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French Level 1

Module details

Offered to 1st and 2nd Years
Monday or Tuesday 16.00-18.00 (depending on year of study)
Planned delivery: On campus (South Kensington)
Two-term module, worth 7.5 ECTS
Not available as part of I-Explore
Extra Credit, or Degree Credit where your department allows

Degree credit module options by department How to enrol

A communicative module for absolute beginners offering an introduction to the language and culture of the French-speaking countries.

This module aims to:

Provide you with an introduction to everyday language use, including a fairly-wide range of basic vocabulary and structures
Give you the opportunity to develop all your fundamental language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) equivalent to the A1+ (CEFR) level, and equip you with the necessary tools for independent language learning
Offer you an insight into aspects of culture and daily life in French-speaking countries
Prepare you to progress towards higher language levels

By the end of the module, students should have reached approximately the A1+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

To be eligible for this module, you need to have no previous experience in learning French.

Please note: The information on this module description is indicative. The module may undergo minor modifications before the start of next academic year.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

Respond to and produce a basic range of spoken language in very familiar contexts
Respond to and produce simple written texts
Demonstrate the relevant level of intercultural awareness in your handling of everyday social interactions in French and your use of language
You will have had the opportunity to engage with a basic range of digital language learning tools to support your production

Indicative core content

In this module, you will cover the following linguistic structures:

Present tense
Imperative
Near future
Introduction to conditional
Perfect
Personal and object pronouns
Articles
Possessive adjectives
Declension of nouns and pronouns
Reflexive verbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Quantifiers
Impersonal forms
Modal verbs (vouloir, devoir, pouvoir)

These linguistic structures will be applied to the following topics:

Social interaction
Everyday life and objects
Work, training and professions
The home and the family
Holidays and leisure time, travel, eating and drinking
Giving and understanding information
Opinions
Features of modern life
Selected cultural areas and personalities of the French-speaking countries

Learning and teaching approach

In line with modern foreign languages communicative and active learning methodologies, the in-class activities you will complete will cover all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking). These will include pair work and groupwork (dialogue practice, information gap exercises, discussion); individual tasks; discovery and formulation of grammatical rules; work with texts and audio visual material. Homework and coursework tasks will give you the opportunity to revise and consolidate your knowledge and skills and to develop your awareness of how to use language learning tools independently. Our approach not only ensures you engage with a wide range of tasks and activities, but also seeks to support different learning styles.

Your coursework will be marked and returned within two weeks. Rubrics and revision guidance (how-to guides) will be included as needed with each coursework. You will receive detailed feedback alongside suggestions for improvement and an overall percentage showing your provisional grade for that assessment.

Assessment

The module includes formative as well as summative assessment. Homework tasks (theory revision, reading, writing, listening, etc) are set every week on the virtual learning environment, following a flipped-classroom approach to ensure face-to-face time is devoted for interactional learning and communicative skills acquisition. This means that you will be provided with materials to study independently beforehand, and then apply these during classroom time. Your lecturer will give you support materials and guidance to reinforce topics covered at your own pace.

You will need to complete two pieces of summative coursework (set during mid-autumn term and mid-spring term), which will include rubrics and revision guidance to ensure you are supported when completing your work and you are aware of the assessment expectations. There will also be two 1-hour in-class tests (scheduled at the end of autumn term and at the end of spring term), and one practical in the form of an oral examination (at the end of spring term or during the summer term). The coursework, examinations and practical contribute to your final grade.

Coursework (20%): Mid-autumn term set of tasks on the virtual environment: grammar, reading, writing (100 words).
Examination (20%): In-class test run on the virtual learning environment (bring your own device). This 1-hour test will take place at the end of autumn term. It will include grammar and vocabulary exercises, a reading comprehension and writing (100 words)
Coursework (20%): Mid-spring term project-based coursework: pre-recorded oral presentation (2 minutes) and writing: (100 words).
Examination (20%): In-class test run on the virtual learning environment (bring your own device). This 1-hour test will take place at the end of spring term. It will include grammar and vocabulary exercises, reading comprehension and writing (120 words).
Practical (20%): Oral examination at the end of spring term, including presentation and role play (approx. 10 minutes).

Key information

7.5 ECTS points awarded on successful completion of the module.
Available to take for credit towards your degree where your department allows. Also available for extra-credit.
You must be prepared to attend all classes and and undertake approximately 3 hours of private study each week in addition to the assessment.

Course book: TBC

Grammar support: TBC