French Level I  (1.5 hours)

 

Taught by: Instructor Becky Tucker

 

This is an introductory course designed for students who have never before studied French or have not studied or used their French for many years.  The goal of this class is to provide members with a basic knowledge of French, to encourage comprehension and communication through in class work, dialogue and at-home preparation.  Cultural aspects of French society are an integrated part of this course.  Class work includes an audio portion.

 

Lessons are presented in a logical sequence, including, but not limited to:

·         Formality and Levels of Language (vous and tu)

·         Use of Present and Past Tenses

·         Negative Sentence Structures

·         -er, -ir and –re verbs

·         Etre and Avoir verbs

·         Pronoun “on”

·         Stress Pronouns (moi, toi, lui, ect)

·         Indefinite and Definite Articles (un, une, le, la, l, les)

·         The Expression “Il y a….”

·         Placement of Adjectives

·         Possessive Adjectives (mon, ma, mes, ect)

·         Interrogative Adjectives (quel, quelle, quels, quelles)

·         Demonstrative Adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

·         Asking Questions

·         Imperative Verb Forms

 

By the end of this class members will be able to converse on a wide variety of topics, including, but not limited to:

 

·         Greeting People

·         Using Numbers

·         Using Colors

·         Asking and Giving Directions

·         Telling and Asking Time and Dates

·         Describing Every Day Objects

·         Describing Types of People

·         Talking about Leisure Activities

·         Going Shopping

·         Talking About the Seasons and the Weather

·         Using a Metro in Paris

·         Talking or Asking about Family, Work, Home and Leisure Activities

 

 

Books and Materials Used: Contacts – Langue et Culture Françaises by Jean-Paul Valette and Rebecca M. Valette; Seventh Edition – Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; Student Edition: ISBN: 0-618-00748-2

 

Reference Books: Cassell’s French and English Dictionary (Paperback), Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., ISBN: 0020136803 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuger 12,000 Verbes (Verb Conjugation), Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166.

French Level II (1.5 hours)

 

Taught by: Instructor Becky Tucker

 

This class builds upon the foundations established in Level I.  The goal of the class is to enable La Causerie Française members to achieve a higher level of understanding and ability to communicate in French while covering some of the more intricate aspects of French grammar.  Comprehension and communication are achieved through in-class work and dialogue as well as at-home preparation.  Cultural and social aspects of French society are an integrated part of this course.

 

Lessons are presented in a logical sequence including, but not limited to:

 

• Additional –er, -ir, and –re verbs
• “Depuis” and the present tense
• Partitive Articles (du, de l’, de la, des)
• Idiomatic Expressions with “Faire”
• Use of  “Il Faut”
• Pronouns (le, la, les, lui, leur, me, te, nous, vous)
• Relative Pronouns (qui, que)
• Expressions with “quelqu’un” and “quelque chose”
• Affirmative and Negative Expressions ( souvent, encore, deja, ne…jamais, ne…plus, ne…pas encore)
• Imperfect, Pluperfect, Future, Conditional, Subjunctive Tenses
• Pronouns “y” and “en”
• Reflexive Verbs
• Irregular Adjectives
• Adverbs Ending in “-ment-” 

 

By the end of this class members will be able to converse on a wide variety of topics, including, but not limited to:  

 

• Describing where you have been on vacation
• Obtaining a room in a hotel or other lodgings
• Ordering from a menu
• Buying groceries
• Writing and sending a post card
• Describing your visit to a museum, movie or theatre
• Talking about various countries of the world
• Talking about your favorite sports
• Talking about your health / body
• Talking about friendship / love / marriage

 

Books and Materials Used: Contacts – Langue Et Culture Française by Jean-Paul Valette and Rebecca M. Valette; Seventh Edition – Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; Student Edition: ISBN: 0-618-00748-2

 

Reference Books: Cassell’s French and English Dictionary (Paperback), Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., ISBN: 0020136803 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuger 12,000 Verbes (Verb Conjugation), Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166.  

