This class aims to develop oral and written skills in French through classroom practice using various documents, understanding and practicing useful grammar points, building common practical vocabulary, and discussing intercultural experiences in Paris.
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).
Student Profile
Students entering this level must be able to fulfill the learning outcomes of the Novice Abroad level, as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. Specifically, they should already be able to express themselves on a variety of concrete, everyday topics and meet their basic needs in the language. Although students may have been exposed previously to certain competencies taught at this level, they need additional practice and instruction to move toward mastery of these competencies. Students at this level may succeed in partner university courses as long as such courses are primarily designed for international students and/or require passive student linguistic participation.
As students gain more self-awareness and self-confidence, they will attempt more in the community. Paradoxically, this means they may also experience more miscommunications and frustration. Reading and writing require effort, and many students will need to make a special effort in this regard. Students will also develop cultural awareness and skills to work through the challenges of adaptation in the local culture and learn to recognize their autonomy. They will appreciate the value of these language and intercultural skills.
Prerequisites:
Proficiency at a level equivalent to the outcomes mastered through IES Abroad’s FR 301, as determined by placement test.
Additional requirements:
Brand new notebook
Pens, pencils, and highlighters of various colours
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 the outcomes for the Emerging Independent 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 solve most daily unexpected situations and meet needs with limited help.
B. Students will be able to make informed comparisons between the host culture and the students’ home cultures.
C. Students will be able to distinguish and to imitate verbal and nonverbal communications that reflect politeness, formality, or informality.
D. Students will be able to recognize patterns of intonation, their meaning, and cultural implications.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand some interactions of growing complexity, especially if the speaker is used to interacting with non-native speakers (conversations, speeches, etc.), and increasingly comprehend other types of verbal production (media, music, etc.).
B. Students will be able to understand direct requests, questions, and basic conversations on familiar and concrete topics.
C. Students sometimes will understand commonly-used colloquial expressions and popular phrases.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to talk about persons and things in their immediate environment, as well as their plans and their experiences, and they can provide some supporting details.
B. Students will be able to resolve moderately complicated situations involving familiar subjects.
C. Students will respond to some questions that ask for an opinion or a belief on a topic with assistance and practice.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to read passages and short texts (newspapers, lyrics, letters, short stories, etc.) and understand overall meaning.
B. Students will be able to support their understanding of texts through the use of context, dictionaries, or with the assistance of others at times.
C. Students will be able to read and understand most text messages on everyday topics.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to communicate with increasing effectiveness through notes, emails, and simple online discussions and chats with sympathetic native speakers.
B. Students will be able to write short essays on concrete topics of limited levels of complexity and with less reliance on the communicative patterns of their native language.
C. Students will be able to describe things, relate ideas and emotions, and express simple opinions in concrete language.
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:
Participation, regularity and punctuality, intellectual rigor, homework - 10 %
Behavior in the classroom - 10 %
Graded assignments – 20 %
Oral presentation – 20 %
Midterm exam - 20 %
Final exam – 20 %
content:
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1 Intensive
1.Functional: reviewing how to introduce yourself, how to ask questions, how to meet someone, how to describe where you live, how to ask for directions. The sentences we use in class.
2.Grammatical: general revision of futur simple, futur proche, passé composé, présent des verbes irréguliers, imparfait.
3.Vocabulary: description of a city, a neighborhood, clothes, objects in the house, in the classroom, use of computers and internet. Examples of questions.
4.Culture: Paris (architecture, geography, history), the subway system, French habits with food, politeness, stereotypes. English language in French culture, American culture for French people. French history.
Essays about description of your neighborhood (on Moodle), grammar exercises , games, conversations. Buy and read a newspaper.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 2 Intensive
1.Functional: how to talk about one’s family, about one’s plans for the semester. How to talk about what you did last weekend, what you visited. How to explain why you are here, what you did before coming to Paris.
2.Grammatical: revision of impératif, passé composé with être, verbes réflexifs (présent and passé composé).
