French as a Second Language

This course aims to improve students’ reading comprehension through attentive and analytical reading as well as develop their written expression by having them compose relatively simple texts in a variety of forms. By taking into account various situations involving written communication, students will acquire context-specific vocabulary and become more proficient with grammar, especially tense sequence and verbal mood.

The goal of this course is to improve students’ oral communication skills, in terms of both comprehension and expression. Students will listen to a wide variety of audio material from a range of sources and genres and will learn to better grasp the content and its nuances. They will also practise giving oral presentations with set objectives in mind. Those two types of exercises—comprehension and expression—will enable them to recognize and formulate complex sentences and pay attention to tense sequence and verbal mood.

The goal of this course is to develop students’ comprehension of texts of moderate difficulty through reading and analytical exercises. The texts will be in different genres (summaries, critiques, reports, etc) and will cover a variety of topics (literary, historical, social, etc). At the end of the course, students will be able to identify the different elements that give a written text its structure, be familiar with the different types of sentences, have a better grasp of syntax, and possess a relatively complex vocabulary.

The goal of this course is to develop students’ ability to express themselves in writing by having them compose texts of varying degrees of difficulty, based on their individual needs. Students will be required to write different types of essays (descriptive, narrative, argumentative, explanatory, etc) on a range of subjects related to culture, current affairs, and more. Through numerous writing exercises and constructive feedback, they will acquire a relatively complex vocabulary, know how to use different verbal moods and tenses, and be able to handle logical relationships (cause, aim, condition, etc.).

In this course, students will practise producing messages that are specific to different speaking contexts. By the end of the course, students will have improved their speaking skills, enriched their knowledge of syntax and verbal moods and tenses, and be able to handle the logical relationships between the different parts of speech that structure thought.

The goal of this course is to improve listening comprehension. Students will listen to different types of audio and audio-visual content (newsletters, reports, conferences, testimonials, songs, short stories, monologues, etc.). At the end of the course, they will have developed their listening and analytical skills and deepened their knowledge of grammar concepts such as comparison, negation and active and passive voices.

Through the study of short stories, both fiction (short story, tale, fable) and non-fiction (autobiographical narrative), students will learn about literary history and narratology in order to better understand modern culture. Through text analysis and creative exercises, students will develop their communication skills both orally and in writing.

This course is aimed at deepening students’ understanding of written and spoken French by having them read fictional and non-fictional works and listen to recordings. By analyzing written texts and audio and audio-visual documents, writing reports and presenting lectures, students will enrich their vocabulary, syntax and ways of expressing themselves on the topic of war. At the end of the course, students will be able to better understand war literature and identify different points of view. They will be able to express themselves clearly and coherently on the subject, both orally and in writing.

By having students read and view plays or a few key play excerpts, this course will explore conflict, dilemma, and the concept of heroism. It will situate the plays in their social, historical or political context and will highlight their cultural or mythological references as well as their stylistic composition. At the end of the course, students will be able to identify the ethical and ideological issues that the dramatic genre evokes through the representation of conflict.

This course examines stories, testimonials and reports about the experience of war, genocide or other extreme situations. By reading and listening to excerpts or entire documents, students will deepen their knowledge on these subjects, distinguish between fact and opinion, and analyze objectivity and subjectivity, which are intimately linked to the field covered. Students will perfect their speaking and writing abilities with the help of exercises on connectors and stylistic devices, and they will focus on expressing themselves clearly and coherently.

Through the analysis of political debates, opinion speeches and advertisements, this course will focus on examining the art of persuasion and the key underlying concepts. Students will analyze the use of those devices within a debate, a plea, deliberative discourse or invective, for example. They will also be taught how to distinguish between literal and figurative meanings and to evaluate the weight that words carry and determine their scope and potential to be convincing. Through oral presentations or written texts, the student will practise different types of oratory and apply various rhetorical techniques.

This course is aimed at developing students’ understanding of the polemics, controversies and debates that fuel the French-language media on various current topics. It will involve reading and listening to key facts, news stories, interviews, newspaper articles, essays and reports, among other things. Students will determine the intention behind those types of speech and learn about their means of expression. They will develop their knowledge of Francophone culture, levels of language, vocabulary, and certain verb tenses and moods.

The goal of the course is to allow students to acquire knowledge of the Canadian Francophonie and some of its cultural, literary, historical and political aspects. Students will analyze texts from various genres: realistic works, opinion pieces, travel stories, etc. By the end of the course, students will have acquired both a deeper understanding of French-Canadian culture and a greater ability to express themselves in an adequate and nuanced manner, both orally and in writing.