UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
SSCs 2015-2016
French Syllabus D
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of French Syllabus C at the UCL CLIE or if you are reasonably fluent in the language and are able
to discuss a range of issues (low ‘A’ level grade). Oral and written skills will be briefly tested at registration interviews.
Course duration
Year 1 students: double-block (16 x 3-hour classes. Block 1: 8 x 3-hour classes; Block 2: workshops and tutorials related
to Project).
Year 2 students: single block (8 x 3-hour classes).
Self-Study
40 hours in total.
Course codes
LCFM6004.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to enable students who already have a reasonably advanced knowledge of French to acquire a
better fluency in the language and medical related French documents. Students should then be able to communicate in
all situations within French speaking countries. Medical related issues/vocabulary will also be covered.
On completion of the course students will be able to converse with native speakers, follow debates and give
presentations relating to their degree as well as discussing current issues (local and worldwide) using more complex and
linguistically accurate structures (different types of discourse, register).
Cultural awareness will be further developed and raised within a European/global context. Language learning skills,
including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic material, will be further enhanced. Various transferable
skills will also be covered.
Functions
Focus on medical context
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Expressing a wide range of opinions and reactions;
Debating, commenting, explaining, describing;
Suggesting, accepting, refusing, doubting, hoping, convincing, disagreeing;
Ability to interact in a critical debate, presenting one's ideas clearly and efficiently;
Ability to master all the above in an appropriate spoken and written register.
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
The contents of this syllabus will be based around a reflection on the nature of contemporary society and current affairs
including an analysis of their cultural dimension.
Topics may include the following (as appropriate depending on students’ interests and current affairs).
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International aid and Africa & Haiti;
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New technology and the medical world.
Press and media; international medical issues and debates.
Private and public health Services (film: Les Invasions barbares, 2003 – Academy Award Winner)
Work experience (actual and prospective job experience as a student); comparing medical studies in France and in
the UK.
Medical issues related to the environment (hay fever, stress, cancer, etc…)
Health and health risks.
Skills
Reading
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Newspapers – reading for gist, scanning for specific information;
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Reading and understanding medically related documents; developing medical lexicon.
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Websites;
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Texts on targeted topics.
Writing
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Reaction to texts;
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Practice exercises based on medically related documents /see syllabus SSC D.
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Summaries.
Listening
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Targeted material;
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News TV, Radio, Internet (regular listening exercises);
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Note-taking.
Speaking
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Formal and informal discussion / debates / presentation / role-play.
Transferable skills
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Personal introductions / presentation of a project.
Linguistic Structures
Discourse Strategies
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Analysing/comparing texts from various sources;
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Improving reading skills of analytical and critical discourse;
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Improving listening skills of a more speculative forms of discourse;
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Introducing academic writing in French;
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Preparing of oral debating, story-telling.
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;
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Format of presentation (oral and written).
Acquisition and Consolidation of Various Grammatical Features
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All tenses of the indicative mode;
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Use of all pronouns;
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Passive form;
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Verbal structures (e.g. impersonal experiences, passive form);
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The expression of modality (subjunctive and conditional);
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Complex sentences (discourse markers, syntax, link words).
Learning Resources
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Santé-médecine.com CLE INTERNATIONAL (2004); www.cle-inter.com
La Grammaire Progressive du Français, intermédiaire, CLE International, 2003 – ISBN: 9782090381245
Bilingual Dictionary (Collins/Robert)
A wide selection of authentic material will also be used. In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials
available for self-study, also online, in the Self-Access Centre.