Bienvenue! Welcome to our French programme in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages! This is the place to explore the beautiful French language and the exciting French culture. Our French programme offers language courses at six levels that lead to B1.1 proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). We also offer courses that introduce different aspects of French culture. Students can take French courses as electives or they can declare French as their minor. Our programme strongly emphasizes e-learning and our students are encouraged to make use of online materials and develop their skills through individual and collaborative projects in French. We collaborate with universities in France, where students can attend summer intensive language courses. The credits earned can be counted towards your minor studies at CUHK. You don’t need any knowledge of French when you want to join our programme!

Why study French?

• French is spoken in 55 countries across five continents and by over 200 million people. French is an official language of 29 countries on 5 continents.
• French is the or an official working language of the UN, NATO, UNESCO, the International Olympic Committee, the European Union, the International Red Cross and much more!
• French is the fifth most common language on the Internet. Connect with pen pals, visit foreign websites and find student exchange opportunities.
• French traditionally opens the doors to disciplines like art, music, fashion, food, literature and architecture.
• French can make you more competitive in the national and international job market in disciplines like business, medicine, aviation, law, transportation technologies, and of course luxury goods.
• French is the language of influential, religious, and intellectual movements. Jean Calvin helped define Protestantism; Enlightment writers like Voltaire championed human rights; Simone de Beauvoir was a prominent feminist, and Michel Foucault was a founder of postmodernism.

Minor programme in French Studies

Students are required to complete a minimum of 18 units of courses as follows:

Explanatory Notes:

FREN1000 FRENCH I (Course Outline) As the first in a series of six language courses, this course invites students WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF FRENCH to explore the basic features of the French language. Supported by audiovisual aids, students will receive intensive practice in spoken and written French through interactive class work, homework and online exercises. They will become familiar with the basic concepts of French grammar and learn how to interact in some simple everyday situations. Note: if you have studied French before, please contact the teacher.

FREN1001 Invitation to French Online (Course Outline) [This course is offered via asynchronous online mode. Students should register the course via KEEP, a CUHK eLearning platform where the course materials are uploaded.]

This course is for students without prior knowledge of French to discover some aspects of the French culture along with some basic elements of the French language. With the support of audio-visual materials, short textual information, different interactive tasks and online tests, it aims to help students get familiar with practical and cultural aspects of daily life in a French-speaking environment. It serves as a taster for students who might consider taking three-unit or six-unit French courses offered by the French programme of CUHK in the future.

Students intending to take any of the one-unit language courses to be offered via online mode must read the following information: One-unit Online Language Courses – Information for Students

FREN1100 Made In France (Course Outline) This course is designed to present the French society and culture from a cross-cultural perspective. We will particularly examine the aspects of behavior, attitudes and customs of the French in modern France, as well as their image in the world.

No prerequisites.

FREN2000 FRENCH II (Course Outline) Building on the knowledge acquired in FREN1000, this course aims to further develop students’ ability to communicate in French in various everyday situations. It also seeks to give students a taste of French culture and invites them to explore cultural differences. Through intensive practice students will develop more confidence in interacting in French while further expanding and solidifying their understanding of the basic grammar and pronunciation patterns. Prerequisites: FREN 1000 or equivalent competence.

FREN2001 FRENCH III (Course Outline) This course aims to further enhance students’ communication skills in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including daily routine, eating habits, more formal situations and simple professional contexts as well as reporting past events.

Prerequisite: FREN 2000 or FREN 2050 or equivalent competence

FREN2020 Sounds of French (Course Outline) This course is an introduction to the phonetic system of the French language. Illustrations and examples will be taken from modern spoken French. Similarities and differences to other languages will also be examined when appropriate. Students learning French are encouraged to take this course. Although theoretical content will be provided on French phonetics, students must conceive this course as a workshop rather than a lecture. Constant practice through pair work, games, interactive activities, recordings will be included and active participation from the students is therefore expected. Each week the course is divided between a long period in a normal classroom, and a short period in a language laboratory.

Prerequisite: FREN2000 or FREN2050 or equivalent competence.

FREN2050 French I & II (Course Outline) This course covers the full syllabus of FREN1000 and FREN2000.This is a summer intensive French language course, which invites students without prior knowledge of French to explore the basic features of the French language. Supported by audiovisual aids, students will receive intensive practice in spoken and written French through interactive class work, homework and online exercises. This course aims to further develop students’ ability to communicate in French in various everyday situations. It also seeks to give students a taste of French culture and invites them to explore cultural differences. Through intensive practice students will develop more confidence in interacting in French while developing their understanding of the basic grammar and pronunciation patterns.

Note: if you have studied French before, please contact the teacher.

FREN2100 Exploring French Literature (Course Outline) This course introduces students to some landmarks in the history of French literature from the 16th to the 20th century. The historical, intellectual and literary context of each century will be explored in class, together with literary texts. This course will engage students in the reading and analysis of literary works from a range of genres including the novel, poetry, and drama. Emphasis will be put on literary context and the analysis of literary works. Since this is an introductory course, no specific knowledge is required.

FREN3000 FRENCH IV (Course Outline) This course aims to further enhance students’ communication skills in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including talking about leisure and vacation, childhood, and expressing one’s opinion.

Prerequisite: FREN 2001 or equivalent competence.

FREN3001 FRENCH V (Course Outline) This course builds on the knowledge acquired through previous French language courses. It aims at leading students to become independent users of French. To achieve this goal, students will be encouraged to work project-based through independent or collaborative work with their peers.

