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French Level I (1.5 hours)

9 – 10:30 a.m.

Instructor: Shannon Tumanut

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, etc)
Indefinite and definite articles (un, une, le, la, l, les)
The expression “Il y a….”
Placement of adjectives
Possessive adjectives (mon, ma, mes, etc)
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 the 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 conjuguer 12,000 verbes (verb conjugation), Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166.

French Level 1A (1.5 hours)

9 – 10:30 a.m.

Instructor: Barbara Shaw

This course is designed for students who have completed an introductory course in French, but would like to develop their skills further before moving to French II. The goal of this class is to reinforce and extend the concepts presented in French 1 with an emphasis on travel vocabulary and travel situations. Student participation will include at-home preparation, games, role-play activities, in-class responses to readings and mini-compositions. Cultural aspects are an integral part of this course.

These points will be reviewed briefly:

Greetings and levels of formality
Present tense of regular verbs
Negative structures
Indefinite and definite articles (un, une, le, la, l’, les)

The following concepts will be practiced and expanded:

Essential irregular verbs and idiomatic expressions with être, aller, avoir, faire
Using numbers (to give and receive personal information, to get on the right train, to purchase things, to locate destinations)
Interrogative adjectives and asking questions (to get recommendations, find accommodations, get directions, obtain basic needs)
Agreement and placement of adjectives (to describe a lost article, to purchase goods, to describe a companion, to fill out a police report)

Basic vocabulary will be reinforced and extended in the following areas:

Everyday expressions
Public information signs
Hotels / lodging
Transportation (train, subway)
Eating out / deciphering menus
Stores and services
French expressions used in English

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

French Level II (1.5 hours)

10:30 a.m. - Noon

Instructor: Barbara Shaw

This class builds upon the foundations established in Level I and IA. The goal of the class is to enable students 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

French Level III 1.25 hours

8:45 -10 a.m.

Instructor Hélène Perriguey-Keene

This class builds upon the foundations established in Level II, continuing studies in the same text that is not completed in Level II. The goal of the class is to enable students to achieve a higher level of understanding and ability to communicate in French while covering some of the more intricate aspects of French grammar. Taught by a native speaker, oral communication will be increased from Level II. At-home preparation is required. Cultural and social aspects of French society are an integrated part of this course.

Lessons will include to these aspects of French grammar (and others):

Passé composé
L’ imparfait
Futur
Conditionnel
Direct et indirect objects
Irregular verbs
Irregular adjectives

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

French Guided Conversation – Level IV

11 a.m. - Noon

Instructor: Hélène Perriguey-Keene

Students in this course should have completed Level III French, or its equivalent, having attained an overall foundation in French grammar as well as a comfort level to participate in everyday conversations. Students should be comfortable in a class conducted entirely in French, guided by a native speaker. This is a good class to take in combination with French IV Grammar.

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, take members through a series of exercises that will prepare them to come to class well equipped to discuss the topic of the day. 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.

Course Competencies:

Able to have all class communication take place in French.
Have vocabulary that is broad enough to engage in class discussions.

Books or Materials Used: No text required. Materials and resources for study will be provided by the instructor.

French Grammar - Level IV

10 – 11 a.m.

Instructor: Hélène Perriguey-Keene

Students taking this class should have completed Level III, or its 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 practice and 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 berbs; 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 j eunes: 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 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: NEW BOOK: “Contrastes: Grammaire du francais courant,” by Denise Rochat, First Edition (spiral bound). ISBN 0-13-110123-4

French Café Conversation – Level V (one hour)

Instructors: Cyprienne Simchowitz and Marie-Hélène Moulaert

This course requires that La Causerie members taking it have completed French Guided Conversation - Level IV or its equivalent and are thereby capable of entering into more complex conversations. Students should be comfortable in a class conducted entirely in French, guided by a native speaker.

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.

Books or materials used: Although no texts or manuals are required, regular reading of French newspapers and magazines online is suggested, such as: www.lefigaro.fr www.tout.lemonde.fr www.lepoint.fr www.lexpress.fr

Reference Books: Collins Robert French College Dictionary (French/English-English/French). Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN: 0060892005 and Bescherelle: L’Art de Conjuguer 12,000 Verbes, Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166 and Le Nouveau petit Robert dictionnaire de la langue francaise (French-French), Publisher: Le Robert, ISBN: 2850368261