French Language Classes

The French – Novice Low 1 course (aka “French 1”) is a 20-hour introductory course intended for learners with no experience learning French. This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the French language as well as tools to understand cultural differences and the basics of intercultural communication with a focus on the French/Francophone culture. The goal is mainly to make the learner to gain an initial level of knowledge, confidence and ease with the French language.

Communicative competence: By the end of French – Novice Low 1, learners will be able to have a basic conversation covering greetings and addressing someone formally and informally. They will also be able to introduce themselves, exchange greetings, ask and answer questions, maintain a simple conversation in areas of immediate need and on general topics, read and understand the information presented in simple paragraphs.

Grammatical competence:  Learners will be introduced to basic language structures such as using “tu” or “vous”, definite and indefinite articles, possessive adjectives, and verbs ending with “er” in the present tense. Students will be exposed to the language structures necessary to advance to French 2.

Required Materials

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Cahier d’activités (workbook, French edition) – 978-0320085079
Tendances methode de francais A1 – Livre de l’eleve (textbook, French edition) – 978-0320085062

Prerequisite: Completion of French  1 or instructor’s permission
Material introduced in this course includes the present tense of -ir and -re verb groups, some irregular verbs, adjectives and adjectival agreement, the present perfect (passé composé) the command form (imperative), the partitive article, adverbs of quantity and frequency, expression of location and telling time, direct and indirect pronouns, and prepositions of places. Vocabulary includes daily habits, directions, work-life, and shopping.

Required Materials:

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Cahier d’activités (workbook, French edition) – 978-0320085079

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Livre de l’eleve (textbook, French edition) – 978-0320085062

Prerequisite: Completion of French  2 or instructor’s permission
French Level 3 will start with reviewing and solidifying skills learned in the previous levels.  By the end of level 3, learners will be able to correspond via letter or email. They will also acquire the vocabulary necessary to introduce and talk about friends or family members. Learners in Level 3 will also be able to talk about important moments in their lives and recall scenes of a movie using time sequence terms and dates.

French 3 students will also be practicing more advanced phonetic tasks such as rhythm and intonation in sentences and how they can impact the meaning of words used. Journal entry is a requirement in this level as the learner will work on more reading and writing skills.

Required Materials:

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Cahier d’activités (workbook, French edition) – 978-0320085079

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Livre de l’eleve (textbook, French edition) – 978-0320085062

Grammaire contrastive pour anglophones – A1/A2 (French Edition) by CLE International. (ISBN: 9782090380217)

Prerequisite: Completion of French 3 or instructor’s permission
This course continues the study of basic grammar including expressions of quantity, narration, hypothesis, time and location, asking questions and interrogative words, immediate future (aller + infinitive), the present tense of some irregular verbs, comparatives, superlatives, and relative pronouns. Vocabulary includes foods, dates, times and places, describing, comparing, evaluating and giving opinions.

Required Materials:

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Cahier d’activités (workbook, French edition) – 978-0320085079

Tendances methode de francais A1 – Livre de l’eleve (textbook, French edition) – 978-0320085062

Grammaire contrastive pour anglophones – A1/A2 (French Edition) by CLE International. (ISBN: 9782090380217)

Prerequisite: Completion of French 4 or instructor’s permission
At this level, the student learns the conditional and the expression of hypothesis, prepositions to locate things in space, uses and conjugations of the imperfect past (l’imparfait) versus present perfect (passé composé), expressions of sequencing and an introduction to reflexive verbs. Vocabulary focus is on feelings and emotions, leisure activities, making plans and recommendations, descriptions of events and giving directions.

Required Materials (Level 5-7):

Tendances A2, Livre de l’élève by Marie-Louise Parizet (2016). ISBN: 978-2090385281

Tendances A2, Cahier d’activités (2016). ISBN:  978-2090385298

Grammaire contrastive pour anglophones – A1/A2 (French Edition). ISBN: 978-2090380217

Prerequisite: Completion of French 5 or instructor’s permission
This course introduces the relative pronouns qui, que and dont, object pronouns y and en, simple future, passive pronominal structures, using the subjunctive after expressions of personal opinion and the impersonal subject. Vocabulary focuses on using arguments to convince people, describing personalities, debating and taking charge of a conversation.

Required Materials (Level 5-7):

Tendances A2, Livre de l’élève by Marie-Louise Parizet (2016). ISBN: 978-2090385281

Tendances A2, Cahier d’activités (2016). ISBN:  978-2090385298

Grammaire contrastive pour anglophones – A1/A2 (French Edition). ISBN: 978-2090380217

Prerequisite: Completion of French 6 or instructor’s permission
This level introduces students to past perfect (plus-que-parfait), passive voice, temporal expressions, subjunctive, passé simple, gerunds, and interrogative forms in the negative. Vocabulary focuses on societal issues, the expression of desire and will, and description of places.

Required Materials (Level 5-7):

Tendances A2, Livre de l’élève by Marie-Louise Parizet (2016). ISBN: 978-2090385281

Tendances A2, Cahier d’activités (2016). ISBN:  978-2090385298

Grammaire contrastive pour anglophones – A1/A2 (French Edition). ISBN: 978-2090380217

Designed for students at the intermediate to low advanced level.  The focus is on increasing comprehension and fluency in the language, vocabulary building and revision of grammar points. Discussion on topics of interest helps students to express their ideas correctly, clearly and effectively.  The course is customized to fit the needs of class members.  Great for travelers too!

This course proposes to introduce intermediate-level language students (and crazed fans of French literature) to selections from important 20th-century works of French fiction. These works and passages have been selected for their fantastic depictions/descriptions/characterizations of Self. For this reason, we will concern ourselves primarily with character-descriptive selections and inter-personal dialogue. Consider this the Hemingway approach to French novels (sans bullfights, boozing, and/or big-game hunting).

Selections will include:

Marcel Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann (1913)
Albert Camus’ L’étranger (1942)
Saint-Exupéry’s Le petit prince (1943)
Jean-Paul Sartre’s Huis clos (1944)
Marguerite Duras’ Moderato cantabile (1958)

WAL can design a special language program for you or your group.  Custom classes are planned with your needs and objectives in mind. WAL has the materials and instructional staff to provide you with an outstanding experience! Choose the number of hours you want to study and the dates of your study and we will design a program just for you.

Custom Programs may be contracted in 10-hour blocks. Meetings must be a minimum of an hour and a half and meet once a week or more. Request a Custom Program here.

Communication is always key, especially in the world of business. Our experienced instructors are ready to come to your office with a tailored, industry-specific approach to language instruction. Program content is customized to meet the needs of individual companies.

Instruction requires a minimum of 10 hours total and a minimum of 1.5 hours per lesson.  Programs are generally scheduled on weekdays. Meeting dates and times are flexible. Instruction can be delivered at corporate sites or at our downtown office.

Please contact us at 206-239-4789 or wal@cityu.edu for more information or to receive quote.