French Grammar - Level III  (one hour)

 

Taught by: Instructor Helene Perriguey-Keene

 

This course requires that the La Causerie Française members taking it have completed Level I and Level II, or their equivalent, having attained an overall foundation in French grammar.  Members taking this course should be comfortable participating in every day conversations.  The goal of this class is to, with advance preparation, review and practice, achieve the ability to discuss topics of interest with relative ease.  The classes are structured to encourage dialogue.  Homework, including work with an audio CD, is designed to have members come to class ready to put into practice what they have studied and to be ready to communicate with their fellow members about the topics while using the pertinent grammar points that they have covered at home.  Grammatical points will be reviewed in class throughout the year while students explore literary and cultural aspects of French Life.  Activities are designed to build upon and expand linguistic knowledge through readings and communicative activities.

 

Topics and Grammar points reviewed throughout the year include:

 

·         Le Commerce et La Consommation: The Present Tense of Regular –er Verbs; Stem-Changing –er Verbs; The Imperative; Irregular Verbs; Nouns; Articles; Voila and Il y a.

·         Modes De Vie: Regular –ir Verbs; Regular –re Verbs; Negation; Basic Question Patterns; Reflexive and Reciprocal Verbs; Irregular-oir Verbs; Idioms with Etre and Avoir; Depuis + Present Tense.

·         La Vie Des Jeunes: Irregular –ir Verbs; Descriptive Adjectives; Il / Elle est and C’est; Possessive Adjectives; Demonstrative Adjectives; Adverbs; The Comparative and Superlative of Adjectives.

·         Les Telecommunications: Irregular-oire Verbs; Irregular –re Verbs; The Passé Compose with Avoir and Etre; Basic Question Patterns with the Passé Compose; Placement of Adverbs with the Passé Compose; Uses of the Passé Compose.

·         La Presse Et Le Message: Formation of the Imperfect; Uses of the Imperfect; The Pluperfect; Choosing Past Tense; Dates.

·         Le Mot Et L’Image: Interrogative Adverbs; Expressing Time; Interrogative Pronouns; Quel and Lequel.

·         Les Transport Et La Technologie: Object Pronouns; Disjunctive Pronouns; Possessive Pronouns; Demonstrative Pronouns

·         A La Fac:  Present Subjunctive; Formation of the Past Subjunctive; Uses of the Subjunctive; The Subjunctive after Certain Conjunctions; The Subjunctive after Indefinite Antecedents; The Subjunctive in Superlative Statements.

·         La Francophonie:  Prepositions with Infinitives; Other Uses of Prepositions; The Present Participle; Relative Pronouns.

·         Decouvrir Et Se Decouvrir: Formation of the Future and the Future Perfect; Uses of the Future and the Future Perfect; Formation of the Conditional and the Past Conditional; Uses of the Conditional and the Past Conditional; Tense Sequences.

 

Books or Materials Used: Interaction – Revision de Grammaire Française by Susan St. Onge and Ronald St. Onge; Septieme Edition – Text + Audio CD Package; Publisher: Thomson Heinle; Student Edition: ISBN 1-4130-1647-2

 

Reference Books:  Collins Robert French College Dictionary (French/English-English/French). Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN: 0060892005 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuger 12,000 Verbes, Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166

French Guided Conversation – Level III (one hour)

 

Taught by: Instructor Helene Perriguey-Keene

 

A new and exciting approach to Guided Conversation, this course requires that the La Causerie Française members taking it have completed Level I and Level II, or their equivalent, having attained an overall foundation in French grammar as well as a comfort level to participate in every day conversations.  This class may be taken alone or it is an excellent class to take in conjunction with French Grammar – Level III.  The goal of this class is to teach members to effectively and successfully manage conversations, moving from the controlled to the spontaneous as the book progresses.  Class work is guided conversation.  Homework, including study with an audio CD, is designed to take members through a series of exercises that will prepare them to come to class well equipped to discuss the topic of the day.  Each chapter of the text is organized around high-frequency functions needed to interact with native speakers: how to initiate, maintain and close conversations; how to communicate and respond to feelings and emotions; how to express opinions and how to give and get information.  Deceivingly simplistic by initial appearance, the methods employed throughout the text prove to be well thought out and highly effective.  The strategies being used in this class will help members to reactivate and strengthen and build upon what they already know with the objective of attaining the higher level of language needed in more sophisticated interactions and discussions including literary and cultural.

