This class is built on active practice of grammar and vocabulary related to communicative skills. This course requires significant in-class participation and personal work outside the classroom.
Research has demonstrated that study abroad can enhance every aspect of language ability. One of the most important general findings of this research is, however, that study abroad is most beneficial for the development of abilities related to social interaction. Students who go abroad are able to learn how to produce language in a variety of situations, such as the making of requests, the use of compliments and apologies, and they also may develop skills to interpret such interactions within the local cultural context…In short, and logically, study abroad has been show to enhance the aspects of communicative competence that are most difficult to foster in classroom settings (IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication, p. 6).
By the end of the course, the successful student will have built a solid foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening and speaking to accomplish a variety of everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below and should be capable of entering the Emerging Independent Abroad level.
Student Profile
This course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of the language.
Attendance policy:
Should students have more than one unexcused absence, their final grade will be reduced by one fraction of a grade (A becomes A-).
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice 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 meet simple everyday needs with some confidence using verbal and nonverbal communication, and they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (paraphrasing, repetition, talking around the point, body language, etc.).
B. Students can recognize some appropriate and inappropriate expressions, topics, and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between simple representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will identify some differences between cultural stereotypes and generalizations between the home culture and the host culture.
E. Students will start to make informed comparisons between their host culture and the home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand simple statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions with hosts, Center interactions, activities with friends, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use simple phrases appropriately and with some confidence in everyday situations with increasing accuracy (home, friends, the IES Abroad Center, the community).
B. Students will be able to express simple needs by asking questions, and get what they need in everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to understand simple sentences and deduce meaning from context if it is relevant to their studies.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short passages and news headlines if they are relevant to them.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write short texts about concrete topics, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes, their dislikes, plans, experiences, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send simple emails and text messages, fill out some simple forms, and complete short essays on familiar subjects.
C. Students will be able to write with increased accuracy, although using some native language structures.
Method of presentation:
The course is based on a communicative student-centered methodology implying a strong and lively interaction between the teacher and the students as well as among students. Students will work individually and in groups in order to acquire and to practice (written and orally) the new structures and vocabulary. Also, homework will be assigned at each session so that the students can systematize, practice, and progress.
Required work and form of assessment:
Intensive session: 20% (1/4 oral participation, 1/4 personal investment and completion of homework, 1/2 graded quizz)
participation and behavior during the class: 20 % (½ oral participation, ½ personal investment and completion of homework and quizz)
1 oral presentation (“CORE” project): 20 % (¼ pertinence and clarity of the subject, ¼ speaking ability, ¼ seriousness of work, ¼ quality of vocabulary used)
midterm exam: 10 % (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written comprehension, written expression)
final exam: 10 % (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written comprehension, written expression)
content:
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1 , Intensive (15 hours)
1.Functional: politeness; How to get food in the neighborhood; how to order a meal, how to ask for the bill; how to give key information about oneself (address, phone number, nationality)
2.Grammatical: structure of a French sentence; present tense of être, avoir; basic regular verbs (manger, habiter, travailler…); interrogatives: est-ce que, qu’est-ce que, où est-ce que, quand est-ce que;
Simple negation (ne… pas)
Singular and plural (un, une, des, le, la, les); masculine and feminine (nouns and adjectives)
3.Vocabulary: polite words and how and when to use them; food: bread and cakes; main dishes, main drinks, fruit, vegetables, main ingredients; numbers up to 100; “je voudrais” + noun / + infinitive; common adjectives (grand, petit, bon, mauvais, cher etc.)
