French BA (Hons)

Module details Programme Year One

• Two language modules
• Two foundational modules: Introduction to French Studies I and II
• Language Awareness
• One content module

Compulsory modules

• Modern French Language Ia (FREN101) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 25:75 Aims

  This module will enable students:-

  • to consolidate skills acquired during the period of ‘A’ level tuition in secondary school, in particular the knowledge of grammar and the written and oral practice of the French language. 
  • will introduce students to different registers of French: standard, informal, argotique,  encourage the production of accurate, authentic and fluent French, both written and spoken, in different formats
  • (re)familiarise students with important cultural and historical references as part of a wider appreciation of the French language,  develop students’ active and passive vocabulary.
  • to enhance their competence in listening in the target language and will encourage students to take charge of their own language learning and to use the available resources for improving their command of the target language.
  Learning Outcomes

  ​ Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the structures, registers and, as appropriate, varieties of the target language.

  Understand and improve knowledge and manipulation of the variety of registers in the target language.

  Improve their listening, speaking, readi ng and writing skills in the target language and their knowledge of basic grammar.

  Understand important cultural and historical references pertinent to French culture and demonstrate a knowledge of the cultures and linguistic contexts of the country of the target language.

  ​Express themselves more fluently and accurately, and communicate more effectively in the target language.

  Improve their listening and comprehension skills of authentic and more complex audio clips and videos.

  Improve their understanding of how to assess strengths and weaknesses and apply learning strategies to improve performance.

• Modern French Language Ib (FREN102) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 25:75 Aims
  • To consolidate both the skills acquired during the period of ‘A’ level tuition in secondary school, in particular grammar and written and oral French language practice, and the skills acquired in FREN101.
    
  • ​T o introduce students to different registers of French: standard, informal, argotique.
  • To encourage the production of accurate, authentic and fluent French, both written and spoken, in different formats.
  • To (re)familiarise students with important cultural and historical references as part of a wider appreciation of the French language.
  • To continue developing students'' active and passive vocabulary.
  • To provide students with enhanced competence in listening in the target language.
  • To encourage students to take charge of their own language learning and to use the available resources for improving their command of the target language.
  Learning Outcomes

  Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the structures, registers and, as appropriate, varieties of the target language.

  Understand and improve knowledge and manipulation of the variety of registers in the target language.

  Improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the target language and their knowledge of basic grammar. ​

  Understand important cultural and historical references pertinent to French culture and demonstrate a knowledge of the cultures and linguistic contexts of the country of the target language. ​

  ​ Express themselves more fluently and accurately, and communicate more effectively in the target language.

  Improve their listening and comprehension skills of authentic and more complex audio clips and videos. ​

  ​I mprove their understanding of how to assess strengths and weaknesses and apply learning strategies to improve performance.

• Introduction To French Studies I (FREN110) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims
  • To introduce students to French narrative forms, including prose, poetry, film and bande dessinée, from the 17th century to the present day, and to provide them with the necessary skills to critically evaluate such forms.
  • To provide students with an outline of the major stages in the evolution of the French state and, through the use of a range of historical, literary and journalistic texts, to engage students in a critical examination of these.
  • ​To provide students with skills appropriate to a range of areas in French Studies and to assist them in developing generic study skills, including information skills training and anti-plagiarism training.
  Learning Outcomes

  Demonstrate knowledge of representative examples of French narrative forms and of key events and issues in the history of the French Republic, and understand and be able to deploy the academic terms used to describe key concepts in these areas.

  ​Read critically in both French and English and write summaries and commentaries on materials covered on the module, constructing a coherent argument and using bibliographical conventions appropriately.

  ​Find and use appropriate materials and glean data from secondary works using library and IT resources, and understand the rationale behind the proper and consistent use of bibliographic citation.