 

Topics and Conversational Strategies include:

 

• Participer A Une Conversation: “Eh bien…je…euh…”; Faire connaissance-premiers contacts /Faire des presentations / Prendre conge; Le jeu de la conversation; Entrer dans une conversation / Gagner du temps; Improvisions.
• Demander Et Rendre Service: “Tu pourrais me donner un coup de main?”; Demander un service; Demander des services; Accepter/ Hesiter/ Refuser; Accepter ou refuser de rendre service; Demander service a une personne qu’on ne connait pas; Improvisions.
• Demander Et Donner Des Conseils: “A ta place, je…”; Demander des conseils / Donner des conseils; Conseiller tout en reagissant; Encore des conseils; Improvisions!
• Faire Des Projets: “Si on allait…”; Proposer un voyage / Reagir affirmativement / Marquer l’indecision / Reagir negativement / Prendre une decision; Vous et les voyages; Demander a quelqu’un de faire quelque chose / Accepter de faire quelque chose; Organiser un voyage; Improvisions.
• Exprimer Ses Sentiments Et Opinions: “Pas vrai!”; Exprimer les sentiments (compassion, colere, deception, surprise, bonheur, irritation, indifference); affirmative/negative, redundancy; Indiquer ses reactions; / Demander et donner une opinion; nos opinions; reagir aux opinions des autres; Improvisions.
• Raconter Des Histoires: “D’abord…ensuite…enfin”; Annoncer le sujet du recit / Prendre la parole / Ceder la parole / Se reseigner sur les details (personages, situation, evenements, mobiles, resultants); Organizer un recit (au present); Raconter; Organiser un recit (au passé); Improvision.
•  Parler De La Literature: “Ils’agit de…”; Faire un modele actantiel; Resumer l’intrigue; Analyser un conte; Analyser un personage / Parler du sens; Evaluer; Improvision.
• Discuter De L’Actualite: “Je viens de voir que…”; Initier une conversation sur les actualites; Quoi de neuf?; Resumer / Reagir aux actualites; Qu’est-ce que vous en pensez?; Presenter un sujet d’actualite; Improvisions.

 

Books or Materials Used: Du Tac Au Tac – Managing Conversations in French by Jeannette D. Bragger and Donald B. Rice; Third Edition – Text + Audio CD Package; Publisher: Thomson Heinle; Student Edition: ISBN 1-4130-0366-4.

 

Reference Books:  Collins Robert French College Dictionary (French/English-English/French). Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN: 0060892005 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuger 12,000 Verbes, Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166    

 

 

French Café Conversation – Level IV (one hour)

 

Instructor: Cyprienne Simchowitz

 

This course requires that La Causerie members taking it have completed French Guided Conversation - Level III or its equivalent and are thereby capable of entering into more complex conversations. 

 

Course Competencies:

 

• Have the ability to have all class communication take place in French.
• Have vocabulary that is broad enough to engage in discussions on a wide range of topics.
• Have the ability to speak with a high degree of grammatical proficiency.
• Have the ability to engage in full-length discourse.
• Have the ability to participate actively in discussions including asking and answering questions.
• Have the ability to elaborate upon, restate or defend a point of view.

      

The goal of this class is dynamic conversations achieved through the exchange of ideas and information.  The professor will moderate discussions and correct usage with minimal explanation.  Topics of conversation will be given by the professor in advance thereby providing members with adequate time to do any necessary research or other homework in order to come to class fully prepared to be engage in conversation.  Members are welcome to suggest topics to be discussed at a future date.  Any handouts are to be given out in advance of the day of discussion to avoid the reading of materials in class thus ensuring lively conversation.  Once per month, the topic of conversation will be based on one of the topics in Champs-Elysees.  The class will choose one of the stories to be read and reviewed at home in advance of class time.  Champs-Elysee is an important and useful component of this class.  It keeps members current with the political, economic, social and cultural life of France.  Additionally, it encourages continued at home practice of auditory skills and provides members with a source of new vocabulary and current expressions as well as information on French life. 

 

Books or materials used:  Champs-Elysees audio program and printed transcript.   Can be purchased at a discounted rate through La Causerie Française. 

 

Reference Books: Collins Robert French College Dictionary (French/English-English/French). Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN: 0060892005 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuger 12,000 Verbes, Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166 and Le Nouveau Petit Robert Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise (French-French), Publisher: Le Robert, ISBN: 2850368261