Students should consult with their university advisors prior to participating in the program to have course credit pre-approved. Recommended credits are shown in parentheses.
It may be possible for students on the French Language (regular) program to take the elective in English for a total of 6 credits. Please contact your AO for availability and cost.
French Language Courses
The regular French Language courses carry 4 credits and the Intensive French Language courses carry 5 credits.
The Beginner classes introduce students to the rudiments of the French language. They learn to introduce themselves, to give and respond to simple greetings, to express their nationality and age. Vocabulary work focuses on color, clothes, the family, the calendar and items encountered in the home. Working in the present tense, students learn to buy, order and pay for things as well as to express their likes and dislikes.
The Elementary French classes aim to teach students to understand simple phrases that they will encounter in daily life. They learn to answer basic questions and to ask for information on familiar subjects. Students discuss their habits, daily activities and personal experience and learn to give opinions. They are able to make comparisons and use both the simple future and simple past tenses.
At this level students learn to grasp the meaning of more detailed information through discussion of topics such as their studies, family ties, the work environment and social relationships. They are able to use the conditional as well as more complex future and past tenses, including the subjunctive. They can give orders, express doubts and feelings, relate what someone else has told them and discuss hypothetical situations.
Advanced students learn to interact naturally and with spontaneity when conversing with native speakers, being able to express the subtleties of their feelings and thoughts. They work at associating facts and ideas, moving with fluency between tenses and learning to alter their register to suit a given situation. In debates and discussions students aim to make convincing and structured arguments backed up by concrete examples. They discuss politics, the economy and history, comparing different written and spoken styles.
Superior French furthers and develops upon the material covered in Advanced French.
French Culture Electives (taught in English)
Students choose one elective taught in English. Each elective course is recommended for 3 semester credits. A minimum enrollment of 10 students is needed to confirm an elective course.
With a focus on modernity and through visits to significant sites in the city, students learn to classify architectural function and style. Through discussion of the social and economic conditions in which various buildings were constructed, students acquire an understanding of the historic conditions that defined the changing Parisian landscape of the 17th to 20th centuries.
Links between fashion and artistic, cultural and socio-political contexts across French history are explored and the lasting dominance of Paris in the world of fashion is examined. Students become familiar with the historical evolution of the luxury fashion industry and will be able to appreciate how fashion and accessories have been used to express a variety of different identities over time. Students pay some entrance fees for museums and exhibitions. Taught in English. Enrollment is limited.