Department of French

Use of French, Paper B1

Aims and Objectives | Examination Paper | Programme du Trimestre

Aims and Objectives

The aims of the course are as follows:

1. to develop an awareness of the Use of French in a variety of contexts and registers;
2. to extend and consolidate grammar and syntax, knowledge of structures and idioms;
3. to extend lexical fields;
4. to teach the Use of French for a variety of purposes (analysis, synthesis, reaction).

To achieve this, you must

1. Attend all classes in order to ensure practice in all the skills to be tested in the examination.
2. Be ready to discuss in French issues of content register or grammar raised by the texts and to ask for clarification if necessary. The nature of the class is participatory.
3. Possess at least a bilingual dictionary, a grammar (eg Byrne and Churchill - revised Glanville Price, French Grammar and Usage (Hawkins and Towell), M. Jubb and A. Rouxeville, French Grammar in Context (Hodder Arnold). It would also be advantageous to have a monolingual dictionary, eg Micro-Robert, Dictionnaire de la langue fran�aise (see attached list for details). You should also learn how to use grammars, dictionaries, and reference works effectively.
4. Learn the correct use of grammatical and rhetorical terms. Useful material with these terms will be provided.
5. Follow the rubric of the exercise and to answer the questions accurately and concisely.
6. Distinguish between an analytic piece of work which requires an evaluation (for example of register or tense usage), an explanation (for example of content) or r�sum� (that is synthesis), and a 'reactive' piece of work which requires a more personal response and the marking of an attitude on the basis of the data included in the texts studied. You will also learn how to rewrite a text by using a different style, register, point of view from the one adopted by the author.
7. Read the texts provided in preparation for the class several times with a view to grammar, structure, vocabulary and register.
8. Develop vocabulary skills and grammatical knowledge. Students should note that credit will be given for the use of a varied vocabulary and range of syntactic structures. A helpful tool for this purpose would be to have your own classification system in order to record points covered in class.
9. Practice grammar by doing various tasks set in the classroom but also through regular assignments (you will be expected to use the French programs set up for you in the CALL Facility or from personal/college computers via the MML Network Service, and often send your work back to the teacher )
10. Keep the texts together along with any extra sheets handed out and to construct a personal file of material relevant to the course.
11. Exploit the resources of the Language Centre and CALL Facility.

A questionnaire will be distributed electronically (to ensure anonymity) at the end of Michaelmas Term and at the end of the academic year in which you will be able to comment on the effectiveness of the teaching and your own learning, and to communicate particular areas of need.