Courses Offered in the French Program Link 3
1301 French One (3-2)
1302 French Two (3-2)
2301 French Three (3-0)
2302 French Four (3-0)
Language Course Description
The Department of Languages and Linguistics offers four levels of basic French language instruction. The communicative language teaching approach is used in all basic French language courses. All language skills are emphasized in these courses – speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing in French, as well as cultural competence. Our textbooks introduce students not only to the culture of France, but to the entire francophone (French-speaking) world. Importance is given to the tenets of the National Standards in Foreign Language Education, established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages as well as the American Association of Teachers of French. These standards emphasize the importance of Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities within the foreign language class.
Upon completion of French Four (F2302), students will have studied the major points of French grammar and should be at the low to mid intermediate level in each of the language skill areas. They will have had a preliminary introduction to French literature in addition to exposure to the francophone world. Many times, the literature itself permits a deepening understanding of some part of the francophone world.
The basic language courses at the 2300 level may serve to fill a language requirement or be the beginning of a French major or minor.
3301 French Literature to 1715 (3-0)
This course encourages students to: trace the development of French literary genres, drama, essay, poetry, novel, from the 9th through the 18th centuries; become familiar with key concepts such as chanson de geste, littérature courtoise, and poésie lyrique, and with celebrated authors including Ronsard, Montaigne, and Voltaire; and use the explication de texte for literary analysis.
3303 French Literature since 1715 (3-0)
Chateaubriand, Hugo, Balzac, Proust, and Colette are among the authors whose works are included in this course. See firsthand through readings, discussions, literary analysis, and explication de texte what constitutes French literature at its best.
3305 French Phonology and Phonetics (3-0)
In this course, students work on making their pronunciation of French sound more “native.” Through phonetic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet and corrective exercises on the sounds of French, students learn to fine tune their oral production of the French language.
3320 French Civilization (3-0)
Would you like to explore the history of France and the French people as well as the cultural trends in France during the 20th and 21st centuries? Then French 3320 is the course for you. Through readings, films, slides, art, and music, you will develop an appreciation for the diverse factors that have contributed to the modern France of today.
3355 Advanced Conversation (3-0)
Improve your spoken and written French by watching and discussing French and francophone film! Each movie selection portrays a conflict in the lives of its characters, and thus lends itself to debate. Moreover, the films convey vital cultural information from different historical eras.
3357 Advanced Composition (3-0)
This course is designed for those students who would like to: review aspects of French grammar essential to effective writing, gain an understanding of elements of style and rhetoric, build their vocabulary in French, and practice intensively through written assignments and compositions.
4301 Methods of Foreign Language Instruction (3-0)
The practical application of linguistics principles to the foreign language classroom makes this an indispensable course for future teachers. Classroom techniques as well as the development and evaluation of teaching and testing materials are other pertinent features that are discussed.
4387 Poetry (3-0)
Learn poetry from the bottom up! Overcome your “poetry phobia” by studying the basic components of French poetry across the centuries. Acquiring the knowledge of voice, meter, rhyme, stanza form, vocabulary, syntax, tropes and figures of speech, musicality, and rhythm will improve your poetic reading and comprehension.
4388 Prose (3-0)
This course is offered through thematic and genre approaches. Immigration as a theme in short novels and film was a recent topic area; another was the French Fairy Tale of the 18th century and beyond. An upcoming focus will be short novels by Algerian francophone authors.
4389 Theatre (3-0)
Some of the topics for this course in recent years have been: 17th Century Classical French Theatre, Committed Theatre of the 20th Century, and French Theatre, 1920-1960. Dramatic works are read in their entirety. Selected political and historical texts provide background for the plays in question.
4390 Topics in French (3-0)
Designed primarily for students who have taken all preceding French literature courses, French 4390 is geared for independent study. The student draws up a plan of study for a specific area of interest; the professor must agree to the proposal before work can begin. Previous topics have included Caribbean French Literature, Fatima Gallaire’s Short Stories, and Selected Writings of Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus