BA History and French / Course details

This course unit consists of intensive language tuition in spoken and written French at ab-initio level, and is designed to suit beginners as well as students with a GCSE in the French language. The textbook employed harnesses a wide range of socio-cultural resources in order to introduce students to grammatical, lexical, phonetic and communicative aspects of the French language and thus develop their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. There are regular opportunities for formative and summative assessment. Based around small group teaching and student-centred learning, students will take an active and responsible role in their own language acquisition. 

Classes are complemented by an independent language learning programme and teaching and learning are supported by the Blackboard virtual learning environment.

Focusing on a variety of topics (including culture, society, current affairs, history and politics) through audio-visual and printed media, it aims to equip students with the language skills needed for competent spoken and written communication.   

The acquisition of grammatical, lexical, phonetic and communicative aspects of French will follow the progression of the set textbook, Saison 1. In addition to the exercises and activities contained in the textbook, a range of formative and summative assessments will regularly test the students’ knowledge and understanding. Classes are complemented by an independent language learning programme and teaching and learning are supported by the Blackboard virtual learning environment.

5 weekly contact hours (2 x 2hr written /grammar seminar and 1 x 1hr seminar).

In addition to a Scaffolded Independent Learning programme, students will be expected to prepare for each class and submit specified formative assessment exercises – both written and oral – and act upon feedback and feedforward provided.

Language of teaching and Assessment: English and French

The course has accompanying Blackboard resources and support and there is a companion website for the textbook used.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• understand and deploy the structures, registers and pragmatic aspects of French appropriate for a basic level A2 of the Common European Framework

• understand a range of social, cultural, intellectual and professional issues in France and the French speaking world, as reflected in the materials studied

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

• apply appropriate linguistic concepts 

• analyse and interpret acquired information and synthesise it as knowledge 

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

• read and understand a range of text types relating to socio-cultural aspects of France and the French speaking world. 

• demonstrate active understanding of most of the essential linguistic structures covered in the set textbook, and a passive understanding of the rest 

• communicate appropriately in written and spoken French 

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

• take responsibility for their own learning, manage time and work to deadlines 

• work independently to produce a portfolio, showing an understanding of learning how to learn within the cycle of planning, action and reflection 

• work effectively and constructively as part of a group 

• show an awareness and responsiveness to the nature and extent of cultural diversity 

• use information and communications technology effectively and appropriately 

Assessment task	Weighting within unit (if summative)
Grammar skills  Listening skills  Written skills	Written section 20%  Listening section 20%  30%
Oral	25%
ILP Dossier	5%

 

• Written comments plus face-to-face discussion if desired (on the understanding that this will de-anonymize work assessed summatively) 

• In-class plenary correction sessions for some formative assessment tasks 

• Blackboard will also be used for posting global feedback on certain assessments 

Set texts:  

M. Cocton, D. Dupleix, E. Heu, E. Kasazian, D. Ripaud, Saison 1 - Livre + CD audio + DVD (Paris, Didier, 2015) 

M. Cocton, D. Dupleix, E. Heu, E. Kasazian, D. Ripaud, Saison 1 - Cahier + CD audio (Paris, Didier, 2015) 

 

Recommended reading:   

Grégoire, M, Grammaire Progressive du Français, niveau débutant, 2e édition (CLE International, 2010)  

Grégoire, M, Grammaire Progressive du Français, CORRIGES, niveau débutant, 2e édition (CLE International, 2010)  

T. Thacker and C. d’Angelo, Essentiel French Grammar, (London and New York, Routledge, 2013) 

Morton, J., English Grammar for Students of French, 7th Edition (O+H Press, 2013) 

A good bilingual dictionary (Oxford Hachette French Dictionary or Collins Robert French Dictionary) 

Fernandez-Toro, M., and F. Jones, DIY Techniques for Language Learners (London: Centre for Information on Language Learning and Research, 2001)