3.Vocabulary: family, study and university, life in the U.S. Verbs to express one’s opinion. Work, career. Memories and childhood.
4.Culture: French songs, French cinema (“Amélie Poulain”). Traditional French culture versus actual French culture.
Essay about your family (on the forum), about last week end. Grammar exercises. Conversations, songs and a movie.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 1
1.Functional:
Description of where you live in the U.S. Comparison with where you live in Paris. Your itinerary to come to class.
2.Grammatical:
Prepositions de lieux. Revision of negative form.
3.Vocabulary:
French products and food, sports, activities.
4.Culture:
Francophonie, food specialties, landscapes of French speaking countries, French architecture.
Quiz, description of pictures, conversations.
I.A, I.B, II.B, V.A
Week 2
1.Functional:
How to understand someone’s dream, how to make plans, short term and long term.
2.Grammatical:
Futur simple, verbes en –ER, -IR et verbes irréguliers.
3.Vocabulary:
Dreams, plans for life, romantic items, sexism.
4.Culture:
Women in French society, Saint-Valentin, gifts, marriage and children in French society.
Levels of language (slang, formal, colloquial)
Exercises (reading, questions and essay), video from a French blog (Norman).
I.B, I.C, I.D, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 3
1.Functional:
How to understand nuances in one’s opinion, how to give your opinion about marriage, children and PACS.
2.Grammatical:
Verbes réflexifs versus forme non reflexive.
3.Vocabulary:
Family and new types of families. Expression of subjectivity.
4.Culture:
PACS, categories of family, evolution of French demography.
Crosswords, reading and understanding, preparing an interview about the family. Oral understanding of a conversation.
I.A, I.B, II.A, III.B, IV.A
Week 4
1.Functional:
How to speak about someone’s future.
2.Grammatical:
Difference between tenses.
3.Vocabulary:
French cheese and food.
4.Culture:
Intonation
Different generations
Origin of family names
Test on futur simple, prepositions, vocabulary. Video: understanding. Observe the family names in a building.
I.A, I.C, I.D, II.B, III.A, V.A
Week 5
1.Functional:
How to speak about your habits, and what is specific in your family.
2.Grammatical:
Interrogative sentences
Relative pronouns
3.Vocabulary:
New words from the students’ life in Paris.
4.Culture:
Holidays
Pets in France
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the mid-term. Describe the relationship of a pet and its master.
I.A, I.B, II.A, III.B, V.B
Week 6
1.Functional:
How to write about someone’s habits. Predict the future. Tell a story in the past.
Everyday life, words for the future, French geography and history.
4.Culture:
Everything one can see in Paris: people, food, transportation, …
Mid-term exam (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written understanding). Text about a future wedding.
Exercise about a baby’s dream
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, III.B, IV.B, V.B
Week 7
1.Functional:
How to insist
How to speak about the past
How to talk about jobs
2.Grammatical:
Demonstrative pronouns
Pronunciation of consonants
Passé composé – accord
3.Vocabulary:
Names of professions
Ads in a newspaper
4.Culture:
Working in France, salaries, unemployment
Gestures
French song about relative pronouns.
Crossword. Text about a family with a long history. Interrogate someone about his work.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, IV.B
Week 8
1.Functional:
How to wish for something
How to express feelings and sensations
2.Grammatical:
Subjunctive
Placing the adjective
3.Vocabulary:
Sensations, senses
4.Culture:
Phobia
Noise and sounds
Advertisements, job searching
Exercise about being grandparents. Exercise about wishes for New Year’s Eve. Extract from a book about feelings. Describe feelings in a movie.
I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C, IV.C, V.A
Week 9
1.Functional:
How to argue
How to make nuances in one’s speaking
Debate, approve, disagree
2.Grammatical:
Subjunctive
Adverbs
Pronoun « en »
The letter « h » in French
3.Vocabulary:
Nature, landscapes, animals and plants
Environemental issues
4.Culture:
Global warming
Tasting French cuisine
Article about women who work.
