88071 - French Language I And Laboratory

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students should reach a minimum level of A2 (Council of Europe framework) for spoken French, while the ideal level is B1, and a minimum level of B1 for reading comprehension – ideal level B2. In particular: students should be able to follow the essential themes of an oral text, for example a lesson or a TV-news broadcast, and make a simple oral report on it. Moreover, they should be capable of understand written texts of average difficulty regarding the disciplines of the degree course.

Course contents

The course is organized in lectures and laboratories, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (30 hours in remote on MS TEAMS) aim to enhance students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills, while also expanding their cultural skills and knowledge in the French-speaking context.

Language laboratories (40 hours) are organized as seminars and aim to use class materials and practice the skills acquired during the 30-hour course through exercises, focusing in particular on French grammar and morphosyntax.

The division into lessons and seminars is specified in the program that follows.

For the seminar section (language laboratory), students will NOT be divided into groups. The entire language laboratory will be taught in presence (in classroom) with the possibility to follow the lessons remotely on MS TEAMS.

Beginners will be offered 2 additional A1 laboratories in the first semester: one in classroom (40 hours) and one held remotely on MS TEAMS (40 hours).

All beginner students have to attend the preparatory laboratory. At the beginning of the academic year, all students with previous experience in learning French will sit a placement test to assess their language level and determine whether or not they should attend the preparatory lab.

Regardless of the health-related conditions and the specific organization of the course, students will be able to follow the lessons of the entire course remotely on MS TEAMS.

The 30-hour course (lectures) is organized into two modules:

a) one module will be devoted to enhancing students’ reading, listening, and analyzing skills by exposing them to a wide range of authentic oral and written text types intended for the general public on topics relevant to the the degree course and specific to the cultures of the French-speaking context. Texts will focus in particular on French civilization and political structures in order to develop a basic socio-political vocabulary in French and to provide an overview of French politics and socio-cultural life. Topics covered will include the analysis of the argumentative structure, polyphony, modals, linkers and conjunctions, evaluative lexis, specialized lexicon, synonymy, polysemy and morphology.

b) The second module will be devoted to the oral analysis and discussion of the topics covered in the texts analyzed.

The language laboratory is aimed at improving fluency and accuracy in writing and speaking skills and is dedicated to French grammar. Topics covered will include:

1. La règle du c’est/il est

2. C’est/il est/ il y a.

3. Les verbes impersonnels.

4. Les pronoms personnels toniques/mécanismes de l’accord “moi aussi”.

5. Les adjectifs et les pronoms démonstratifs.

6. Les adjectifs et pronoms possessifs

7. Les pronoms relatifs simples et composés.

8. La négation (négations particulières)

9. Les pronoms personnels compléments simples / doubles.

10. Le comparatif et le superlatif.

11. Les adverbes sur adjectif

12. Les mots de liaison : conjonctions de coordination.

13. Les verbes

- à l'indicatif présent

- au passé composé (formation et accord du participe passé)

- à l'imparfait

- au futur simple

- au conditionnel présent (non approfondi). (sera repris et terminé au niveau II avec conditionnel passé).

a) verbes du 1er groupe en ER (y compris verbes irréguliers en YER, CER, GER, les règles d’accentuation des verbes comme céder, acheter, et les verbes du type appeler, jeter)

b) verbes du 2e groupe en IR (2 catégories type sentir / type finir)

c) Quelques verbes du 3e groupe en (T)RE (mettre, battre), ONDRE/-ENDRE (répondre, tendre + prendre) + des verbes inclassables fréquents: tenir/venir et composés, faire, dire, suivre, vivre, croire, voir...

14. L'impératif

15. Le passé récent, le présent progressif et le futur proche (gallicismes)

During the laboratory, students can also give an oral presentation in small groups on a (relevant) topic of their choice, thus improving their oral expression and argumentation skills. The presentation will be followed by a short discussion on the topic with the other students.

Readings/Bibliography

The texts to be analyzed during classes will be made available online weekly, in electronic format on Virtuale, the new platform for teaching and learning materials.