At the end of this course students will have mastered the most important grammar features of French and be able to communicate effectively about their personal projects and society matters such as volunteering and health, and also dealing with practical steps to rent a holiday resort or book a plane ticket online.

Prerequisite: FREN3000 or 3050 or equivalent competence.

FREN3002 FRENCH VI (Course Outline) This course focuses on the further development of communication skills in French with emphasis on the expression of personal views and the training of argumentative strategies. The course will also engage students in critical reflections on various topics such as environmental issues, wildlife in France and gender equality. Students will also discover French do’s and don’ts in a job interview.

Prerequisite: FREN3001 or equivalent competence

FREN3021 French Conversation I (Course Outline) This course aims to enhance students’ oral communication skills in French. Through selected student-oriented stimuli and topics related to everyday situations, students will practice to react spontaneously in social interaction and acquire conversational techniques commonly used in a French-speaking environment. Classroom activities may include dialogue, role-play, narration, speech and discussion in direct approach or using multimedia. Lively oral practice and an interactive learning environment will help students to build language confidence and fluency.

Prerequisite : FREN 3000, 3001, 3002, 3050, 3051 or equivalent competence.

FREN3031 French Reading and Creative Writing This course is designed for students who study French and want to enhance their reading and writing skills through literary texts and excerpts. The emphasis will be placed on the reading of French texts and poems which lead to creative writings in French. The objective of the course is to equip students with language keys to comprehend the texts and subsequently produce creative texts in French. All texts are in French.

FREN3041 Business French I (Course Outline) This course builds on the knowledge acquired through previous French language courses. It aims to acquire professional skills in the business context. To achieve this goal, students will be encouraged to work with the project through self-employment or in collaboration with their peers. At the end of this course, students will have mastered several fields linked to the business context and its environment. Thus, they will be able to communicate effectively and professionally in a wide range of situations every day and will know the main functions of the company.

Prerequisite: FREN3000, 3001, 3002, 3050 or 3051 or equivalent competence.

FREN3050 FRENCH III & IV (Course Outline) This is a summer intensive French language course, covering the full syllabus of FREN2001 and 3000. This course builds on the knowledge acquired through previous French language courses. Students will be encouraged to work project-based through independent or collaborative work with their peers. This course aims to further enhance students’ communication skills in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including daily routine, eating habits, more formal situations and simple professional contexts as well as reporting past events. Students will also be able to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including talking about leisure and vacation, childhood, and expressing one’s opinion.

Prerequisite: FREN2000 or 2050 or equivalent competence.

FREN3051 FRENCH V & VI (Course Outline) This course builds on the knowledge acquired through previous French language courses. It aims at leading students to become “independent users” of French. To achieve this goal, students will be encouraged to work project-based through independent or collaborative work with their peers.

At the end of this course students will have mastered the most important grammar features of French and be able to communicate effectively about their personal projects and society matters such as volunteering and health, and also dealing with practical steps to rent a holiday resort or book a plane ticket online.  This course also focuses on the further development of communication skills in French with emphasis on the expression of personal views and the training of argumentative strategies.  The course will also engage students in critical reflections on various topics such as environmental issues, wildlife in France and gender equality. Students will also discover French do’s and don’ts in a job interview.

FREN3060 French through Short Films (Course Outline) This course aims to strengthen and expand students’ language skills like speaking, listening, writing and reading. This will allow students to have better understanding of French culture and current French societal tendency. It places special emphasis on conversational fluency, grammatical accuracy and vocabulary acquisition. The course is mainly designed from several awarded shorts films and one movie. TV commercials and short videos will be used as supplementary materials. These pedagogical resources will provide the basis for interactive class activities that will help students to develop their language skills and to build language confidence. The course also aims to enhance students’ critical analysis on popular beliefs like clichés about France.

Prerequisite: FREN 3000, 3001, 3002, 3050, 3051 or equivalent competence.

FREN3100 Special Topics in French (Course Outline) This course aims at furthering students’ understanding of selected area(s) of French language, literature or culture. Topics will vary from year to year. Offerings with different subtitles can be taken up for credit, up to a maximum of two times.

FREN3110 French through Literature (Course Outline) This course aims at enhancing the student’s command in reading and writing of French through the study of French literary works. Through activities such as creative writing, drama performance, role-playing and group discussion, students will familiarize themselves with different literary forms (poems, novels, plays, etc.) in French. The course also aims at enriching student’s general knowledge about French literary culture and allowing them to explore the writings of selected famous French authors in the specific context of their historical/biographical and cultural background. Students will be exposed to selected works through multimedia such as movies, voice recordings, songs and visual illustrations.

Prerequisite: FREN3000, 3050, 3001, 3002, 3051 or equivalent competence.

French language and culture:

Online dictionary
http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/

French language learning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/ (BBC French language course)
http://french.about.com/ (French language course)
http://phonetique.free.fr/indexgb.htm (Phonetics with API system)
http://www.languagecourse.net/online-grammar/out.php3?site=1062254666 (French grammar)

French media
http://www.lemonde.fr/ (“Le Monde” newspaper)
http://www.tv5.org/ (“TV5“ online TV)

Tourism
http://www.francetourism.com/
http://us.franceguide.com/home.html?NodeID=1

French Culture
http://www.understandfrance.org/

Official websites

Government of France
http://www.gouvernement.fr/

French Consulate in Hong Kong
http://www.consulfrance-hongkong.org/spip.php?rubrique2 

French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Hong Kong
http://www.fccihk.com/