Course Title: French 1

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: French 1

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

LANG1408

City Campus

Postgraduate

365H Global, Urban and Social Studies

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2024,
Sem 2 2024

Course Coordinator: Dr. Alexis Bergantz

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8203

Course Coordinator Email: alexis.bergantz@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 37, Level 5, Room 26

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Assumed Knowledge 

LANG1408 French 1 assumes no previous experience with the French language. It caters for students who did not learn French at school and who would like to start French at university, as well as those with a very limited experience of the language (up to Year 9 or A0/A1 on the CEFR*).  

Students who studied French to Year 10 must contact the course coordinator to sit a placement test. This course is not available to students who have completed standard Year 12 French (i.e. 4 or 5 years at high school). If you have completed Year 12 French, please enrol in LANG1402 French 5. Students with evidence of a minimal pass for Year 12 French, or who completed Year 12 French several years ago, should contact the course coordinator to request a placement test. Please note that enrolments may be refused on the basis of previous French study or abilities, and enrolment in a different course may be recommended. A student’s enrolment in a course for which s/he holds incompatible qualifications may be cancelled at any time. This cancellation may involve forfeiture of credit, and students may remain liable for course fees. 

* Common European Framework of Reference for Languages 


Course Description

This course is the first of eight consecutive courses in French offered at RMIT University. 

This course will introduce you to the French language, with the main focus on the development of your speaking, listening, pronunciation, reading and writing skills. It will provide you with opportunities to apply the language in a variety of situations, such as exchanging personal information, talking about your family and friends, and acquiring some basic grammar and vocabulary. 

You will also explore aspects of Francophone cultures and society, and the relationship between culture and language. The course will equip you with some basic knowledge for cross-cultural situations with French speakers. This beginner course will provide the building blocks for future studies in French and provide you with some tools for independent learning. 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course will complement the RMIT capabilities you are developing in your program.


Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: 

  1. Communicate in both oral and written French in a limited range of social contexts, including greetings, introductions, simple instructions, and be able to describe people and places 
  1. Read, interpret and comprehend simple authentic spoken, written and multimedia French materials 
  1. Evaluate language learning strategies and techniques to develop your language skills, and demonstrate independent learning 
  1. Analyse, identify and discuss aspects of Francophone cultures and the relationship between culture and language 
  1. Describe and critically present your own cultural values and norms, beginning to reflect on and develop your knowledge of cross-cultural communication issues and challenges. 


Overview of Learning Activities

A variety of structured in class exercises provide opportunities to develop your skills, with emphasis placed on communicative skill building, guided and natural conversations, and hypothetical situations. 

Multimedia teaching and learning resources, and readings relating to sociolinguistics and cross-cultural communication issues will be introduced and discussed. Various role-plays, exercises and games are employed to expose potential difficulties which may arise in cross-cultural communication. 

You will be expected to participate actively in many pair and group activities and to use French as often as possible. Therefore, regular class attendance is important to support your learning. 


Overview of Learning Resources

You may need to purchase a prescribed text and a recommended language dictionary. Multimedia teaching and learning resources and tools will also be used and made available through MyRMIT Studies.

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. 

Assessment Tasks 

Assessment Task 1: In-class test 1 (10%); In-class test 2 (10%) CLO1, CLO2 

Assessment Task 2: Oral assignment, (20%), CLO1, CLO2 

Assessment Task 3: Contribution to peer-learning (10%) including reflective task, CLO1, CLO3, CLO4, CLO5. 

Assessment Task 4: Final oral task (20%) CLO1, CLO2 ; Final listening and written task (30%), CLO1, CLO2, CLO4, CLO5. 

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks. 

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more. 

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.