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French for Reading Knowledge Online Course Spring 2016
Required Textbook: Karl C. Sandberg, Eddison C. Tatham. French for Reading. Prentice Hall,
2007. ISBN: 0133316033
Recommended Textbooks: Jacqueline Morton. English Grammar for Students of French.
Olive & Hill Press, 2009. ISBN: 0934034370
Collins-Roberts French/English Dictionary. Harper-Collins, 2012. ISBN: 0061962996
Course Description:
This course provides a concise overview of grammar as well as reading and translation practice
for graduate students and others who wish to read French. The course is primarily intended to
help researchers acquire and practice tools they need to use French documents in their own work.
We focus on three main aspects of translation: (a) strategies for reading effectively, (b) use of
grammar to support understanding, and (c) the development of an extensive “high-yield”
vocabulary that tends to recur in written texts across disciplines and genres.
Coursework includes homework, textbook practice, quizzes, and translations. No previous
knowledge of French is needed for this course.
Practice aids:
Vocabulary lists in your notebook
DIY paper flashcards: http://www.flashcardexchange.com or other
online flashcard maker
Electronic flashcards
http://www.flashcardexchange.com/flashcards/view/329550
Le journal en français facile, Radio France International
http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/statiques/accueil_apprendre.asp
Sparknotes reference guides (French Verbs, French Vocabulary, French
Grammar) http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/language/frenchvocab/
WordReference www.wordreference.com
TV5 Monde: Available on UW-Madison campus:
TV5 Monde via http://datn.wisc.edu/
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Students with disabilities who require accommodations for access and participation in this
course, please contact the instructor.
W Jan 13 Unit 1
W Mar 16 Unit 10
Sandberg Chapter 1
Sandberg Chapter 10
Introductions, cognates, and faux amis
Translation: French film titles
Quizzes:
 Using a French-English Dictionary
 False friends
 Plural nouns
Prose translation:
La belle au bois dormant, Charles Perrault
W Jan 20 Unit 2
W Mar 23 Unit 11
Sandberg Chapter 2
Sandberg Chapter 11
Listening: « La Tour de Pise »
Practice exercises : identifying subject
pronouns, verbs, and definite articles
W Jan 27 Unit 3
Practice exercise : translating the imperfect
Listening: “Le petit pain au chocolat”
Quiz :
 Verb tenses
W Mar 30 Unit 12
Sandberg Chapter 3
Sandberg Chapter 12
Poetry translation: « L’Homme qui te
ressemble »
Quiz :
 Vocabulary
 Noun-adjective groups
W Feb 3 Unit 4
Essential vocabulary list 3
Sandberg Chapter 4
Sandberg Chapter 13
Translation of verbial phrases
Essential vocabulary list 1
Quizzes :
 Using context
 Past participles
Prose translation : Journaux de guerre et de
prison, Louis Riel
W April 6 Unit 13
Poetry translation, « En sourdine, » by Paul
Verlaine
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W Feb 10 Unit 5
W April 13 Unit 14
Sandberg Chapter 5
Sandberg Chapter 14
Poetry translation: « Dualisme » by Paul
Géraldy, « Le Message » and « Déjeuner du
matin » by Jacques Prévert
Practice exercise: subject-verb inversion
Quiz :
 Possessive adjectives
W Feb 17 Unit 6
Practice exercises with lequel and dont
Sandberg Chapter 6
Sandberg Chapter 15
Prose translation : « Un mystère
mathématique »
Quiz :
 Using context 2
W Feb 24 Unit 7
Prose translation: L’Etranger, Albert
Camus
Sandberg Chapter 7
Sandberg Chapter 16
Quiz:
Noun-adjective groups with adverbs
Essential vocabulary list 4
Quiz:
 Verb recognition
W April 20 Unit 15
W May 4 Unit 16
Poetry translation: « Demain, dès l’aube »
by Victor Hugo
W Mar 2 Unit 8
W May 11 Unit 17
Sandberg Chapter 8
Sandberg Chapter 17
Essential vocabulary list 2
Quiz :
Subject pronoun review
Quiz :
 Essential vocabulary
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W Mar 9 Unit 9
W May 13 Unit 18
Sandberg Chapter 9
Sandberg Chapter 18
Prose translations :
Indignez-vous, Stéphane Hessel
Au centre du désert, Antoine de SaintExupéry
Maria Chapdelaine, Louis Hémon
Julie ou la nouvelle Héloïse, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau
Bonne chance!
Conclusion