Undergraduate Course: French 1A (ELCF08005)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | An intensive, post-beginners course in spoken and written French. This course is open to students of any year, but NOT TO THOSE QUALIFIED FOR ADMISSION TO FRENCH 1B. It is particularly suited to candidates with a pass at Standard Grade (SCE) or GCSE or AS Level or evidence of equivalent proficiency in French.
The number of students admitted to the course may be limited. A great deal of private study and high motivation are necessary to meet the requirements of the course. Sustained evidence is required throughout, the pace being such that any lost ground can prove extremely difficult to recover.
The course aims to take students within a year to the standard required for entry to French 2, giving them expertise in spoken and written French, concentrating on accuracy and fluency. It also provides exposure to texts of various types (depending on the year of study, texts will be literary and political/historical) and to film; these are studied for both linguistic and cultural content. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
French 1B (ELCF08006)
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Other requirements | A pass at Standard Grade (SCE) or GCSE or AS Level, a 50% pass in Foundation French 2 or evidence of equivalent proficiency in French. STUDENTS WHO ARE QUALIFIED FOR ADMISSION TO FRENCH 1B ARE NOT ADMISSIBLE TO FRENCH 1A. Students holding a pass at Higher A or B, Advanced Higher or A Level should normally be enrolled on French 1B.
If your entry qualification for French is a Scottish Higher, you will be automatically admitted to 1B. However, if you enter the course more than twelve months after you took your Higher, you should take our Diagnostic Test. If this tells us that you are better suited to 1A than to 1B, you will be given the option of switching to 1A. The Diagnostic Test is also open to students who have done a "crash Higher", whether or not it was in the past twelve months.
All other students whose entry qualification for French is three years old: if your entry qualification for French entitles you to admission to 1B, you will be automatically admitted to 1B. However, you may also, if you wish, take our Diagnostic Test, and if this tells us that you are better suited to 1A than to 1B, you will be given the option of switching to 1A. (We recommend that you take the test if you have not engaged in language learning activities since you gained that entry qualification.)
To take the Diagnostic Test, please contact your 1B Course Organiser as soon as possible.
Please note that changing from 1B to 1A is not allowed in any other circumstances, and is not possible after week 2 of semester 1.
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| Additional Costs | Purchase of course books (Language, Literature and Film). Please see reading lists on LEARN or at Blackwell's website at www.readinglists.co.uk. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 81,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
308 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
45 %,
Practical Exam
15 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework = 60%; Exam = 40% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 1:30 | | | Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 3:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 3:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
| By the end of the course students should be able to demonstrate competence in the spoken and written language to the standard required for entry to French 2; to participate and interact effectively in tutorials in French; to demonstrate the ability to produce accurate written and spoken French; to identify and understand a broad range of complex grammatical structures and their uses in French; to demonstrate the ability to use self-study materials (dictionaries, grammar books, websites); to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical and cultural developments of the period studied and of the formal and thematic issues raised by the selected set texts and film; to demonstrate familiarity with the recommended material relevant to the period, authors and directors studied; to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the texts and films studied and their socio-political context; to distinguish between assumption and speculation, between fact and opinion, between relevant and irrelevant information; to demonstrate the acquisition of certain transferable skills, including the abilities to criticise, evaluate and interpret evidence, to consider a problem from a number of different perspectives, to accommodate ambiguity and advance reasonable conjectures, to argue cogently and persuade effectively.
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Reading List
David M. Stillman, Ronni L. Gordon; Ultimate French Review and Practise (McGraw-Hill, 2011)
NB Recent editions of this work also include a CD with practice exercises.
You can buy any edition you wish (the editions with CD are approx £2 more expensive) - up to you to choose!
Wolfgang Fischer, Barron's Mastering French Vocabulary (Barron's Educational Series Inc. US, 2012)
The following grammar books are not compulsory purchases, but helpful aids:
C. Frederick Farrell Jr., Side by Side: French & English Grammar, Communication and Culture (McGraw Hill, most recent edition)
Rosi McNab, French Grammar Made Easy (Hodder Arnold, 2005)
Students should also purchase a book of French Verb Tables - several versions are available; the following are recommended:
Either
French Verbs (Collins Gems, 2006)
Or
La conjugaison pour tous 2006 (Bescherelle, Hatier)
Good dictionaries (monolingual French and bi-lingual French-English) will also be essential. Please also note that two good resources are available to you online through the University Main Library database:
Le Grand Robert & Collins (search in English)
Le Petit Robert (a good French 'monolingual' dictionary); definitions of words are given in French, often with helpful synonyms.
LITERATURE & CIVILISATION
For the 'French Literature and Civilisation since 1940' component of 1A, the following three works must be bought:
Literature
Leïla Sebbar, La Seine était rouge (Babel,2003)
Simone de Beauvoir, Les Belles images (Flammarion, 1972)
Francis Ponge, Le Parti pris des choses (Gallimard, 2009)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
One Language Seminar: all weeks, Thursday.
One Literature & Civilisation Lecture (with 1B): almost all Tuesdays (+ very occasional Fridays).
Three Tutorials: all weeks, Monday (Spoken Language), Tuesday (Written Language) and Friday (Lit. & Civ.). Times and venues as indicated on your personalised timetable.
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| Keywords | DELC French 1A |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jane Yeoman
Tel: (0131 6)50 8412
Email: Jane.Yeoman@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Elsie Gach
Tel: (0131 6)50 8421
Email: Elsie.Gach@ed.ac.uk |
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