The goals of this course are to increase students' knowledge of the various modes, tenses and voices of French verb conjugations, to enrich their vocabulary and to familiarize them with a variety of idiomatic expressions used in everyday conversation. At the same time, students become better acquainted with French life through the media, advertising, literature and the cinema , which will serve as themes for the conversation segment of the course.
Prerequisites:
Intermediate-level French, previous grammar study
Method of presentation:
One and one-half hours of grammar instruction followed by one and one- quarter hours of conversation.
Required work and form of assessment:
Regular attendance and participation (20%), quizzes and exercises (20%), oral presentation (20%), mid-term (20%), final exam (20%).
content:
Each class period will have a grammatical component and a conversation session
1. Introduction: Explanation of student newspaper that will be posted in the center every Friday
2. Grammar: Personal pronoun complements
Conversation: European elections and French politics
3. Grammar: Pronouns. How to write a story.
Conversation: Impressions of Paris; living with a French family
4. Grammar: Past tense. Usage and meaning.
Conversation: Newspapers in France
5. Grammar: Expressing memories. The use of the “passé simple” and the “passé antérieur” Conversation: Importance of history for the French (W.W.II, June 18, commemorations, etc.).
6. Grammar: Constructing an historic text. The past tense and the passive phrasing of descriptive and factual texts.
Conversation: Music in France and Europe. The Festival of Music.
7. Grammar: Writing a critique of a performance or exhibit.
Conversation: Differences between family life in France and the U.S.
8. Grammar: The subjunctive and it’s daily uses and meanings.
Conversation: French system of education. The baccalauréat and the various stages in reaching this level
9. Grammar: Test on the past tense, pronouns, subjunctive, etc.
Conversation: Media in France.
10. Grammar: The subjunctive (cont.). Expressing desire, hopes and uncertain futures.
Conversation: Social issues in France: work, unemployment, decrease in the number of hours that constitute a working week, etc.
11. Grammar: The subjunctive and relative clauses
Conversation: Rural and urban environments in France. Administrative structures in France.
12. Conversation: La Francophonie.
13. Grammar: Future tenses.
Conversation: The French and their vacation: a phenomenon?
14. Grammar: Expressing goals, conditions and restrictions
Conversation: The French and their food: does one live to eat or eat to live?
15. Grammar: Expressing hypotheses
Conversation: The revolution of 1789 and its consequences on life of the French today
16. Grammar: Expressing hypotheses (cont.) Conversation: Religion in France
17. Grammar: Expressing action and consequence
Conversation: Impressions of living six weeks in France
18. Grammar: Review and conclusion
Conversation: Culture shock?
Required readings:
Girardet, Jacky and Jean-Louis Frérot (ed). Panorama de la langue française. Paris: CLE International, 1997.
Notes:
This course is offered during the regular semester and in the summer. For summer sections, the course schedule is condensed, but the content, learning outcomes, and contact hours are the same.
The goals of this course are to increase students' knowledge of the various modes, tenses and voices of French verb conjugations, to enrich their vocabulary and to familiarize them with a variety of idiomatic expressions used in everyday conversation. At the same time, students become better acquainted with French life through the media, advertising, literature and the cinema , which will serve as themes for the conversation segment of the course.
Intermediate-level French, previous grammar study
One and one-half hours of grammar instruction followed by one and one- quarter hours of conversation.
Regular attendance and participation (20%), quizzes and exercises (20%), oral presentation (20%), mid-term (20%), final exam (20%).
Each class period will have a grammatical component and a conversation session
1. Introduction: Explanation of student newspaper that will be posted in the center every Friday
2. Grammar: Personal pronoun complements
Conversation: European elections and French politics
3. Grammar: Pronouns. How to write a story.
Conversation: Impressions of Paris; living with a French family
4. Grammar: Past tense. Usage and meaning.
Conversation: Newspapers in France
5. Grammar: Expressing memories. The use of the “passé simple” and the “passé antérieur” Conversation: Importance of history for the French (W.W.II, June 18, commemorations, etc.).
6. Grammar: Constructing an historic text. The past tense and the passive phrasing of descriptive and factual texts.
Conversation: Music in France and Europe. The Festival of Music.
7. Grammar: Writing a critique of a performance or exhibit.
Conversation: Differences between family life in France and the U.S.
8. Grammar: The subjunctive and it’s daily uses and meanings.
Conversation: French system of education. The baccalauréat and the various stages in reaching this level
9. Grammar: Test on the past tense, pronouns, subjunctive, etc.
Conversation: Media in France.
10. Grammar: The subjunctive (cont.). Expressing desire, hopes and uncertain futures.
Conversation: Social issues in France: work, unemployment, decrease in the number of hours that constitute a working week, etc.
11. Grammar: The subjunctive and relative clauses
Conversation: Rural and urban environments in France. Administrative structures in France.
12. Conversation: La Francophonie.
13. Grammar: Future tenses.
Conversation: The French and their vacation: a phenomenon?
14. Grammar: Expressing goals, conditions and restrictions
Conversation: The French and their food: does one live to eat or eat to live?
15. Grammar: Expressing hypotheses
Conversation: The revolution of 1789 and its consequences on life of the French today
16. Grammar: Expressing hypotheses (cont.) Conversation: Religion in France
17. Grammar: Expressing action and consequence
Conversation: Impressions of living six weeks in France
18. Grammar: Review and conclusion
Conversation: Culture shock?
Girardet, Jacky and Jean-Louis Frérot (ed). Panorama de la langue française. Paris: CLE International, 1997.
This course is offered during the regular semester and in the summer. For summer sections, the course schedule is condensed, but the content, learning outcomes, and contact hours are the same.