French - Treshold level (B1) - Understand Belgium

lfran1301  2023-2024  Louvain-la-Neuve

French - Treshold level (B1) - Understand Belgium
5.00 credits
60.0 h
Q1 or Q2
Teacher(s)
Briet Geneviève; Verhulst Nancy (coordinator);
Language
French
Prerequisites
To take this course, students must have reached the level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This should be attested by
  • the ILV placement test organised during the 1st week of each semester
  • OR a recent DELF A2 (less than 1 year)
  • OR having obtained 12/20 or more at the LFRAN1201 course.
Main themes
  • Daily life and Belgian lifestyle (concerning  leisure, gastronomy,  cartoon'),
  • the Belgian political system through the media,
  • the North Sea and natural phenomena.
  • Use of past tenses (passé composé, imparfait),
  • Use of the futur simple, near future, conditional present
  • Use of the subjunctive (possibility, obligation, opinion, feelings);
  • Use of the  passive voice, 
  • Simple relative pronouns,  
  • Negative forms, time localization. 
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 Listening
  • can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure; 
  • can understand the main points of radio news bulletins and simpler recorded material about familiar subjects delivered relatively slowly and clearly.
 
2  Read
  • can scan longer texts in order to locate desired information, and gather information from different parts of a text, or from different texts in order to fulfil a specific task;
  • can find and understand relevant information in everyday material, such as letters, brochures and short official documents;
 
3 Speaking
  • can express his/her thoughts about abstract or cultural topics such as music, films, books;
  • can make his/her opinions and reactions understood as regards solutions to problems or practical questions of where to go, what to do, how to organise an event (e.g. an outing).
  • can express belief, opinion, agreement and disagreement politely.
 
4 Writing
  • can write a short text to express thoughts about abstract or cultural topics such as  music, films;
  • can write personal letters describing experiences, feelings and events in some detail;
  • can take messages communicating enquiries, explaining problems.
 
Content
In this course, students are put in everyday situations where it is necessary to listen, read, speak and write.

In each class, they improve their listening skills through broadcast audio material  ( radio, TV, media, internet),  they have to interact  through  roleplay or in discussion with one or more people, they write about a personal experience and learn how to express their opinion, they discover Belgian lifestyle through  visits, films and songs.
Teaching methods
This course is based on an action-oriented approach, engaging the student in diverse tasks and challenges to acquire a better knowledge of the language, while stimulating the development of receptive (listening and reading) and interactive skills. It also gives way to the learning by the multiple intelligences and the collaboration.
The course takes place face-to-face, but some activities / sessions could take place on Teams if the distance offers educational added value.
Evaluation methods
Certification is based on a continuous evaluation and on a performance in the examination session.
During the semester, the tasks assessed are :
  •     2 written productions, 1 of which is certified (10%);
  •     2 oral activities including 1 certified oral presentation (10%);
  •     participation in class (minimum attendance 75%), exercises on Moodle, involvement in the proposed activities and leading a reading of a text. (10%).
The final exam grade is made up of 5 parts:
  •     a test in week 10 on language proficiency (10%)
  •     a final exam in week 13 or during the January, June or August session, covering the 4 skills (60%) : reading (15%) +  listening (15%) +  writing (15%) + speaking (15%)
In the event of failure (mark below 50%) in at least 1 of the 5 parts of the exam, the mark for the weakest part is applied to the whole exam:
  • In the event of failure in the language proficiency section (mark below 50%): the student has the option of retaking the test only once, before the final exam day, after receiving formative feedback following the first sitting.
  • In the event of failure of one or more competencies on the final exam (mark below 50%): students taking the final exam in August have the option of retaking the failed competency(ies) OR the entire test, if they wish to improve their mark.Students must explicitly inform their teacher of their choice no later than the first day of the session.
Absence (justified or not) from the examination or any part thereof will result in a final mark of absence (justified or not).
Continuous evaluation tasks may not be submitted (for the first time) after the deadline set by the teacher, except in the case of a medical certificate.
No continuous assessment tasks may be presented during the August session.
Other information
This course aims to achieve level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of the Council of Europe
Online resources
https://moodle.uclouvain.be 
Bibliography
Teaching materials
  • Syllabus LFRAN 1301 (objectif B1), Comprendre la Belgique
  • M. Grégoire. Grammaire progressive du français. Niveau intermédiaire (A2-B1), CLE International
  • Plate-forme Moodle : https://moodle.uclouvain.be
Faculty or entity
ILV