4.Culture: French politeness vs American politeness; smiling or not smiling? cafés, boulangeries; table manners: how to behave in a host family; how to give a phone number the French way;
Field trip in the neighborhood: discovering shops, open markets, transport system, cultural resources
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
I.A., II.B,
IIA , IIIA.B
IIB
I I B, IC ID
Week 2, Intensive (15 hours)
1.Functional: spelling a name; giving an understanding time; making/changing an appointment; complicated numbers (prices, time, phone numbers); how to ask for info in a shop; getting by at the post office; explaining daily activities;
politeness: tu vs vous
2.Grammatical: c’est vs il y a ; expressing quantities (un peu, beaucoup, un kilo de, un litre de…) ; common irregular verbs (aller, faire, prendre) ; basic adjectives and their agreement; questions (combien, pourquoi, dans quel arrondissement…)
3.Vocabulary: most important cheeses; basic vocabulary for directions; useful idiomatic usage of prendre and faire; numbers up to 10 000; family; housing (rooms, furniture)
4.Culture: a French meal vs American meal; food as a cultural topic; the value and usage of compliments; body language (common French gestures);
Field trips to Le Marais, le Quartier latin and Montmartre
Giving as much info about oneself as possible
Graded quiz at the end of the intensive session
II A,B
IIIA, B
II A, IIIB, V.A
I B, IC
Week 1 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to give and understand directions
2.Grammatical: review of all notions seen since the beginning of the class;
main space preposition — pouvoir, vouloir, devoir
3.Vocabulary: directions (à gauche, à droite… ); usage of prendre, suivre, continuez, traverser…; main vocabulary about the city (streets, avenues, cross-roads…);
4.Culture: the European city vs the American city (downtown vs centre ville; blocks vs rues); structure of Paris
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
I D
Week 2(4 hours)
1.Functional: talking about foreign countries, their monuments, their cultures, their assets, their weather
2.Grammatical: space prepositions (2) and their usage with country names; possessives; usage of “faire” and “il y a” when talking about the weather
3.Vocabulary: names of countries; basic geographical words (fleuve, montagne, mer …etc); basic words for weather
4.Culture: discovering Europe, basic geographical notions; main holidays; the relationship between French people and other countries
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V. A et B
I D
Week 3 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to talk about daily routine and activities
2.Grammatical: reflexive verbs in the present tense
3.Vocabulary: daily activities (getting ready, getting dressed, house cleaning…)
4.Culture: working women /mothers; share of daily chores with husband; importance of family (Sunday meals, reunions, etc)
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I B et D
Week 4(4 hours)
1.Functional: how to book a plane/train ticket; asking for a schedule; how to book a hotel room; writing an e-mail to confirm a hotel reservation
2.Grammatical: use of “aller” and futur proche (aller + infinitive); mettre, connaître
3.Vocabulary: traveling and sight-seeing (luggage, tickets); vacation and hobbies
4.Culture: European transport systems (trains, Pullmans, stations…); why is France the #1 tourist destination? Impact of tourism on the economy and the mentality; the relationship between French people and their heritage (“patrimoine”, historical monuments)
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
II A et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 5 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to buy clothes and shoes; how to describe a person
2.Grammatical: reflexive verbs (futur proche)
3.Vocabulary: clothing, shoes, fashion
4.Culture: fashion in Paris; elegance, social signs; dress code (in class, with family, on the street…)
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the mid-term
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 6 (4 hours)
1.Functional: talking about what happened; explaining a small daily problem
2.Grammatical: passé composé (regular verbs, affirmative, negative)
3.Vocabulary: communication (protesting, negating, accepting, refusing, inviting…)
4.Culture: the importance of the past in the French/European culture: history can be seen everywhere
Mid-term exam (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written understanding)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 7 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to converse at a French dinner table; giving simple opinions
2.Grammatical: passé composé (irregular verbs); use of du, de la, des
3.Vocabulary: main conversational words (agreeing and disagreeing); les deux verbes “passer”; more about food
4.Culture: notions of how to interact with French friends (questions permitted vs taboos); the importance of “culture générale”, of knowledge and interest for literature/cinema/music in France; the importance of food in conversation
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V.B et C
I C et D
Week 8 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to talk about sports
2.Grammatical: comparison (plus que, moins que, aussi que); the imperative
3.Vocabulary: body and gestures; sports and verbs related to them
4.Culture: body language in France (expressing or not expressing emotions); are French people active? Where, why and how?
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 9 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to explain a medical problem; how to describe a pain or a symptom
2.Grammatical: adverbs (place and use of the most important ones); savoir que, qui, où
3.Vocabulary: benign health problems (coughing, sneezing, stomach ache, being tired…)
4.Culture: French Health system; pharmacists vs doctors vs hospitals; importance of pharmacists
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B et C
I D
Week 10(4 hours)
1.Functional: expressing agreement and disagreement; criticizing a film or a person
2.Grammatical: passé composé (reflexive verbs)
3.Vocabulary: communication (debating, discussing…)
4.Culture: place of debate in the French culture (in the daily life as well as in politics)
Oral presentations (all students)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
Week 11
1.Functional: how to talk about people, about their personality and their behavior
2.Grammatical: relatives (qui, que, où)
3.Vocabulary:character and personality
4.Culture: how and when French people express or don’t express their emotions
This class is built on active practice of grammar and vocabulary related to communicative skills. This course requires significant in-class participation and personal work outside the classroom.
