UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
French Syllabus B
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of French Syllabus A at the UCL CLIE or a similar course and have limited experience of dealing
with authentic material.
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCFR6002, LCFRG002, LCFRM002, LCFR6012, LCFRG012, LCFRM012 (together with French syllabus A), LCFR6023,
LCFRG023 and LCFRM023 (together with French syllabus C).
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to give students an opportunity to revise their survival skills and acquire more sophisticated
ways of dealing with practical matters. This includes revision and consolidation of vocabulary, grammar, morphology,
syntax and phonetics.
On completion of the course students should be able to communicate in and understand French on many practical
everyday matters related to various aspects of French culture. Cultural awareness will be developed. Language learning
skills, including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic material, will be enhanced. Some transferable
skills will also be covered.
Functions
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meeting others;
describing people and places;
tackling practical matters;
planning for the near future (holidays and work experience over holidays);
relating stories and events (in the passé-composé); introduction of the imperfect;
expressing basic opinions.
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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your student life (first contacts, daily life and interests);
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practical matters (bookings);
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awareness of cultural codes and registers;
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talking about the life of famous personalities;
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cultural lifestyles and eating habits / fashion.
Linguistic Structures
Phonetics
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revision of basic rules of the pronunciation of spoken French.
Grammar
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revision of present;
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revision of basic interrogative and basic negative structures;
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adverbs and adjectives (revision and new acquisitions);
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passé-composé;
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revision of “de” as a partitive article (de la, du, des) and the negation of the partitive indefinite article (pas de + no
indefinite article + noun);
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pronouns following a preposition (chez lui, avec moi, pour eux…) ; introduction ;
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revision of demonstrative articles (ce, cette, cet, ces) and possessive articles (mon, ma, mes…);
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agreement in gender and number of the adjectives in descriptions;
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basic use of imperfect;
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introduction to contrasted use of the past tenses;
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basic relative pronouns (qui, que);
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direct and indirect pronouns (le, la, les and also lui, leur);
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immediate future;
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basic comparatives and superlatives (plus… que, moins… que, aussi… que; as well as, “ le plus…, le moins…”);
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y/en (introduction).
Learning Resources
Syllabus B Course Books
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Alter Ego + (A1) – textbook (ISBN: 9782011558107) and workbook (ISBN: 9782011558114)
Bilingual Dictionary – Pocket Edition (Collins/Robert)
Syllabus B/C Course Books
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Nouveau Rond-Point ‘ Pas à Pas’ (A2) (Editions Maison des Langues, Paris, 2011) - ISBN: 9788484436669
Nouveau Rond-Point 2 (B1) – Textbook (Editions Maison des Langues, Paris, 2011) - ISBN 9788484436959
La Grammaire en Clair (+answer book), Long and Rodgers, (Editions Nelson) – ISBN: 9780174444206
Bilingual Dictionary – Pocket Edition (Collins/Robert)
A selection of authentic material will also be used.
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.