French for Humanities (20027)
Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 2nd
Term: 2nd
Number of ECTS credits: 6 credits
Hours of studi dedication: 150 hours
Teaching language or languages: Catalan
Teaching Staff: Montserrat Cots /Hélène Rufat
1. Presentation of the subject
This subject is an introduction to the French language in the academic context of Humanities. It aims to provide students with tools and resources to indentify, contextualise and understand French written language. The subject uses an interdisciplinary approach and it is structured in three central themes:
1. Systemic theme. It presents some of the formal aspects of French in a descriptive and practical way. It should be noted, however, that this is not a conventional French course, only oriented to learning this language.
2. Historical theme. It deals with the development of the French language from the origins to the present day. The analysis of the fragments of French literary texts and visual material will allow the study of some of the transformations of the French language throughout the centuries, in connection with the political, economic, social and cultural history in the French speaking countries.
3. Pragmatic theme. This theme will be relevant in all the blocks of the subject. It aims to help students improve their skills in managing information resources (such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias, search engines, and so on).
The following general aims specify this approach:
Developing the capacity to analyse and reflect on language in general
Acquiring French basic knowledge to understand fundamental vocabulary and semantic fields related to Humanities. The students are also expected to understand syntactic structures and to know the most usual verb forms.
Acquiring basic knowledge on French literary tradition and culture.
In order to take this course no previous French knowledge is required.
2. Competences to be attained
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Generals Competences |
Specific Competences |
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Instrumental competences 1. Being able to justify postures with sound arguments both in written and in oral interventions 2. Using deductive reasoning, that is, using premises to reach a conclusion 3. Being able to use a limited set of data to generalise. 4. Having oral and written communication skills. 5. Analysing and synthesising information from diverse sources. 6. Organising and planning academic work 7. Using previously acquired knowledge from other learning activities. 8. Putting new knowledge into practice. Interpersonal competences 1. Being able to work in teams and negotiate meanings. 2. Being able to work individually. 3. Incorporating teamwork in autonomous work. 4. Being able to communicate both in small group (seminars) and large group sessions Systemic competences 1. Creativity. 2. Capacity to learn both autonomously and through continuous formation. |
1. Understanding some aspects of French language history. 2. Understanding intermediate-level (B1) French texts. 3. Developing interest and curiosity for the current situation in French language and literature. 4. Identifying French vocabulary that belongs to a concrete field of knowledge. 5. Using historical and social context to interpret vocabulary. 6. Being able to identify verb forms and to analyse their use in texts. 7. Being able to identify verbal pronouns and analyse their use in texts 8. Being able to understand the precise meaning of French words by combining the use of French monolingual dictionaries and historical and social context knowledge. 9. Understanding some aspects of relations between languages.
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3. Contents
Block 1:
Interculturality and French language (Francophony).
• Unit 1.1:
Roman tradition vs French tradition.
o Uses of Latin/ Uses of vulgar Latin..
o France and languages in this country.
• Unit 1.2:
French language and French Revolution:
o The oldest words.
o French language uses (history).
• Unit 1.3:
Vocabulary:
o Phonetic evolution / orthographic evolution.
o International reception.
o Regional evolutionary processes.
o Use of the French monolingual dictionary Le petit Robert
Block 2:
Interculturality and French language (French influence on other languages).
• Unit 2.1:
In the popular framework:
o In culinary and fashion fields.
o In the army.
• Unit 2.2:
In the cultural framework:
o In science
o In the field of Humanities
• Unit 2.3:
Expressing feelings and experiences
Block 3:
French literature reading comprehension
• Unit 3.1:
Discourse elements:
o Noun phrase; verb phrase
o Invariable elements; determiners; pronouns
• Unit 3.2:
Sentence and typology:
o Order of elements of the proposition.
o Syntactic connectors: uses and values
• Unit 3.3:
Micro and macro structures that organise the text:
o Identification of lexical and semantic fields.
o Use of textual and semantic cohesion.
o Elements related to analysis and thematic contextualisation.
*The full version with the sections 4. Assessment, 5. Bibliography and teaching resources, 6. Methodology and 7. Planning of activities is available in the original version.
4. Assessment
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5. Bibliography and teaching resources
5.1. Basic bibliography
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5.2. Complementary bibliography
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5.3. Teaching resources
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6. Metodology
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7. Planning of activities
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