Intensive French Language & Cultures: Beginner - LAN00054C

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  • Department: Language and Linguistic Science
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: C
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24

Module summary

This module will support students with no prior knowledge of French who want to embark on a journey to achieving proficiency at the end of the programme.

In addition to covering the necessary vocabulary and grammatical knowledge for effective communication in everyday situations, and engagement with subject-specific tasks, the module also introduces students to socio-cultural issues related to their language repertoire, and to language learning reflection.

The languages of instruction are English and French.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2023-24

Module aims

This module aims at building up, at a quick pace, knowledge, skills and strategies necessary to communicate and interact in French, and to develop, at elementary level, a plurilingual and pluricultural communicative competence (i.e. students’ ability to use their own linguistic repertoire for effective communication).

Module learning outcomes

Upon satisfactory completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • understand phrases, expressions and short, simple written, audiovisual or digital texts on social and cultural aspects

  • describe or present social and cultural aspects through a series of simple phrases and sentences

  • interact with reasonable ease in structured and guided situations

  • ask and answer questions and exchange ideas and information on social and cultural aspects

  • recognise diverse cultural conventions associated with everyday social exchanges and cultural practices.

Module content

Students will engage, individually and/or in groups, in communicative activities and tasks emphasising three modes of communication:

  1. reception activities (oral, audio-video and reading comprehension);

  2. production activities (oral and written production);

  3. interaction activities (oral, written and online interaction).

Students will be introduced to socio/cultural topics such as

  • Introductions & getting to know each other

  • Family & relationships

  • Music & hobbies

  • Holidays & travel

  • Shopping & your neighbourhood

  • Health & wellbeing

  • Food & restaurants

  • City life & urban issues

  • The world of work

  • Ecological issues

  • Media & fake news

  • Culture & patrimoine

Students will also be introduced to grammar points such as:

  • Nouns (gender and number)

  • Determiners

  • Adjectives

  • Pronouns

  • Present tense (indicative mood)

  • Forming negative sentences

  • Asking questions

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 50
Oral presentation/seminar/exam 50

Special assessment rules

Non-compensatable

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 50
Oral presentation/seminar/exam 50

Module feedback

Formative assessment and feedback

Formative tasks done individually and/or in groups throughout the module.

Students will be given:

  • written comments for written formative work

  • oral feedback during class discussions

Summative assessment and feedback

Students will be given written feedback and marks for their work within the University mandated time limit.

Indicative reading

Course materials and guided readings will be provided by the module convenor in class and/or via the VLE at the start of the semester.