• Introduction To French Studies Ii (FREN112) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims
  1. This module aims to provide students with academic writing skills appropriate to a range of areas in French Studies.
  2. ​ The first half of the module aims to explore the linguistic history of French both in France, and in the world. It also covers the role of the France''s territorial neighbours and their influence on the heritage languages of France.
  3. ​The second half of the module aims to introduce students to the institutions of Francophonie - the community of French speaking nations (fostering critical thinking on those institutions).
  4. ​ The module further aims to provide students with a comprehensive chronological review of French colonial history, introduces them to the French presence and role of French in North Africa, in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the Low Countries.
  Learning Outcomes

  By the end of the modules students will have a good overview of  the development of the French language in France and of the extent of its use throughout the world.

  ​ They will have gained an appreciation of France’s role in European colonization and of its contribution to the culture of people on five continents. They should be familiar with and be able to deploy the terms used by academics to describe key concepts in these areas.

  ​ Students will be able to find and use appropriate materials using library and IT resources and glean data from secondary works. They will be able to read critically both in French and in English. They will be able to select and integrate this secondary material into their essays following the appropriate conventions.

  ​ They will have some understanding of the language and conventions of scholary articles. They will be able to write summaries and commentaries on materials contained in the course packs and they will be able to analyse critically an academic writing written by their peers and construct an argument using their own words.

  They should be familiar with and be able to use the conventional forms of bibliographic citation and understand their rationale.

  ​

• Language Awareness (MODL105) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims

• Develop students'' awareness of and explicit knowledge about language.

• ​Introduce students to key concepts of linguistics.

• Enhance students'' skills of critical ​analysis of language, including hypothesis testing and rule formation.

• ​Develop students'' understanding of similarities and differences between human languages.

• ​Develop students'' awareness of and explicit knowledge about language learning that will help them become more efficient language learners.

Learning Outcomes

Manage language learning processes more efficiently.

​Understand key aspects of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics which are relevant for language learners.

​Talk about and describe language using the correct terminology. 

​Reflect critically on selected language-related issues.

​Relate knowledge about text features to the translation of text.

​Communicate more efficiently in the first and foreign language.

• Introduction To The Short French Narrative (FREN122) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims

  This module will introduce students to a variety of short narratives in French written in a range of periods from  the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century. Whilst providing a general historical overview of the importance of short forms in French-language literature, the module will concentrate on selected texts to develop students’ reading skills as well as their sensitivity to specific generic, literary, cultural, historical and social issues.

  Learning Outcomes

  read unfamiliar and challenging texts, showing specific knowledge about the contexts in which those texts were produced;

  ​develop their French language skills, expanding their vocabulary and enhancing their sensitivity to issues of idiom, syntax, register and rhetoric

  ​identify and discuss major features of the short narrative in French and develop an awareness of related issues of genericity;

  ​understand the social and historical situations from which the selected texts emerged;

  ​detect affinities between the prescribed texts from different historical moments by analysing common themes whilst making comparisons between authors and contexts;

Programme Year Two

• Two language modules
• Six content modules of which two are compulsory

Examples of optional modules include:

• Church, State & Society in Modern France
• Women & Society in Sixteenth-Century France
• The Emergence of the French Nation-State
• Introduction to French Cinema
• Gender, the Novel and the Récit
• An Introduction to French Linguistics
• Manger! French Food and Culture
• Paris: Capital Cultures?

Compulsory modules

• Modern French Language Iia (FREN201) Level 2 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 60:40 Aims
• To provide students with enhanced competence in reading, writing, listening and speaking in French, building on the skills acquired in the year 1 language modules.
  

• ​To provide students with a greater understanding of the grammar, syntax and idioms of French.
  

• To prepare students for their period of study in France, focusing on the world of work and applying for internships in a French speaking country.​

• ​To explore aspects of French culture, topical issues and changes affecting French society.
  

• To increase students'' confidence in the manipulation of language.​

• To develop translation and interpreting skills.​

• To develop students'' language learning strategy use and a reflective approach
  towards language...