Text about having six children.
Different pictures of women at work. Exercises about adverbs and adjectives. Exercise about quantity and « en ». Oral understanding of a conference on global warming. Explore your impressions in a French city.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, III.B, IV.C
Week 10
1.Functional:
How to write a letter
How to ask for information
Tell a story
2.Grammatical:
Reported speech
Compare
Cause and consequence
3.Vocabulary:
Phrases in a letter or e-mail
4.Culture:
Technology
Social networks
Oral presentations (all students). Text about Skype.
Oral understanding about new technology.
Article about robots in transportation. Use Internet and telephone in French. Exercise about consequences.
I.A, II.B, III.A, IV.A, V.C
Week 11
1.Functional:
Give and analyze results
Justify one’s decision
How to speak about a picture
How to describe an object precisely
2.Grammatical:
Hypothesis
Conditionnal
3.Vocabulary:
Large Numbers
4.Culture:
Luxury products
Money and trade, brands, shops
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the final. Articles about people trying to promote their brand. Observe and speak about fashion. Hearing large numbers.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C, IV.B
Week 12
1.Functional:
How to read an article, how to make questions, how to use different tenses in a text.
2.Grammatical:
Past tenses, future tenses, conditional, subjunctive
3.Vocabulary:
Everything during the semester
4.Culture:
Studying abroad.
Final exam. Reviewing everything (exercises).
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C; IV.C, V.C
Required readings:
ICI Niveau 2, Méthode de français, CLE INTERNATIONAL, Paris, 2008.
ICI Niveau 2, Cahier d’exercice + CD Audio + Fichier « Découvertes », CLE INTERNATIONAL, Paris, 2007.
One novel in French.
Recommended readings:
Other novels in French, newspapers, magazines, dictionary.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Baptiste Lebreton has been a French teacher for foreign students since 2006. He obtained a Master’s Degree at the University of Nantes in teaching French as a foreign language, after having also obtained a Master’s Degree in Communication. He has studied sociology, art history and communication sciences. He has experience working with very different audiences, in Iceland, Finland, China and France. His method of teaching focuses on developing oral skills and understanding intercultural aspects, stereotypes and the reality of the language.
This class aims to develop oral and written skills in French through classroom practice using various documents, understanding and practicing useful grammar points, building common practical vocabulary, and discussing intercultural experiences in Paris.
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).
Student Profile
Students entering this level must be able to fulfill the learning outcomes of the Novice Abroad level, as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. Specifically, they should already be able to express themselves on a variety of concrete, everyday topics and meet their basic needs in the language. Although students may have been exposed previously to certain competencies taught at this level, they need additional practice and instruction to move toward mastery of these competencies. Students at this level may succeed in partner university courses as long as such courses are primarily designed for international students and/or require passive student linguistic participation.
As students gain more self-awareness and self-confidence, they will attempt more in the community. Paradoxically, this means they may also experience more miscommunications and frustration. Reading and writing require effort, and many students will need to make a special effort in this regard. Students will also develop cultural awareness and skills to work through the challenges of adaptation in the local culture and learn to recognize their autonomy. They will appreciate the value of these language and intercultural skills.
Proficiency at a level equivalent to the outcomes mastered through IES Abroad’s FR 301, as determined by placement test.
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 the outcomes for the Emerging Independent 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 solve most daily unexpected situations and meet needs with limited help.
B. Students will be able to make informed comparisons between the host culture and the students’ home cultures.
C. Students will be able to distinguish and to imitate verbal and nonverbal communications that reflect politeness, formality, or informality.
D. Students will be able to recognize patterns of intonation, their meaning, and cultural implications.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand some interactions of growing complexity, especially if the speaker is used to interacting with non-native speakers (conversations, speeches, etc.), and increasingly comprehend other types of verbal production (media, music, etc.).
B. Students will be able to understand direct requests, questions, and basic conversations on familiar and concrete topics.