Research has demonstrated that study abroad can enhance every aspect of language ability. One of the most important general findings of this research is, however, that study abroad is most beneficial for the development of abilities related to social interaction. Students who go abroad are able to learn how to produce language in a variety of situations, such as the making of requests, the use of compliments and apologies, and they also may develop skills to interpret such interactions within the local cultural context…In short, and logically, study abroad has been show to enhance the aspects of communicative competence that are most difficult to foster in classroom settings (IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication, p. 6).
By the end of the course, the successful student will have built a solid foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening and speaking to accomplish a variety of everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below and should be capable of entering the Emerging Independent Abroad level.
Student Profile
This course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of the language.
Should students have more than one unexcused absence, their final grade will be reduced by one fraction of a grade (A becomes A-).
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice 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 meet simple everyday needs with some confidence using verbal and nonverbal communication, and they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (paraphrasing, repetition, talking around the point, body language, etc.).
B. Students can recognize some appropriate and inappropriate expressions, topics, and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between simple representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will identify some differences between cultural stereotypes and generalizations between the home culture and the host culture.
E. Students will start to make informed comparisons between their host culture and the home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand simple statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions with hosts, Center interactions, activities with friends, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use simple phrases appropriately and with some confidence in everyday situations with increasing accuracy (home, friends, the IES Abroad Center, the community).
B. Students will be able to express simple needs by asking questions, and get what they need in everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to understand simple sentences and deduce meaning from context if it is relevant to their studies.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short passages and news headlines if they are relevant to them.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to write short texts about concrete topics, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes, their dislikes, plans, experiences, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send simple emails and text messages, fill out some simple forms, and complete short essays on familiar subjects.
C. Students will be able to write with increased accuracy, although using some native language structures.
The course is based on a communicative student-centered methodology implying a strong and lively interaction between the teacher and the students as well as among students. Students will work individually and in groups in order to acquire and to practice (written and orally) the new structures and vocabulary. Also, homework will be assigned at each session so that the students can systematize, practice, and progress.
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1 , Intensive (15 hours)
1.Functional: politeness; How to get food in the neighborhood; how to order a meal, how to ask for the bill; how to give key information about oneself (address, phone number, nationality)
2.Grammatical: structure of a French sentence; present tense of être, avoir; basic regular verbs (manger, habiter, travailler…); interrogatives: est-ce que, qu’est-ce que, où est-ce que, quand est-ce que;
Simple negation (ne… pas)
Singular and plural (un, une, des, le, la, les); masculine and feminine (nouns and adjectives)
3.Vocabulary: polite words and how and when to use them; food: bread and cakes; main dishes, main drinks, fruit, vegetables, main ingredients; numbers up to 100; “je voudrais” + noun / + infinitive; common adjectives (grand, petit, bon, mauvais, cher etc.)
4.Culture: French politeness vs American politeness; smiling or not smiling? cafés, boulangeries; table manners: how to behave in a host family; how to give a phone number the French way;
Field trip in the neighborhood: discovering shops, open markets, transport system, cultural resources
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
I.A., II.B,
IIA , IIIA.B
IIB
I I B, IC ID
Week 2, Intensive (15 hours)
1.Functional: spelling a name; giving an understanding time; making/changing an appointment; complicated numbers (prices, time, phone numbers); how to ask for info in a shop; getting by at the post office; explaining daily activities;
politeness: tu vs vous
2.Grammatical: c’est vs il y a ; expressing quantities (un peu, beaucoup, un kilo de, un litre de…) ; common irregular verbs (aller, faire, prendre) ; basic adjectives and their agreement; questions (combien, pourquoi, dans quel arrondissement…)
3.Vocabulary: most important cheeses; basic vocabulary for directions; useful idiomatic usage of prendre and faire; numbers up to 10 000; family; housing (rooms, furniture)
4.Culture: a French meal vs American meal; food as a cultural topic; the value and usage of compliments; body language (common French gestures);
Field trips to Le Marais, le Quartier latin and Montmartre
