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Full Year

French 1B (ELCF08006)

Subject

European Languages and Cultures - French

College

CAHSS

Credits

40

Normal Year Taken

1

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Entry is subject to a placement test. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

The French 1B course is divided into two equally-weighted halves: the LANGUAGE course, and the LITERATURE & CIVILISATION course. Written language classes enable students to establish a sound foundation of grammatical knowledge. Practical (i.e. oral) tutorials with native language tutors complement the written language course by giving students the opportunity to develop their skills in spoken French. The Literature and Civilisation course examines a number of key issues relating to the Literature, Film and Politics of France since 1940. Students who are qualified for admission to French 1B are not admissable to French 1A. Transfers by such students from French 1B to 1A are not permitted.

Course Description

LANGUAGE COURSE 1. Written language tutorials. The emphasis is placed on work that helps students establish a sound foundation of grammatical knowledge, in order to allow for the development of the capacity for autonomous expression on a very wide range of subjects. Working towards this aim involves preparation and classwork activities. Students work on written production exercises as well as translate short texts. The written language course concentrates on formal registers of French - mainly journalistic and literary. These provide varied and authentic contexts in which to study the language in depth. 2. Practical (i.e. oral) tutorials. Practical tutorials with native language tutors complement the written language course by giving students the opportunity to develop their skills in spoken French through group discussion on a variety of topics relating to contemporary France and the Francophone world. Regular attendance, regular preparation and class participation are essential for the achievement of the learning outcomes on this programme. LITERATURE & CIVILISATION COURSE The lectures and tutorials of the course examine a number of key issues relating to the literature, film and political history of France since 1940. Using an integrated approach, the course examines the interaction among the three principal areas studied. Particular attention is paid to a number of common themes which recur in the literature, cinema and political discourse of the period. These common themes include the following: World War II, collaboration and the Holocaust; ideology; colonialism and post-colonial experience; childhood and adolescence; political and personal identity; history, memory and knowledge; gender, race and society; mechanisms of repression, persuasion, and subversion. The literary component of the course will approach the study of literature via the genres of autobiography and the novel. The literary texts studied will explore issues such as representing the self, narrative perspective, temporality, cross-genre experimentation, societal norms, and the role of the media. The film component of the course will provide an introduction to the study of film and will examine the respective contributions of dialogue, framing, editing and lighting to the development of narrative and theme. The politics component will provide an overview of some of the main historical events and political developments of the period (including decolonisation, the foundation of the 5th French Republic, and the challenge to that Republic of the unrest or events of May 1968) and will promote reflection on the social, moral and ideological issues raised by those events and developments.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Students MUST NOT also be taking French 1A (ELCF08005). Auditing this course is not permitted.

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