69465 - French Language and Culture III (Second Language)

Course contents

The course aims to consolidate and develop previously acquired skills at morphological, syntactical and lexical levels with particular attention being given to coherence and language variation (“le registre soutenu”). The second part of the course will focus on contemporary French society.

Syllabus:

• written expression: reformulation exercises in order to develop vocabulary, to improve linguistic capacities in an academic context, to consolidate oral comprehension as well as socio-cultural skills;
• a focus on Italian / French comparative linguistics: the consolidation of grammatical structures and the study of interference between Italian and French on a syntactic / morphological level;
• an analysis of contemporary French society, its new challenges and ongoing discussions.

Students are expected to achieve B2+ competence level.

Readings/Bibliography

Compulsory

LECTURE NOTES available on Virtuale E-learning platform

La France au quotidien, R. Roesch, R. Rolle-Harold, PUG, 2020 (5°édition) (for group oral presentations and oral examination)

Le nouveau côte à côte, M.F. Merger, L. Sini, Amon, 2013

 

Online resources

http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?Al=1

https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/

 

Recommended

GRAMMAR BOOKS

F. BIDAUD, Grammaire du français pour Italophones + Exercices de grammaire française pour Italophones, Utet Università

DICTIONARIES

- Le Petit Robert (dictionnaire unilingue)

- Dictionnaire des synonymes, nuances et contraires, Le Robert (« Les Usuels »)

- Dictionnaire des combinaisons de mots, Le Robert, (« Les Usuels »)

Teaching methods

The course will focus on:

• a comparative Italian / French linguistic study and exercises (classroom and homework assignments). A "flipped-classroom" approach will be proposed and importance will be given to the development of the learner's autonomy in his/her learning. Therefore, in order to give more space to active participation during the lessons, learners will be asked to prepare themselves each week following the indications provided during the course.
• particular attention to written discourse and style (“registre soutenu”) and cohesion / coherence (“expressions de la cause, de la conséquence, du but, de l’opposition, de la concession, de l’hypothèse et de la condition”)
• individual and/or group written homework assignments with individual feedback (on Virtuale E-learning platform)
• Group oral presentations (“Exposés”) (max 3 students / group). Each group will be asked to prepare one PowerPoint presentation (or equivalent applications) based on the following reading: La France au quotidien, R. Roesch, R. Rolle-Harold, PUG, 2020 (5°édition). The students will be asked to develop one topic following current developments and ongoing debates in France and/or in French-speaking Countries (15 minutes) agreed with the teacher. The PowerPoint presentations will be published on Virtuale and made available for the preparation of the oral test.

This course will be supported by separate language training sessions (lettorato - 20 hours) carried out by Walter Julien Alberisio.

Students shall attend at least 70% of course lessons and training sessions.

Assessment methods

Written test:

• Contrastive grammar italian / French exercices (60 minutes): the use of a monolingual dictionary is not allowed
• Writing (2h30): elaboration of a written text based on those experienced during the lessons: reformulation, enrichment, etc. (the use of a monolingual dictionary is allowed). A detailed evaluation grid will be provided to students before the exam.

Oral examination:

The students will be asked to answer questions related to the text La France au quotidien. The students will also be required to talk about any topic dealt with during the oral presentations.

Nota bene:

The oral presentation carried out during the semester will add one point to the final mark of the French Language and Culture exam.

French Language and Culture III (second language) module is part, with French Dialogue Interpreting II (second language) module, of the French Language and Dialogue Interpreting III (second language) course.

The overall mark for the whole course is calculated by averaging the marks a candidate receives in the two constituent modules.

Learning assessment scale:

30-30L Excellent. The candidate possesses excellent linguistic skills (at morphological, syntactical and lexical levels, with particular attention being given to cohesion/coherence, language variation, “la phrase complexe et la prise de risques”) with a very high level of proficiency in the language and culture studied.
27-29 Above Average. Candidate makes only minor errors and demonstrates a solid command of the required skills and competencies.
24- 26 Generally Good. Candidate shows some gaps, indicating reasonable mastery of the required skills and competencies.
21-23 Adequate. Candidate shows significant deficiencies and only adequate mastery of the required skills and competencies.
18- 20 Minimal. Candidate meets only the minimum required level and shows minimal mastery of the required skills and competencies.
< 18 Failed. Candidate does not meet the required standard and shows completely inadequate mastery of the required skills and competencies.

Teaching tools

- Virtuale E-learning platform

- Lecture notes available on Virtuale

(The login password will be provided during the first lesson.)

- Material listed in the bibliography

- PC, video projector, MS Teams

Office hours

See the website of Samantha Iafrate