C. Students sometimes will understand commonly-used colloquial expressions and popular phrases.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to talk about persons and things in their immediate environment, as well as their plans and their experiences, and they can provide some supporting details.
B. Students will be able to resolve moderately complicated situations involving familiar subjects.
C. Students will respond to some questions that ask for an opinion or a belief on a topic with assistance and practice.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to read passages and short texts (newspapers, lyrics, letters, short stories, etc.) and understand overall meaning.
B. Students will be able to support their understanding of texts through the use of context, dictionaries, or with the assistance of others at times.
C. Students will be able to read and understand most text messages on everyday topics.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to communicate with increasing effectiveness through notes, emails, and simple online discussions and chats with sympathetic native speakers.
B. Students will be able to write short essays on concrete topics of limited levels of complexity and with less reliance on the communicative patterns of their native language.
C. Students will be able to describe things, relate ideas and emotions, and express simple opinions in concrete language.
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
1.Functional: reviewing how to introduce yourself, how to ask questions, how to meet someone, how to describe where you live, how to ask for directions. The sentences we use in class.
2.Grammatical: general revision of futur simple, futur proche, passé composé, présent des verbes irréguliers, imparfait.
3.Vocabulary: description of a city, a neighborhood, clothes, objects in the house, in the classroom, use of computers and internet. Examples of questions.
4.Culture: Paris (architecture, geography, history), the subway system, French habits with food, politeness, stereotypes. English language in French culture, American culture for French people. French history.
Essays about description of your neighborhood (on Moodle), grammar exercises , games, conversations. Buy and read a newspaper.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 2 Intensive
1.Functional: how to talk about one’s family, about one’s plans for the semester. How to talk about what you did last weekend, what you visited. How to explain why you are here, what you did before coming to Paris.
2.Grammatical: revision of impératif, passé composé with être, verbes réflexifs (présent and passé composé).
3.Vocabulary: family, study and university, life in the U.S. Verbs to express one’s opinion. Work, career. Memories and childhood.
4.Culture: French songs, French cinema (“Amélie Poulain”). Traditional French culture versus actual French culture.
Essay about your family (on the forum), about last week end. Grammar exercises. Conversations, songs and a movie.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 1
1.Functional:
Description of where you live in the U.S. Comparison with where you live in Paris. Your itinerary to come to class.
2.Grammatical:
Prepositions de lieux. Revision of negative form.
3.Vocabulary:
French products and food, sports, activities.
4.Culture:
Francophonie, food specialties, landscapes of French speaking countries, French architecture.
Quiz, description of pictures, conversations.
I.A, I.B, II.B, V.A
Week 2
1.Functional:
How to understand someone’s dream, how to make plans, short term and long term.
2.Grammatical:
Futur simple, verbes en –ER, -IR et verbes irréguliers.
3.Vocabulary:
Dreams, plans for life, romantic items, sexism.
4.Culture:
Women in French society, Saint-Valentin, gifts, marriage and children in French society.
Levels of language (slang, formal, colloquial)
Exercises (reading, questions and essay), video from a French blog (Norman).
I.B, I.C, I.D, II.A, III.A, IV.A, V.A
Week 3
1.Functional:
How to understand nuances in one’s opinion, how to give your opinion about marriage, children and PACS.
2.Grammatical:
Verbes réflexifs versus forme non reflexive.
3.Vocabulary:
Family and new types of families. Expression of subjectivity.
4.Culture:
PACS, categories of family, evolution of French demography.
Crosswords, reading and understanding, preparing an interview about the family. Oral understanding of a conversation.
I.A, I.B, II.A, III.B, IV.A
Week 4
1.Functional:
How to speak about someone’s future.
2.Grammatical:
Difference between tenses.
3.Vocabulary:
French cheese and food.
4.Culture:
Intonation
Different generations
Origin of family names
Test on futur simple, prepositions, vocabulary. Video: understanding. Observe the family names in a building.
I.A, I.C, I.D, II.B, III.A, V.A
Week 5
1.Functional:
How to speak about your habits, and what is specific in your family.
2.Grammatical:
Interrogative sentences
Relative pronouns
3.Vocabulary:
New words from the students’ life in Paris.
4.Culture:
Holidays
Pets in France
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the mid-term. Describe the relationship of a pet and its master.
I.A, I.B, II.A, III.B, V.B
Week 6
1.Functional:
How to write about someone’s habits. Predict the future. Tell a story in the past.
2.Grammatical:
Future tenses, past tenses. Relative pronouns. Questions, negative form, passive form.
3.Vocabulary:
Everyday life, words for the future, French geography and history.
4.Culture:
Everything one can see in Paris: people, food, transportation, …
Mid-term exam (grammar, vocabulary, oral and written understanding). Text about a future wedding.
Exercise about a baby’s dream
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, III.B, IV.B, V.B
Week 7
1.Functional:
How to insist
How to speak about the past
How to talk about jobs
2.Grammatical:
Demonstrative pronouns
Pronunciation of consonants
Passé composé – accord
3.Vocabulary:
Names of professions
Ads in a newspaper
4.Culture:
Working in France, salaries, unemployment
Gestures
French song about relative pronouns.
Crossword. Text about a family with a long history. Interrogate someone about his work.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, IV.B
Week 8
1.Functional:
How to wish for something
How to express feelings and sensations
2.Grammatical:
Subjunctive
Placing the adjective
3.Vocabulary:
Sensations, senses
4.Culture:
Phobia
Noise and sounds
Advertisements, job searching
Exercise about being grandparents. Exercise about wishes for New Year’s Eve. Extract from a book about feelings. Describe feelings in a movie.
I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C, IV.C, V.A
Week 9
1.Functional:
How to argue
How to make nuances in one’s speaking
Debate, approve, disagree
2.Grammatical:
Subjunctive
Adverbs
Pronoun « en »
The letter « h » in French
3.Vocabulary:
Nature, landscapes, animals and plants
Environemental issues
4.Culture:
Global warming
Tasting French cuisine
Article about women who work.
Text about having six children.
Different pictures of women at work. Exercises about adverbs and adjectives. Exercise about quantity and « en ». Oral understanding of a conference on global warming. Explore your impressions in a French city.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.B, III.B, IV.C
Week 10
1.Functional:
How to write a letter
How to ask for information
Tell a story
2.Grammatical:
Reported speech
Compare
Cause and consequence
3.Vocabulary:
Phrases in a letter or e-mail
4.Culture:
Technology
Social networks
Oral presentations (all students). Text about Skype.
Oral understanding about new technology.
Article about robots in transportation. Use Internet and telephone in French. Exercise about consequences.
I.A, II.B, III.A, IV.A, V.C
Week 11
1.Functional:
Give and analyze results
Justify one’s decision
How to speak about a picture
How to describe an object precisely
2.Grammatical:
Hypothesis
Conditionnal
3.Vocabulary:
Large Numbers
4.Culture:
Luxury products
Money and trade, brands, shops
Reviewing assignment to prepare for the final. Articles about people trying to promote their brand. Observe and speak about fashion. Hearing large numbers.
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C, IV.B
Week 12
1.Functional:
How to read an article, how to make questions, how to use different tenses in a text.
2.Grammatical:
Past tenses, future tenses, conditional, subjunctive
3.Vocabulary:
Everything during the semester
4.Culture:
Studying abroad.
Final exam. Reviewing everything (exercises).
I.A, I.B, I.C, II.C, III.C; IV.C, V.C
Other novels in French, newspapers, magazines, dictionary.
Baptiste Lebreton has been a French teacher for foreign students since 2006. He obtained a Master’s Degree at the University of Nantes in teaching French as a foreign language, after having also obtained a Master’s Degree in Communication. He has studied sociology, art history and communication sciences. He has experience working with very different audiences, in Iceland, Finland, China and France. His method of teaching focuses on developing oral skills and understanding intercultural aspects, stereotypes and the reality of the language.