This course will enable students to:

LO 1 Know and understand the structures of the French language and aspects of French culture
LO 2 Be capable of responding to, giving opinions about, analysing and evaluating situations and ideas using the French language
LO 3 Be able to locate materials, including primary and secondary sources, in order to acquire knowledge of the French language and culture
LO 4 Work independently and in collaboration with others, in a timely manner, to present and communicate ideas and develop cogent and coherent arguments.
LO 5 Use digital technologies and software programmes for accessing material in French and producing texts in French
LO 6 Become a self-reflective and self-directed learner who sustains the effort of learning French over time
LO 7 Be aware of social and cultural issues in French speaking contexts and appreciate their wider impact.

There are no textbooks for this course.
Students must bring their own headsets with microphones to all Language Laboratory classes.

 Dictionaries
· For paper dictionaries, the bilingual Collins-Robert French-English English-French Dictionary is suitable because of the large number of explanations and examples it provides.
· For on-line dictionaries, the Lexilogos webpage contains conventional French-French and French-English dictionaries, as well as a dictionary of slang, synonyms and antonyms, figurative expressions, spelling, conjugations and varieties of French throughout the Francophone world. The urls are
French-French: http://www.lexilogos.com/francais_langue_dictionnaires.htm
French-English: http://www.lexilogos.com/anglais_langue_dictionnaires.htm


Grammar Reference books (available for loan/consultation in the Barr Smith Library)
· Glanville Price, A Comprehensive French Grammar, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 6th edition, contains complete explanations in English on all points of French grammar.
· Roger Hawkins and Richard Towell, French Grammar and Usage, Arnold.
· For a concise reference grammar, see H. Ferrar, A French Reference Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1967.
· Students at this level sometimes need to revise basic structures such as verb conjugations. You are advised to do this as early in the year as possible. A well-known revision book is Mary Coffman Crocker, Schaum’s Outlines: French Grammar, New York, McGraw Hill, 1999.

The course requires students to consult the MyUni webpage on a regular basis. All of the course materials are grouped in weekly folders. Students are expected to download the grammar notes, read them and complete the exercises in advance of the grammar class. Students will find the oral worksheets in the weekly folders, as well as the vocabulary lists, which must be learned. Students will submit their group lab projects electronically using the Group Blog facility.

The course is designed to bring students, when they reach the end of IISB Language, to the levels of competency of B2 in the DELF programme. At this level, language learners become independent, are able to maintain interaction, can develop arguments to defend a point of view, are at ease with different levels of social discourse, and are capable of correcting their errors. For more information on levels of competency defined by this framework, see the website http://www.calosa.com/delfdalf/b2/b2.htm

The key to success in language courses is energy, efficiency and creativity. Students are encouraged to put these essential language learning attributes into practice right from the beginning of the year.

There are three contact hours per week. Written class, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Students learn a complete grammar syllabus using the grammar notes posted on MyUni. The documents can be found in the Weekly folders. Because of the large amount of grammar covered in this course, it will not be possible to explain the rules systematically, point by point, in the limited time we have in the grammar class. Rather, students are expected to learn the grammar notes and attempt the exercises prior to attending class, leaving valuable class time for reviewing some of the more difficult points or discussing questions raised by students. For this reason it is vital that students quickly acquire the habit of printing or downloading the notes and bringing them to the grammar class. In the Weekly folders, students will also find vocabulary lists that must be learned.
Oral class, usually on Thursdays or Fridays. The focus is on student participation in discussion. Discussion topics are drawn principally from newspaper and magazine websites. Students will be expected to participate actively in group and class discussion. In semester 1, students will do a 5 minute oral presentation on the topic: “parlez à la classe d’une activité ou d’un sujet qui vous passionne”. Students can sign up for their presentation at the start of the semester. In semester 2, there will be an oral exam in week 13. The participation mark for the oral class is based on attendance, preparation, preparedness to listen to others and contribute to class discussion on the topics set for the class.
Language laboratory class. Students listen to recorded dialogues, video reports and French radio podcasts in order to improve their listening skills. For speaking practice in the lab, students record short speeches in French using the Blackboard Collaborate Voice Tools software. Work done in the Language Laboratory will be checked by the tutor. Please note that the Faculty does not provide headsets -- students must bring along their own headsets with microphones to the Language Laboratory. From weeks 5 to 8 in both semesters, students will prepare and present a group project on a theme related to French Culture, Society or Politics, and will submit their work electronically using the Group Blog facility.

