THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2018/2019

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : European Languages and Cultures - French

Undergraduate Course: French 1A (ELCF08005)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits40 ECTS Credits20
SummaryAn 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.

Course description 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.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed:
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking French 1B (ELCF08006)
Other requirements Unfortunately, students are NOT GENERALLY ELIGIBLE for French 1A if they have acquired a Higher, an Advanced Higher, or an A Level in French. However students with a 'C' pass at Higher (SQA) or A-level may be considered for entry to 1A at the discretion of the Course Organiser
Please see below regarding 'old' Highers.

Eligible students will have either a pass at Grade B in National 5 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 (A or B) at Higher, an Advanced Higher or an A Level should normally be enrolled on French 1B.)

Students with a 'crash' Higher OR a Higher awarded more than 1 year ago will be registered on French 1B, but may take a Diagnostic Test to gauge their ability. Depending on the results, course registration would be changed to French 1A.

Other students whose qualifications in French are more than 3 years old may also take the Diagnostic Test to determine whether French 1A or 1B would be more appropriate.

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.)

In the 2018-19 academic session, the diagnostic test for French 1A and 1B will be open from 4pm on Tuesday 18th September (= the day of the first class meeting for Fr1A and Fr1B) until 4pm on Thursday 20th September.

The test should be done in Learn, in the folders 'Course Materials', 'Fr1A/Fr1B Diagnostic Test' (scroll down to the bottom of the page on Learn to find this folder).

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.
Additional Costs Purchase of course books (Language, Literature and Film). Please see reading lists below.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2018/19, Available to all students (SV1) 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 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 40 %, Coursework 45 %, Practical Exam 15 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework = 60%; Exam = 40%
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)December Coursework Test1:30
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)3:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)3:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a familiarity with everyday French vocabulary, grammar and syntax, along with a broad understanding of French culture
  2. Appraise straightforward spoken and written information about familiar everyday, study or work-related topics, identifying both general messages and specific details
  3. Communicate with reasonable accuracy in familiar contexts on familiar topics both orally and in writing, expressing personal opinions, and comparing and contrasting those of others
  4. Develop effective communication, presentation and interaction skills across a range of media
  5. Demonstrate self-reliance, initiative, and the ability to work flexibly with others as part of a team
Reading List
David M. Stillman, Ronni L. Gordon; Ultimate French Review and Practice (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; the fourth, a film script, would be very useful.

Literature
Simone de Beauvoir, Les Belles images (Flammarion, 1972)
Marguerite Duras, L'Amant (Editions de Minuit, 1984)
Roland Barthes, Mythologies (Les Editions de Seuil, 1957)
Patrick Modiano, Lacombe Lucien film screenplay (Gallimard, 1974)
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.
KeywordsDELC French 1A
Contacts
Course organiserDr Jane Yeoman
Tel: (0131 6)50 8412
Email: Jane.Yeoman@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Elsie Gach
Tel: (0131 6)50 8421
Email: Elsie.Gach@ed.ac.uk
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