French for Biotechnology II
Module Code
Credits
Semesters
Module co-ordinator
FR216
6 ECTS
1 and 2
Dr. Ornaith Rodgers
ornaith.rodgers@nuigalway.ie
Ext. 3800
Hours per week
Materials
AM321 (2nd floor, Arts Millennium Building)
3
Supplied in class and available on blackboard
Module Aims and Objectives
This module is designed for 2nd Year Biotechnology students who have already
completed the French for Biotechnology I module. The programme aims to
further develop within a Biotechnology context, students’ oral and written
communication skills acquired during the first year of university study. More
specifically, it seeks to bring their proficiency in French to Level B1 of the
Common European Framework. In particular, this programme aims to reinforce
and extend students’ vocabulary by exposing them to more complex and
specialised language in this domain. The topics studied are in line with those
covered by students in their mainstream biotechnology seminars with a
particular focus on the area of bioethics in order to provide students with the
linguistic skills to express coherent opinions and arguments in French. The
module also aims to teach students to manipulate known grammatical structures
and to introduce them to more complex grammatical structures in French. This
programme thus provides students with the space to extend their knowledge of
French for Biotechnology using a variety of language learning activities such as
text analysis, discussions, grammar exercises, project work, games and
multimedia lab work.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1) demonstrate a good knowledge of specialised French for Biotechnology in
a precise range of lexical areas
2) read, comprehend and interpret authentic documents in French relating
to a specific range of topics in Biotechnology
1
3) search for and appraise Internet-based information in French
4) manipulate known grammatical structures in French and use more
advanced grammatical tenses and structures such as the passive voice
and the subjunctive
5) use oral and written French to discuss, to argue, to express opinions, to
persuade, to convince and to refute
6) make short oral presentations in the target language
7) describe graphs/ statistical tables and diagrams in French
8) produce clear and structured written work using tenses, verb forms,
syntactic structures and a level of vocabulary reflecting work done during
the year
Module Delivery
This module is delivered through three 1 hour classes per week devoted to text
analysis, grammar/writing skills and oral communication skills.
The text analysis class is devoted to the analysis and discussion of a variety of
texts. In Semester 1, these are texts based on specialised biotechnology themes
related to those covered in their mainstream Biotechnology seminar course. The
topics studied include, therefore, areas such as cancer research, stem cell
therapies, forensic biotechnology, bioterrorism, superbugs and aging
mechanisms. In Semester 2, texts focusing on bioethical issues are used to
stimulate students’ use of linguistic structures to express opinions and
arguments in French. Topics covered include hybrid embryos, genetic testing,
human enhancement cloning, genetic modification and biometrics.
The
vocabulary and structures studied in these texts is consolidated through the use
of supporting resources such as video clips, discussion classes, terminology
glossaries and multimedia lab work.
The grammar/ writing skills class is an interactive class focusing on the
improvement of students’ understanding of the grammar and structures of the
French language through the completion of grammar exercises and games, webbased grammar activities and regular written assignments (opinion pieces,
reports, commentaries). In Year 2, students extend their knowledge of French
grammar by focusing on more advanced structures such as the subjunctive, the
passive voice and relative pronouns. Particular attention is paid to the use of
comparative and superlative forms, conjunctions, descriptive and quantitative
structures in order to enable students to comment on, describe and interpret
graphs/ statistical tables and diagrams in French.
In the oral communication skills class, guided conversation activities,
discussions, communication games, pairwork and debates are used to develop
students’ oral communication skills, while authentic audio-visual materials are
used to improve students’ receptive skills. Themes covered are both of general
2
interest and related to Biotechnology. The language skills needed to argue,
reason, express opinions, convince, persuade and refute in French will provide
the main focus of this class in Year 2.
The vocabulary, grammar and syntactic structures studied during the
programme are reinforced through the completion of a task-based internet
project by students. This project is based on an area of biotechnology of their
choice, in which they describe the area concerned and analyse the ethical issues
involved. Students are also required to deliver a short oral presentation based
on this project.
Students are expected to attend regularly and to actively engage with the
language through their active participation in class and through the regular
completion of homework and self-study activities.
Module Assessment
The module is assessed as follows:
Continuous Assessment (including project)
30%
Final Examination
40%
Oral Examination and Presentation
3
30%