French 1 (Beginners)
Mondays 18:00 - 20:00
Starts 14 October 2024
20 weeks | October - March
Fees from £288
Tutor: Silva De Benedictis
Classroom course at South Kensington
This course is now full - the next one starts in January
Aimed at: Suitable for applicants who have no or very little previous knowledge of French
Welcome to our French 1 course for beginners. This course will give you a general foundation in the language and culture of French-speaking countries so that you can build your knowledge and confidence to deal with a range of everyday situations in French, interacting with people verbally at a basic level, and also develop some basic reading and writing skills.
Activities will include whole class and small group work, individual practice and the use of audio-visual and written material to help develop your experience in a practical and effective way.
Our aim is to get you to a point where you will be able to understand simple questions and information and interact in a very basic way with native French speakers in routine situations, such as when shopping, travelling or buying tickets for entertainment, and to some extent in social situations. We will also teach you the key skills to extract key information from short and very simple written documents, such as notices and brochures, written in French, and to write very short messages and emails for yourself.
We will also discover something of the culture of France and other French-speaking countries.
Upon completion of the course you should be able to perform at Level A1.1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Previous Experience
If you are not entirely new to French we do advise completing a level check before enrolment to establish whether a Beginners course is appropriate for you. Please use our course descriptions as a starting point, then take the French placement test before contacting our French Coordinator for her recommendation: Dr Marine Orain, m.orain@imperial.ac.uk.
Class Recordings
These classes are not recorded
Attendance Certificate
Successful completion of this course leads to the award of an Imperial College attendance certificate
Terms and conditions apply to all enrolments to this course. Please read them before enrolment
Course Information
- What course level should I choose?
- Course Fees and Rate Categories
- Term Dates 2024-2025
- Enrolment Process
- Any Questions?
Choosing the right language level
It is very important to book onto a course which is a good match for your level of ability, and we aim to make the process of deciding which is the right course level for you as simple as possible.
If you have some experience in the language you wish to study please first review our course descriptions to try to identify the course level which should be most suitable for you. Especially if you are out of practice in a language, or have been out of formal education for a while, please be reasonably sure and realistic about your level of proficiency prior to proceeding with enrolment.
Please use our course descriptions as a starting point, then take the French placement test before contacting our French Coordinator for her recommendation: Dr Marine Orain, m.orain@imperial.ac.uk.
| Weeks | Standard Rate | Internal Rate (Imperial students & staff) | Associate Rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | £536 |
£320 | £422 | ||
| All fee rates quoted are for the whole 2-term course. Part-payments are not possible. | |||||
Rate Categories and Discounts
Standard Rate
- Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category.
Internal Rate
- Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
- People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
- Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes, including City & Guilds College Association members
- Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and City, UAL and the City and Guilds of London Art School
- Students, staff and Governors of Woodhouse College and the IC Mathematics School
Associate Rate
- Austrian Cultural Forum staff
- Co-operative College members
- Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
- Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
- Friends of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
- Friends of Leighton House/ Sambourne House
- Friends of the Royal College of Music
- Harrods staff
- Historic Royal Palaces staff
- Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
- Members of the Friends of Imperial College
- Members of the Kennel Club
- Members of the London Zoological Society
- Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
- Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
- National Health Service (NHS) employees
- Natural History Museum staff
- Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
- Royal Geographical Society staff
- Science Museum staff
- Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
- Students (non-Imperial College)
- Teachers and other staff of UK schools
- The American Institute for Foreign Study
- Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
- Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum staff
Late enrolment
It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.
Friends and Family Scheme
This course is eligible for allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.
| Weeks | Autumn term | Spring term | Summer term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Week starting 14 October - week ending 14 December 2024 (9 weeks)* | Week starting 6 January - week ending 22 March 2025 (11 weeks)* | n/a | ||
| *This is a 2-term course - Autumn term PLUS Spring term - with the Christmas break in between | |||||
Enrolment via the blue booking link is open. Early-bird discounts are available until the end of 30 September 2024
Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. When enrolling:
- Do check on the drop down menu above called "Course Fees and Rate Categories" to see if you are eligible for a discounted rate and also do make sure you select that rate when enrolling on the eStore
- If you are a first-time eStore user you will need to create an account before enrolling. You can do this by entering an email address and password. This account can then be used for any future enrolments via the eStore.
When you have enrolled you will be sent the following email notifications:
| What is sent | When is it sent | What does it contain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Payment confirmation | Is sent straight away following submission of your online application |
|
|
| 2. Enrolment confirmation | Is usually sent within 10 working days. Please treat your payment confirmation as confirmation that your applicant details and payment have been received |
|
|
| 3. Programme information | Is usually sent on Friday late afternoon the week before term starts |
|
|
|
|||
If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact the Assistant French Coordinator, Dr Tatiana Codreanu, t.codreanu@imperial.ac.uk
If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk
Useful Links
Courses Now AvailableStudent HandbookFrequently Asked QuestionsJoin Our Mailing ListSci Comm Students' DiscountsStaff Information (Staff Use)Contact us
Imperial after:hours Adult Education
Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication
Level 3 - Sherfield Building
Imperial College London
London SW7 2AZ
eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk
Tel. +44 20 7594 8756