.
French Language in Context: Competent Abroad
Student Profile
Students who enter this course will already be capable of achieving the outcomes of the Emerging Competent Abroad level as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. Students who take this level should already be familiar with most of the complex structures and linguistic functions that will be covered. They should not be surprised, however, to find that they will need to review these aspects of the language to develop greater fluency and more sensitivity to subtle and underlying linguistic and cultural meanings.
Students entering this level can succeed in a wide range of university courses designed for native speakers, provided they have met any prerequisites. Before registering, they should consult with the appropriate IES Abroad academic advisor on course selection.
By the end of this course, students will be fully able to meet the demands of living and working in the host culture. They will be able to communicate accurately, vividly, and expressively with their hosts on most topics. Students who succeed in this course will be able to function in a professional setting and to undertake further personal or professional projects in the host culture. Students will be able to understand local cultural attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior patterns well enough to make informed choices about which cultural features they would like to adopt or need to adopt in order to live harmoniously in the local culture.
Class attendance is mandatory. Any absence that is not justified will have a negative effect on your grade.
Students who are placed in this level should be capable of achieving the outcomes in the Emerging Competent Abroad level as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication.
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve the outcomes for the Competent Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to express their own ideas, perspectives, and arguments thoroughly and yet tactfully, using language proficiency, sociolinguistic skills, and cultural knowledge.
B. Students will be able to perform any activity (social, academic, professional) a local student of their age, skills, and background would do with a reasonable degree of success.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to recognize and appreciate the beauty and richness of language when they hear it.
B. Students will be able to understand native speakers on a wide range of complex topics, including their digressions, side comments, and humor.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to talk about abstract ideas and concepts, engage in agreement or disagreement, and defend their opinions with supporting evidence.
B. Students will be able to use the language for a wide range of creative and presentational purposes.
C. Students will be able to use an extensive variety of colloquial expressions and humor effectively.
D. Students will be capable of varying their language to make subtle and complex distinctions (e.g. formality and informality) with a wide array of native speakers.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to read and understand a wide range of academic resources and popular texts (print or online).
B. Students will be able to understand the main ideas and supporting details when reading many works of literature and nonfiction with some assistance at times.
C. Students will be able to recognize and appreciate the beauty and the richness of the written word.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write academic texts that describe, relate, report, compare and contrast, analyze, and summarize with a high degree of precision and accuracy on a wide range of topics.
B. Students will be able to distinguish between the written style and the spoken style, and will be able to use the written style effectively with some support.
Tests (listening, speaking, reading, writing, intercultural communication, midterm, Final exam).
Grades breakdown:
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding
Learning
Outcome(s)
Week 1
1. Functional : understand and clarify a text
2. Grammatical : word endings that can indicate their gender
3. Vocabulary : communication
4. Culture : demographic vitality of France today
Oral rewording of written documents
I.B, III.A, IV.A, IV.B
Week 2
1. Functional : express yourself orally and continuously
2. Grammatical : express yourself in the past (1)
3. Vocabulary : culture
4. Culture : French people current craze for museums
Expound arguments of an article, develop them, classify them
I.A, II.B, III.B, IV.A.,
Week 3
1. Functional : oral comprehension and expression, written expression
2. Grammatical : express yourself in the past (2)
3. Vocabulary : geopolitics
4. Culture : the currents stakes in the Arab and Sub-Saharan world
Conference-debate outside of class : preparatory work, share with others, exchange-discussion, written report
II.A., II.B, III.A., IV.A., V.A. ,
Week 4
1. Functional : gather your ideas, link them, give them rhythm
2. Grammatical : logical connectors and punctuation
3. Vocabulary : idiomatic expressions
4. Culture : portrait of a publishing figure, the director of the collection « Folio 2€ »
Organization of written material
I.A., V.A., V.B.
Week 5
1. Functional : writing practice, review of notions already reviewed and/or studied
2. Grammatical : compound relative pronouns
3. Vocabulary : review of vocabulary previously studied
4. Culture : typography code : acronyms, common abbreviations, capital letters, numerals and numbers
Midterm 1
I.A., I.B.,V.A., V.B.
Week 6
Second conference outside of class. Fill in the questionnaire chart and prepare the discussion to take place the following class
II.B, III.A, III.B, V.A
Week 7
1. Functional : choose the appropriate expression : distinguish the essential from the incidental
2. Grammatical : conditional uses, hypothesis and condition
3. Vocabulary : personality adjectives
4. Culture : Ionesco’s « Exercices de conversation et de diction française pour étudiants américains »
Summarize a document
IV.B., V.A., V.B.
Week 8
1. Functional : try to convince orally
2. Grammatical : values and use of the subjunctive
3. Vocabulary : feelings and judgments
4. Culture : controversial issues in France
Group discussion, debate, taking a stand
I.A., III.A., III.C.,
Week 9
1. Functional : implicit speech and connotations
2. Grammatical : expression of cause, effect and purpose
3. Vocabulary : antonyms
4. Culture : « The place of women in Maghreb today »
Third conference outside of class. Fill in the questionnaire chart and prepare the discussion to take place the following class
II.B., III.B.,
Week 10
1. Functional : writing practice, review of the main part of the program already studied
2. Grammatical :complement pronouns
3. Vocabulary : review of vocabulary previously studied
4. Culture : « From which language do we translate and to which language ?»
Midterm 2
V.A.,V.B.,
Week 11
1. Functional : understand and follow a film that uses familiar French, wordplay
2. Grammatical : expression of concession, opposition and reservation
3. Vocabulary : nouns pell-mell
4. Culture : the different language registers
Discussion on a film and written expression
I.A., II.B., III.C., V.B.
Week 12
1. Functional : express yourself clearly and precisely, including when using affective, allusive and humoristic registers
2. Grammatical : indefinite words
3. Vocabulary : words pell-mell
4. Culture : interjections, wordplay
Summarize a document
I.A., II.B., III.D.,
Week 13
REVIEW
REVIEW
Instructor’s choice - will change every semester
Dictionnaire Le Petit Robert
Grammaire du Français, Hachette
Newspapers and magazines
Instructor of French at IES Abroad Nantes since 1991. Instructor of French at IRFFLE (Institut de Recherche et de Formation en Français Langue Etrangère, Université de Nantes); Masters in Specialized Translations.