La Causerie Française

Early Registration (5/1-5/26): $418

Reg. Registration (5/27-8/14): $440

Late Registration (8/15-9/30):$460

Fridays 11:30am-1:00pm

Class Description: 

This class builds upon the foundations established in Level 1. The goal of the class is to enable students to achieve a higher level of understanding and ability to communicate in French while covering some of the more intricate aspects of French grammar. Comprehension and communication are achieved through in-class work and dialogue as well as at-home preparation. Cultural and social aspects of French society are an integrated part of this course.

Course Outline :  We will study Unités 5 through 8 in the required textbook.  Lessons will include these concepts of French grammar and culture :

   ·Irregular verbs including venir, prendre, mettre, sortir, partir, dormir,vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, suivre, voir, connaître, savoir, ouvrir, lire, dire, écrire

   · “Depuis” and the present tense

   · Distinction among the definite (le, la, les, l’), indefinite (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l’, des)

   · Expressions of quantity

   · Idiomatic expressions with être, avoir, aller, faire

   · Use of “il faut”

   · Direct / Indirect object pronouns (le, la, les, lui, leur, me, te, nous, vous)

   · Affirmative and negative expressions ( souvent, encore, deja, ne…jamais, ne…plus, ne…rien, ne…pas encore)

   · Passé composé with être and avoir

   · The imperfect tense

   · Use of the passé composé and imperfect in past narrative

   · Reflexive verbs

   · Irregular adjectives

   · Tourism and entertainment in France

   · Eating habits and shopping for food

   · University studies

   · Attitudes and values of the French people

By the end of this class members will be able . . .

   ·to converse more easily using the concepts reinforced from French 1

   ·to narrate events in the past—a vacation, one’s childhood, last weekend, an accident

   ·  to communicate in a variety of situations such as buying food in the supermarket, ordering in a restaurant, talking about themselves and family, making introductions, making appropriate responses in social situations, describing where one lives, discussing various forms of entertainment.

Prerequisite: Completion of French 1 at La Causerie or equivalent

Book/Materials: Voila! An Introduction to French, 6th Edition, by L. Kathy Heilenman, ISBN: 1133950124.

Optional Reference Books (not required): A French-English dictionary such as Harper Collins Robert French College Dictionary (Paperback), Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN: 0004707117 (or any HarperCollins French-English dictionaries) and 

Bescherelle: L’Art de conjuguer 12,000 verbes (Verb Conjugation), Publisher: Hatier, ISBN: 2218717166.