FREN 300: French Language: Oral Skills (half unit)

FREN 301: French Language: Written Skills (half unit)

These integrated courses are followed by all major and combined major students in their final year and are the continuation of FREN 200 and FREN 201 respectively. The components may not be taken independently.

Normally, FREN 300 and FREN 301 cannot be taken independently. Both the oral (FREN300) and the written language (FREN301) courses focus on particular topics of cultural and contemporary interest. Together they consist of 3 hours tuition per week. The general aim of FREN300 is to maintain the momentum and progress achieved during the second year and the year abroad and to bring intellectual rigour and critical awareness to the content of the spoken language.

By the end of the course, you should not only have developed an informed interest in the society and culture of the French speaking world, but you should also have acquired near-native abilities both in written and spoken language (C2 of CEF)

FREN200/201

Erasmus students: C1 on Common European Framework (CEF)

• to enable and encourage you to learn about current affairs in France and to form and express (in French) your own views on certain topics and issues.

• to extend your knowledge and competence in the French language
• to develop your awareness of society and culture of contemporary France  

-        to encourage you to explore, and become familiar with, different areas of French culture.

• to enable you to speak French at a level as close as possible to near-native standard and to acquire equivalent skills in reading and writing.
• to increase vocabulary
• to increase grammatical accuracy in spoken French
• to improve pronunciation and intonation
• to encourage the progressive integration of authentic, idiomatic structures into the spoken language
• to develop listening skills
• to equip you with the strategies for presenting critical ideas and defending them effectively

By the end of this course, assuming you have attended all classes, completed coursework and undertaken a considerable amount of private study, you should be able to:

• read a variety of texts ranging from news and feature articles to literary passages in French and to understand, without difficulty, the information or argument(s) presented as well as be able to comment articulately on the overall style and linguistic register in which they are written.
• listen to extracts of programmes broadcast on French radio or television and to understand both their general sense and their specific details.
• speak and pronounce French accurately and effectively across the range of everyday situations, including knowledgeable social discussion of current affairs, history and culture.
• talk confidently and informatively, either in English and French, about certain aspects of contemporary French speaking societies and to be especially well-informed about the particular topic chosen and researched for the oral presentation.
• construct sophisticated arguments without the need of a script, having become relatively independent in the presentation of materials
• communicate serious thoughts and analysis in a clear-headed, coherent fashion
• express cogent opinions on your own society or on the society being studied or on global issues
• follow a serious debate, lecture, speech in the spoken media and communicate the gist of what has been listened to with relative ease

Transferable skills:

• to improve presentation skills
• to take responsibility for your own learning
• to develop critical awareness of the key issues in discussions
• to express ideas, attitudes and opinions and to synthesise and evaluate them
• to sustain a conversation or debate on a wide variety of topics
• to work effectively in teams

Course Work Assessment (CWA)

2 oral presentations

1 listening comprehension test

1 Michaelmas Oral Examination which is based on your Year Abroad experiences

1 Final Oral Examination

• Assessment proportions (percentages)

Pt II courses are assessed by a combination of CWA and examination.

CWA Year 2                           = 20%

CWA Year 4                          = 20%

Michaelmas Oral Exam             = 20 %

Final Oral Exam                        = 40%

Please check with course convenor