Intensive Elementary French for Beginners

Catalog description

This course is an intensive elementary language course for students who have not studied French, but who have met the language requirement in another foreign language. This course will provide an introduction of the basic structures of French, with intensive work on speaking and listening designed to prepare students to take Intermediate French. Due to the nature of the course, the first half will progress rapidly with the more difficult material presented after the midterm period. As in other French courses, class will be conducted entirely in French. You will be guided through a variety of communicative activities in class that will expose you to a rich input of spoken French and lead you from structured practice to free expression. You will have frequent opportunities to practice your newly acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures in small group and pair work that simulate real-life situations, so please prepare each day's lesson attentively. The course will introduce you to French and Francophone culture through authentic materials including written documents, simple articles, songs, films, videos, and conversations between native speakers. Homework will consist of aural comprehension exercises in the online workbook as well as regular writing practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world by completing an engaging, interactive project in the final stage of the semester. By the end of this course, you should be able to meet a variety of day-to-day needs in a French-speaking setting and to handle a range of basic travel transactions. You will be able to engage in simple conversations on familiar topics such as family, lodging, daily routines, leisure activities, etc. You will begin to be able to speak and write in the past, present and the future, make comparisons, and describe people and things in increasing detail. You will…