UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
French Current Affairs and Culture
(Social, Historical and Political)
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of French for Business and Current Affairs at the UCL CLIE, have completed some post-‘A’ level
training or spent some time in the country actively using the language.
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCFR6006, LCFRG006, LCFRM006, LCFR6056, LCFRG056 and LCFRM056 (together with French for Business and Current
Affairs).
Aims and Objectives
The course comprises knowledge and understanding both of the structure of the language and of the cultural (social,
historical and political) contexts in which it is currently used.
It enables participants to use their language skills in an academic environment. The course covers recent history,
current affairs and the latest issues in society as well as other related topics. Students will give presentations and are
involved in roundtable discussions and debates on a variety of current issues.
Cultural awareness will be further developed and raised within a European/global context.
The course will enhance knowledge and use of linguistically complex structures (a variety of styles and registers from a
range of authentic material). Various transferable skills will also be further developed.
Functions
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reporting and contrasting perspectives;
suggesting and making hypotheses;
explaining and defining the why and how of situations;
expressing opinions, critical topic-related comments;
debating, commenting, thinking analytically; being able to speak from different points of view in a debate
composing written pieces of information for different purposes;
conducting presentations on complex specialised topics;
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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French politics and current affairs;
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French culture and your culture (intercultural perspectives), language and identity in a global world;
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France and the European Union, France and the European citizen;
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French historical concepts in context (a short critical history challenging received ideas on immigration;
intégration; laïcité; solidarité; with the European perspective);
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Social history and French cinema (cinema of immigration; moments in the history of French cinéma).
Skills
Reading
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newspapers (economic, social and political): reading for gist, scanning for specific information;
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in-depth analysis of topics in major newspapers/magazines.
Writing
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350-400 respond to texts pieces of writing;
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analysis and review of articles; syntheses;
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note-taking from presentations, for short reports;
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writing up presentations.
Listening
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News and documentaries: radio, TV, audio- and video-tapes (regular listening skills exercises);
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Presentations
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On line power point presentations and links from guests speakers.
Speaking
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formal and informal discussions, debates, round table;
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presentations; discussing in small weekly forum, a regular practice; keeping informed with current affairs.
Transferable
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research for, and presentation of, a project;
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thinking critically in French
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structuring oral presentations
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structuring essays in another language
Linguistic Structures
Discourse Strategies
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analysing/comparing texts from various sources (different text types);
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preparing oral contributions in different situations
Main Aspects of These Strategies
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structuring (logical structures);
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linking devices (lexical, grammatical);
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stylistic levels, formal registers and their usage.
Revision and consolidation of Various Grammatical Features – Functional Grammar (4 key functions as below)
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direct and indirect speech; concession and opposition : how to report and contrast opinions
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the expression of hypothesis with the conditional and the subjunctive modes: how to speculate
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causes/consequences and gerundive & present participle: how to deal with the ‘why and how’
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the complex relative pronouns : how to support ideas with sub-clauses &further descriptions/details
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addendum : complex sentences, syntax and stylistical comments about the use of verbal forms
supporting prepositions ; revising the passive form.
Learning Resources
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Monolingual Dictionary (Micro Petit Robert)
Bilingual Dictionary (Collins/Robert)
Authentic material from various media and academic sources advised by tutor; advanced functional grammar and
reading folders designed by tutor.
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.