FRENCH DEPARTMENT

Please use the following guidelines for determining which of La Causerie’s French courses are appropriate for you.

French Level I

Prerequisites: None. This is an introductory course although some students will have studied French some time ago or had a short immersion course in France.

French Level IA

Prerequisites: 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. Students should be familiar with the concepts presented in French 1 although don’t feel they have mastered them (see class description).

French Level II

Prerequisites: This class builds upon the foundations established in Level I and IA.

Students entering this level should. . .

· have command of the present tense conjugations of regular –er, -ir, and –re verbs

· know contractions with the prepositions “à” and “de”

· know basic adjective agreement and position

· be familiar with vocabulary in the following categories: colors, clothing, people, everyday objects, places, transportation

· be able to ask questions using who, what, when, why, how, how much, etc.

· know possessive adjectives: mon, ma, mes, votre, vos, etc.

· be able to express the future using « aller + infinitive »

· be familiar with stress pronouns and their usage: moi, toi, elle, lui, nous, etc.

· know numbers to one million

French Level III

Prerequisites: The focus of this course is to foster linguistic skills. Emphasis will be put on studying the grammar in chapters 8-15 of Contacts. Class will be conducted entirely in French.

Students entering this level should have a solid foundation in:

· the present tense of regular and all common irregular (see level 2) verbs

· formation of the passé compose and its usage

· and be able to respond to classroom instruction and discussion in French

French Guided Conversation -- Level IV

Prerequisites: 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 and have vocabulary that is broad enough to engage in class discussions. This is a good class to take in combination with French IV Grammar.

French Grammar - Level IV

Prerequisites: 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 in French.

French Café Conversation -- Level V

Prerequisites: 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.

Students taking this class should …

· 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.