French for advanced level students

Timetable: French for beginners commences at the start of each term.

Course prerequisites

This course is aimed at students who already have a good grasp of the French language (they are able to easily understand a native speaker and use the main rules of grammar and syntax).

Overview

Each 2 hour session includes the reading of a text of topical relevance.

One of the main aims of the course is to sharpen student’s French language skills. It achieves this by expanding their vocabulary and comprehension of complex sentence structures, including reviewing and practicing the grammar that student’s feel is the most difficult to master. The class text readings may be followed by discussion and debate. This will provide an opportunity to perfect their use of linking words and expressions, or rhetorical devices, to defend an opinion or point of view, on the issue under discussion.

Students will also be required to give an individual (20 min.) presentation to the class on a text chosen by the course tutor. The student should design their presentation so that it sets up and leads into a class debate.

The course will also include an introduction to the latest (1990) spelling rules, as well as to the issue of belgicisms.

Assessment

The assessment of this 5 ECTS credit course is based on the course tutor’s observation of each student’s participation in class:  students are required to attend all sessions but over and above this they must demonstrate active participation and the ability to express their ideas and defend a point of view.

In addition, a written examination at the end of the term will assess students’ learning of the vocabulary studied during the class readings of topical texts, as well as the students’ understanding of the grammar points studied with the course tutor.

The written examination has two parts:

a) one text selected from among those studied in class will be used as the basis of a vocabulary exercise in which students must explain the meaning of specific terms and also reuse them in a different context;

b) students will be asked to write a reasoned commentary on a question related to themes covered in class readings.