French for beginners 1 (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

0-5

Objective

You begin to acquaint yourself with the French language and culture in French speaking countries. By the end of the course, you are familiar with French culture and you know how to conduct yourself accordingly. You can cope with simple communication situations in French. You know the most common polite phrases in French. You understand the cultural differences between Finland and the French speaking countries.

The course prepares and equips you to act and work in an international and multicultural environment.

Content

Pronunciation

Communication: Greetings, introductions, telling about your life in a simple way, languages and nationalities, family, restaurant, travelling and asking for directions, shopping

Grammar: personal pronouns, numerals, gender, articles, affirmative and negative sentences, basic questions, present tense of regular and irregular verbs, the form and the place of the adjectives

Cultural knowledge: The cultural knowledge of French speaking countries

Materials

The course material is provided by teacher on Moodle. A computer is recommended for lectures as all the assignments are done online.

Teaching methods

Schedule: 14th February - 15th May 2024

Teaching methods: Lectures and assignments, small mid-term tests. Expected attendance ~80%

The course is organized as contact teaching. Lectures on Wednesdays at 16.00-18.30, classroom R35F304.

Exam schedules

Regular small mid-term tests. Two re-sit opportunities, one mid-term and the other at the end of the semester.

Student workload

30-50 h classroom teaching with 81-103 h independent work at home, exams 2-4h.
Total of 135 h (1 ECT is equivalent to 27 h)

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1 You can understand familiar words in simple texts. You understand very basic phrases concerning yourself, your family and immediate surroundings, when standard French is spoken slowly and clearly. You can interact in French in simple writing and speaking situations although there are often errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structures.

2 You can understand clear and slow speech about familiar topics. You can understand simple, brief texts and find the main points in texts handling familiar themes. You are able to write short texts about familiar topics. You can manage well in routine speaking situations although your pronunciation is still defective. There are still errors in the use of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

3 Standard speech spoken in normal tempo may cause some difficulties in case the speech is long. You understand texts about familiar themes. You are able to write simple and short messages. The deficiencies in pronunciation, structures or vocabulary do not interfere with understanding.

4 You can understand face-to-face speech about simple and familiar topics spoken in normal tempo, but fast spoken language may cause difficulties. You understand texts well about familiar topics. You can speak French using short sentences without long pauses. You are able to write brief texts using the learnt vocabulary and structures. Your pronunciation is clear.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

5 You can understand speech about simple and familiar topics spoken in normal tempo. You can assess spoken situations correctly and know how to act in them.You can speak short sentences with a degree of fluency and write clearly and with few errors about familiar themes. You can apply the learnt vocabulary and grammar structures in your language production, and your pronunciation is clear and often flawless.

Further information

avoin AMK 5