For the language laboratory:

Maia Grégoire, Odile Thievenaz, Grammaire progressive du français, niveau intermédiaire A2/B1, Paris, Clé International, 2017.

Dictionary: Le petit Robert : dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française, Paris, Dictionnaires Le Robert, 2020 (or previous editions).

Reading list:

1. Guillaume Bernard, Bernard de Gunten, Arlette Martin, Mauricette Niogret, Les Institutions de la France, Paris, Nathan, coll. « Repères pratiques », éd. 2015.

2. Jean-Louis Auduc, Le système éducatif français, Paris, Nathan, éd. 2016.

3. Jean-François Sirinelli, La Vè République, Paris, PUF, collection « Que sais-je ? », 2013.

4. Denis C. Meyer, Clés pour la France en 80 icônes culturelles, Paris, Hachette, 2010.

5. Maxime Lefebvre, La politique étrangère de la France, Paris, PUF, Coll. « Que sais-je ? », 2019.

Teaching methods

The language laboratory is based on a grammar book specific for Italian speakers and on practical exercises using “communicative methods.” It aims at allowing students to reach a good command of linguistic and communicative competence.

Lectures are aimed at developing skills in order to comprehend and interpret written and oral texts of average difficulty. The course will be held in French.

Assessment methods

Exams will take place online.

Written exams (mid-term tests and written exam for not attending students) will be held on EOL (https://eol.unibo.it/ )

Oral exams will be taken online on MS TEAMS, using virtual classrooms.

For more information on online exams visit https://www.unibo.it/en/teaching/classes-and-exams/lessons-and-exams

Students attending classes:

Overall assessment will be based on two written mid-term tests and a final oral exam. Both mid-term tests include a reading comprehension with multiple choice and open questions, and a grammar test.

The oral exam will consist of a discussion of selected chapters from ONE of the books in the reading list included in the bibliography section. In addition to the reading of selected chapters, each student will choose one or two recent articles from the online press dealing with a topic related to the chosen essay and the chapters selected. The first part of the oral exam will focus on the essay and will assess the knowledge acquired through the reading. In the second part, the student will briefly present the chosen article(s) (sources, topics covered, interest and relevance of the articles in the current context, journalist’s opinion, tone of the articles – polemic, neutral, etc.) – and express their personal opinion on the articles and related topic(s).

Students not attending classes:

Written test – a reading comprehension with multiple choice and open questions and a grammar test.

Oral test – an oral examination on selected chapters of ONE of the books listed in the recommended reading section in the bibliography. All books are available at the Ruffilli library. In addition to the reading of selected chapters, each student will choose one or two recent articles from the online press dealing with a topic related to the chosen essay and the chapters selected. The first part of the oral exam will focus on the essay and will assess the knowledge acquired through the reading. In the second part, the student will briefly present the chosen article(s) (sources, topics covered, interest and relevance of the articles in the current context, journalist’s opinion, tone of the articles – polemic, neutral, etc.) – and express their personal opinion on the article(s) and related topic(s).

1. Guillaume Bernard, Bernard de Gunten, Arlette Martin, Mauricette Niogret, Les Institutions de la France, Paris, Nathan, coll. « Repères pratiques », éd. 2015.

Selection of chapters:

- chapters « État »; « Vie politique »; « Administration ».

OR

- chapters « Collectivités locales »; « Justice »; « International ».

2. Jean-Louis Auduc, Le système éducatif français , Paris, Nathan, 2016.

Selection of chapters:

- chapters « Généralités » ; « Le cursus scolaire »

OR

- chapters « Les acteurs » ; « Les établissements » ; « Les organismes » ; « Les partenaires ».

3. Jean-François Sirinelli, La Vè République, Paris, PUF, collection « Que sais-je ? », 2013.

Whole book.

4. Denis C. Meyer, Clés pour la france en 80 icônes culturelles, Paris, Hachette, 2010.

Whole book.

5. Maxime Lefebvre, La politique étrangère de la France, Paris, PUF, Coll. « Que sais-je ? », 2019.

Whole book.

Teaching tools

PC, MS TEAMS, Internet

Office hours

See the website of Valeria Illuminati