Sussex Centre for Language Studies
Open courses in modern languages
French Language and Culture - Stage 4 (Upper Int / Advanced)
20 weekly meetings, 1.5 hours each
A course for those who have recently completed an intermediate or Stage 3 class
but are not quite ready for an advanced course. You will acquire the skills to deal
more confidently with given topic areas and to express opinions. The emphasis is
on speaking and understanding, but new grammatical structures will be learned and
reading and writing skills will be developed further.
The upper intermediate class aims to revise and consolidate structures learned at
Intermediate level, to broaden vocabulary and give you extra confidence. You will
be encouraged to develop your learning strategies and, within the framework of the
syllabus, develop language structures and functions for your own perceived needs
and interests. The syllabus may include the following topics and language
structures, but you will be given the opportunity to develop and discuss your own
language learning interests and needs:
Topic areas:
personal interests • tastes • the media (press) • socializing /
relationships • travel and language • regions • work • current
affairs • social problems • introduction to politics…
Grammar
functions &
skills:
Consolidation of complex sentence structures, more literary
tenses • passives • subjunctive forms • simple indirect discourse•
idea of register • expressing opinions and views • describing
feelings and reactions • simple note-taking • skimming/scanning
techniques • letter/ email writing • etc.
There will be a strong cultural element in this course which may include the
literature, song, art, history, geography and institutions of the country.
Course learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will have broadened and consolidated your knowledge
of the language via the study of topic areas in the syllabus and others chosen by the
group. You will be able to write and speak on the topic areas from the syllabus and
others with ease. You will have carried out personal research using fairly long texts
in the target language and have taken part in debate and discussion. You will be
more or less autonomous at this level and will be well versed in the society and
culture of the country.
Teaching and learning methods
Your knowledge of the language will be revised and developed via the four skills,
listening, speaking, reading and writing, usually in tutor-led group situations. Both
authentic and specially prepared audio-visual and written material will be used to
introduce new structures and to allow you to broaden their vocabulary and
communicate more freely in the topic areas of the syllabus and in other areas. You
will be encouraged to present topics of personal interest to the group and to
instigate discussion, taking charge of your own learning and practice. Preparation
work will be set and written tasks assigned, chosen by the learner in consultation
with the tutor.
Built into the course will be a number of assignments to allow you and your tutor to
gauge progress made. These assignments naturally form part of the course and will
usually be multi-skilled, involving some reading, writing, speaking and listening. It
will be important to complete a learning/study plan and take an active part in the
classes by completing the assignments set. You will be given an opportunity to
pursue your own personal research into a topic of cultural interest which contains
some analysis or debate.
Certificate of Completion
At the end of the course you will receive an individual Record of Learning on
request, giving details of the course and your achievement of the aims and
objectives. If the tutor considers that you have gained as much as possible from the
course, have achieved the learning outcomes and have participated in the assessed
activities, a Certificate of Completion of the course will subsequently be issued, on
request.
Bibliography
A course book may be recommended by the tutor at the first meeting.
Suggested supplementary reading:
Bilingual dictionary:
Monolingual dictionary:
Grammar reference:
Background reading:
New Collins/Robert or Oxford/Hachette
Le Micro Robert
BBC French Grammar
French Grammar - Coffman-Crocker (McGraw-Hill)
Mille et Un Points - Creighton (Nelson)
Harrap’s French Grammar
French Grammar in Context (Arnold)
France Today - John Ardagh (Penguin)
A Concise History of France - Roger Price (CUP)
Le Nouveau Guide France - Michaud & Kimmel
(Hachette)
The French - Theodore Zeldin (Panther)