LAF1201, French 1
This module is offered every semester.
Aims & Objectives
Lectures usually start in Week 2 of the semester. Tutorials start in Week 3. However,
there will be a compulsory briefing for ALL the French 1 students in Week 1.
The primary aim of this module is to break through basic knowledge of French language
and civilization. The four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking will be equally
emphasized and audio and video materials will be used in class to provide an insight into
French culture.
Sessions are interactive.
Prerequisites
Students with some knowledge of French (even minimal) must take a placement test
before joining any French module at NUS.
Students with undeclared prior knowledge will be asked to drop the module when
discovered.
Textbooks
The required textbook for French 1 (LAF1201) is:
Campus 1, méthode de français, Clé international, Paris, 2005.
Campus 1, cahier d'exercices, Clé international, Paris, 2005.
This textbook and exercise book will also be used for French 2 (LAF2201).
Kinokuniya Bookshop will be coming to NUS at the beginning of the semester to sell the
textbooks to the students of the French program.
A French/English dictionary is also required, at the choice of the student. Students will
also be able to buy a French/English dictionary on those days.
Schedule
The semester consists of 24 lectures (2 sessions per week x 12 weeks) and 11 tutorials
(once a week x 11 weeks). Each session lasts 1 hour 40 minutes. Each student will
therefore have five hours of instructions a week. It takes 3 lectures (approximately one
and a half weeks) to complete each chapter (= unité) of the textbook. This course will
cover the first 6 chapters of the textbook. The remaining 6 chapters will be covered by
the French II Course (LAF2201).
Students will have to do regular homework.
The Tutorials groups will have a smaller enrolment that the lecture groups. During the
tutorials, the students will have oral practice on the topics learned during the lectures,
and will have opportunities to interact with one another and with the teacher more
effectively. Students are encouraged to participate actively in discussions and to ask
questions.
Synopsis
Units
Objectives
Grammar
1. Découvrir la
langue française
Discovering
French
language
2. Faire
connaissance
Meeting
someone for the
first time
3. Organiser
son temps
Managing time
4. Découvrir son
environnement
Discovering
one's
environment
5. S’informer
Getting
information
6. Se faire
plaisir
Enjoying
oneself
1. Introducing oneself / Se présenter
2. Telling whether one understand / Dire si on
comprend
3. Introducing someone / Présenter une personne
4. Naming things / Nommer les choses
5. Good manners / Savoir vivre
6. Understanding grammar / Comprendre la
grammaire
1. Giving information / Donner des informations
2. Asking / Demander
3. Expressing one's preferences / Exprimer ses
préférences
4. Talking about work / Parler de son travail
5. Talking about one's activities / Parler de ses
activités
6. Talking about one's country, city / Parler de
son pays, de sa ville
1. Telling the date / Dire la date
2. Telling the time / Dire l’heure
3. Giving information about a schedule / Donner
des informations sur un emploi du temps
4. Proposing-accepting-refusing / Proposeraccepter-refuser
5. Asking-answering / Interroger-Répondre
6. Making a program / Faire un programme
d’activités
1. Directions / S’orienter
2. Locating / Situer
3. Accomodation / Se loger
4. Expressing ownership / Exprimer la
possession
5 . Schedules of daily life / Connaître les rythmes
de vie
6. Making rules / Fixer des règles
1. Talking about what one did / Dire ce qu’on a
fait
2. Getting information about the past /
S’informer sur un emploi du temps passé
3. Explaining / Expliquer
4. Expressing doubt and certainty / Exprimer le
doute ou la certitude
5. Discovering the connexions between words /
Découvrir les relations entre les mots
6. Knowing how to get information / Savoir
s’informer
1. Buying / Acheter
2. Describing things / Décrire les choses
3. Clothes / S'habiller
4. Expressing quantity / Exprimer la quantité
5. Eating and drinking /Manger et boire
6. Partying / Faire la fête
Present Tense / Conjugaison du
présent (singulier)
Definite-Undefinite Articles / Articles
définis et indéfinis
Negation / Négation simple
Opposition masc/fém et sing/plur
Complément déterminatif avec de
Questions / Interrogation ( est-ce que )
Négation ( pas de )
Conjugaison du présent (pluriel)
Quel interrogatif
Possessive adjectives / Adjectifs
possessifs ( mon/ma, ton/ta, votre )
Expression of situation in time /
Expression de la situation dans le
temps
Pronouns after preposition /Pronoms
après prépositions ( moi, toi, etc .)
Future Tense / Futur proche
Interrogation (inversion du sujet)
Oui/si, moi aussi/ moi non plus
Demonstrative adjectives / Adjectifs
démonstratifs
Adjectifs possessifs et autres formes de
l’appartenance ( à+ pronomde+pronom )
Reflexive verbs / Conjugaison
pronominale
Imperative / Impératif présent
Expression de l’obligation ( Il faut. ..)
Past Tense / Passé Composé
Expression of cause and purpose /
Expression de la cause et du but
Expression of doubt and certainty /
Expression du doute et de la certitude
Someone-something, No one-nothing /
Quelqu’un-quelque chose,
ne...personne-ne...rien
Partitive Articles / Articles partitifs
Expression of quantity / Expression de
la quantité (un peu de, beaucoup de,
quelques, assez de, trop de...)
Action procedure / Déroulement de
l’action (encore, toujours, ne... plus..).
Assessment
Continuous Assessment (inclusive of written and oral tests, quizzes and listening
comprehensions): 100%. No final Exam. The 100% CA is divided as follows:
Written: 60% Comprising grammar tests, written comprehension and essays.
Oral: 40% Comprising two oral tests and 2 short listening comprehension tests.