FREN301

Intermediate French I

Christian wind, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Department of FHIS offers a series of eight courses designed to build students’ skills progressively in the four basic communicative functions of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. FREN 301 is the first of a pair of Intermediate courses—301 and 302—aligned with level B1 objectives of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

With an approach that is communicative and collaborative, inductive and interactive, the course aims to reinforce the skills acquired at the A1 and A2 levels and provides students with the tools to understand and use French independently. At the B1 level, you will have the opportunity to go beyond everyday communication situations in order to express yourself on current social and cultural issues.

In FREN 301, you will be welcomed and supported so that you have all the tools necessary to move forward with confidence. The first few weeks of the semester will allow you to review essential concepts before moving on to more advanced material.

Note: This course is not available for credit to students with French Immersion 12 or those who were educated in a Francophone school.

In FREN 301 and FREN 302, you can expect to:

– Consolidate and refine previously acquired grammar points (such as pronouns and past tenses) and learn new structures (such as the subjunctive, complex past tenses, and logical connectors) to enrich both spoken and written expression.

– Explore a wide variety of themes (e.g., art, travel, work, ecology, relationships, new technologies, etc.), which will serve as topics for discussion, writing, and vocabulary expansion.

– Study authentic materials (literary excerpts, news articles, videos, podcasts, songs, etc.) to strengthen key language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).

– Develop intercultural skills through activities focused on various Francophone cultures, both in Canada and around the world.

– Acquire tools to express and justify your opinion, recount an experience, describe and analyze a work of art, talk about your plans and wishes, and give advice, among other abilities.

– Work individually, in small groups, and with the whole class to explore different ways of learning and mastering the language.

Language of instruction: French

Recommended pre-requisites: one of FREN 12, FREN 112, FREN 202, or assignment based on placement test. Credit will be granted for only one of FREN 301 or FREN 122. Equivalency: FREN 122.