3 hours of classes per week	36 hours per semester
6 hours preparation of grammar notes/oral expression per week	72 hours per semester
3 hours revision and assignment preparation per week	36hours per semester
TOTAL WORKLOAD	144 hours per semester

 It is a requirement of the course that students attend all classes. Exemption from attendance may be given by lecturers or tutors only for medical reasons or for documented cases of personal hardship. If students miss two classes without providing a satisfactory explanation (on medical or compassionate grounds), the course coordinator will ask them to explain why they should not be excluded from the course. In all cases, the onus is on students to contact their tutor or lecturer, preferably in advance, to explain their absence and to make arrangements to catch up on missed work. If this is not done, it will be assumed that the students concerned are no longer in the course.

Hurdle Requirement: students who do not meet the following requirements will be awarded a grade of Fail for the course:
· A minimum of 40% result in the end of semester written exam

From weeks 5 to 8 in both semesters, students will prepare and present a group project on a theme related to French Culture, Society or Politics, and will submit their work electronically during the Lab class in week 8.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Oral presentation	Formative	5%	1, 2, 4
Participation	Summative	5%	1, 2, 4
2 x language lab tests	Summative	10%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
Language Lab Group project. Written and oral electronic submission (wks 5-8)	Summative	10%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
350 word composition assignment	Formative	5%	1, 2, 3, 4, 7
Composition test	Summative	10%	1, 2, 4, 7
2 x grammar tests	Summative	20%	1, 3, 6
Written exam	Summative	35%	1, 2, 4, 6

Students who are absent for a test will be eligible to do a replacement test only if they provide a medical certificate or documented evidence of circumstances of a compassionate nature.

The composition assignment is due by midday on the Friday of week 6. It must be submitted via the Homework box adjacent to the office of the School of Humanities (level 7 Napier). The Composition TEST will be held in the Language Laboratory in Week 12. For Grammar test weeks (5 & 9), the normal grammar class will be devoted to revision, and the TEST will be done during the oral class later in the week. The participation mark will reflect attendance, preparation for class and active participation in general discussion in oral class.

Presentation of Work
The composition assignment is to be submitted in paper copy via the Assignment Box, School of Humanities office, level 7, Napier Building. For this assignment, attach a signed cover sheet, and indicate the name of the staff member for whom it is intended. It should be written on alternate lines (double spaced, if typed, and in a font size no less than 12), for greater clarity and to allow room for correction.

Deadlines
Assignments handed in after the due date will be penalized at the rate of 2% of the total mark per day, up to a maximum of 7 days, after which they will not be accepted at all. These penalties will not apply, however, if an extension has been granted before the due date. Extensions will only be granted on medical grounds (medical certificate required) or in documented cases of hardship. Assignments will not be accepted for marking after the corrected work has been returned to students.

STUDENTS MUST HAND IN THEIR COMPOSITION ASSIGNMENT AT THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES OFFICE (LEVEL 7, NAPIER BUILDING), BEFORE MIDDAY OF WEEK 6, WHERE IT WILL HAVE THE DATE OF SUBMISSION STAMPED ON IT.
 
Redemption: Given the frequency of assignments and their nature, it is not possible for students to redo and resubmit the piece of work in which their performance was unsatisfactory. This can also cause them to get behind, rather than move on to the next set of exercises and devoting their energies to mastering them.