Giving as much info about oneself as possible
Graded quiz at the end of the intensive session
II A,B
IIIA, B
II A, IIIB, V.A
I B, IC
Week 1 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to give and understand directions
2.Grammatical: review of all notions seen since the beginning of the class;
main space preposition — pouvoir, vouloir, devoir
3.Vocabulary: directions (à gauche, à droite… ); usage of prendre, suivre, continuez, traverser…; main vocabulary about the city (streets, avenues, cross-roads…);
4.Culture: the European city vs the American city (downtown vs centre ville; blocks vs rues); structure of Paris
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
I D
Week 2(4 hours)
1.Functional: talking about foreign countries, their monuments, their cultures, their assets, their weather
2.Grammatical: space prepositions (2) and their usage with country names; possessives; usage of “faire” and “il y a” when talking about the weather
3.Vocabulary: names of countries; basic geographical words (fleuve, montagne, mer …etc); basic words for weather
4.Culture: discovering Europe, basic geographical notions; main holidays; the relationship between French people and other countries
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V. A et B
I D
Week 3 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to talk about daily routine and activities
2.Grammatical: reflexive verbs in the present tense
3.Vocabulary: daily activities (getting ready, getting dressed, house cleaning…)
4.Culture: working women /mothers; share of daily chores with husband; importance of family (Sunday meals, reunions, etc)
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I B et D
Week 4(4 hours)
1.Functional: how to book a plane/train ticket; asking for a schedule; how to book a hotel room; writing an e-mail to confirm a hotel reservation
2.Grammatical: use of “aller” and futur proche (aller + infinitive); mettre, connaître
3.Vocabulary: traveling and sight-seeing (luggage, tickets); vacation and hobbies
4.Culture: European transport systems (trains, Pullmans, stations…); why is France the #1 tourist destination? Impact of tourism on the economy and the mentality; the relationship between French people and their heritage (“patrimoine”, historical monuments)
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
II A et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 5 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to buy clothes and shoes; how to describe a person
2.Grammatical: reflexive verbs (futur proche)
3.Vocabulary: clothing, shoes, fashion
4.Culture: fashion in Paris; elegance, social signs; dress code (in class, with family, on the street…)
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the mid-term
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 6 (4 hours)
1.Functional: talking about what happened; explaining a small daily problem
2.Grammatical: passé composé (regular verbs, affirmative, negative)
3.Vocabulary: communication (protesting, negating, accepting, refusing, inviting…)
4.Culture: the importance of the past in the French/European culture: history can be seen everywhere
Mid-term exam (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written understanding)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 7 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to converse at a French dinner table; giving simple opinions
2.Grammatical: passé composé (irregular verbs); use of du, de la, des
3.Vocabulary: main conversational words (agreeing and disagreeing); les deux verbes “passer”; more about food
4.Culture: notions of how to interact with French friends (questions permitted vs taboos); the importance of “culture générale”, of knowledge and interest for literature/cinema/music in France; the importance of food in conversation
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V.B et C
I C et D
Week 8 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to talk about sports
2.Grammatical: comparison (plus que, moins que, aussi que); the imperative
3.Vocabulary: body and gestures; sports and verbs related to them
4.Culture: body language in France (expressing or not expressing emotions); are French people active? Where, why and how?
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 9 (4 hours)
1.Functional: how to explain a medical problem; how to describe a pain or a symptom
2.Grammatical: adverbs (place and use of the most important ones); savoir que, qui, où
3.Vocabulary: benign health problems (coughing, sneezing, stomach ache, being tired…)
4.Culture: French Health system; pharmacists vs doctors vs hospitals; importance of pharmacists
Exercices structuraux (vocabulaire et grammaire)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B et C
I D
Week 10(4 hours)
1.Functional: expressing agreement and disagreement; criticizing a film or a person
2.Grammatical: passé composé (reflexive verbs)
3.Vocabulary: communication (debating, discussing…)
4.Culture: place of debate in the French culture (in the daily life as well as in politics)
Oral presentations (all students)
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
Week 11
1.Functional: how to talk about people, about their personality and their behavior
2.Grammatical: relatives (qui, que, où)
3.Vocabulary:character and personality
4.Culture: how and when French people express or don’t express their emotions
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the final
IIA et B
III A et B
IV A et B
V B
I D
Week 12
1.Grammatical: reviewing everything
2.Vocabulary:reviewing
Final exam
Grammaire en dialogues, niveau débutant, (CD included), éditions CLE International, Paris, 2005
Vocabulaire progressif du français, niveau débutant, (2ème édition, CD included), éditions CLE International, Paris, 2010
Communication progressive du français, niveau debutant, (2ème edition), Clé International, Paris, 2013