Overview
This French language module is designed for students who have completed FREN907/007 Advanced Level 7, and who can claim to have a B2 standard of the language in the Common European Framework of Reference.
Through a variety of methods students will develop an advanced competence in reading, writing, listening and speaking French and an understanding of advanced French grammar. At the end of this 12 week module students will have reached a B2+ proficiency level in the Common European Framework of Reference and will be able to follow complex lines of argument and understand most TV news and current affairs programmes; read articles and reports expressing attitudes or viewpoints on contemporary problems as well as understand contemporary literary prose; interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options; write an essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view.
Syllabus
Week 1
- Introductions
- Protecting the planet – the lexis of ecology
- Grammar: Impersonal constructions
Week 2
- Protecting the planet – the challenges
- Grammar: indefinite pronouns
Week 3
- Protecting the planet – taking action
- Grammar: expressing causation
Week 4
- Getting involved – being civic: Have we become too busy to commit?
- Grammar: prefixes
Week 5
- Getting involved – who volunteers in France?
- Grammar: appreciation of different registers
Week 6
- Getting involved – why volunteer?
- Grammar: rules of written accentuation
Week 7
- Re(creation): art in the public space
- Grammar: expressing subjectivity
Week 8
- Re(creation): art practices and art forms
- Grammar: the Past Subjunctive
Week 9
- Re(creation): the language of art
- Grammar: the Past Subjunctive
Week 10
- Why not emigrate? Is life better elsewhere?
- Grammar: the Past Historic
Week 11
- Why not emigrate? The impact of emigration on self and others
- Grammar: expressing consequence
Week 12: Written and speaking tests will take place this week. Completing the assessment is required for students taking the course as part of their degree, or if they would like to have the course recorded in their HEAR.
For all other students, taking the tests is also strongly recommended, as a measure of your progress and learning.
Textbook details:
Students need to acquire a copy of the textbook Entre Nous 4 – B2 Tout En Un: Méthode de Français Livre de l’Elève + Cahier D’Activités + CD, Ed. Maison des Langues 2016, www.emdl.fr/fle
ISBN: 978-84-16347-94-0
Please ensure that you get hold of the right edition, as some students in the past have bought the wrong version and have had to send it back, thus postponing an efficient start to their course. If in doubt, quote the ISBN number.
We recommend our students to buy their textbooks from Blackwell’s on campus. They have a price match policy and you can pre-order over the phone with them and pick the book when you are on campus.
Study Hours
The total number of study hours for this module is 150 hours, in line with undergraduate university modules. This includes class meetings, assessment preparation and self-directed study in line with guidance from the course lecturer.
If you are studying on the extracurricular mode, we recognise that the total number of hours that you may be able to study every week may depend on your availability and previous experience studying languages, however, expected contribution to classes, homework completion, and learning outcomes will not vary.
Please note that the ‘last date available to book’ date is only a guide. We reserve the right to close bookings earlier if courses are over- or under-subscribed. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure enrol as soon as possible. Registrations will not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm.
Course Lecturer: Dr Judith Aveling
Bonjour!
Thanks to my parents emigrating from Shrewsbury to France after they were married, my sisters and I grew up bilingually in the suburbs of Paris, where I also went to school. As a native speaker of French, I have taught this beautifully complex language for nearly 15 years in English secondary schools, often alongside Russian or Classics. More recently, I have taught undergraduates and for the last three years, in order to fit in with childcare responsibilities, I have taught students of Levels 4 to 8 for Open Languages.
Because I still have family over in France I go over there regularly, if only to get my fix of French cooking, stock up on DVDs, and bring back Reblochon cheese for the Winter’s Tartiflettes, and Crème de Cassis (or the Tesseire version for the kids!) and garlic.
When I’m not teaching I’m being a mum and wife, volunteering for my children’s primary school or for Merseyside Police, running a 5K (lockdown legacy), or singing for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and other local church choirs.
What better way to spend the year ahead, until our next Summer holiday in France, than to teach its language and culture?
A bientôt!
Fees for language courses are £180/£90.
Visit our fee bands page to see which fee applies to you.
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