FRENCH 211 Studies in Language

Comprehensive review of French grammar, enrichment of vocabulary, and instroduction to French techniques of literary analysis, composition and the organization of ideas.  Prerequisite: At least one unit of 206, 207, 208, or 209, an SAT II score of 690-800, an AP score of 5, or an equivalent departmental placement score,.

We will study fundamental concepts and techniques of literary analysis as they apply to the context of French literature using the course packet prepared by the instructors of the course.  Students will practice reading in depth different literary genres: poetry, short story and novel.  Students will learn to identify the way these texts are organized and techniques an author uses to convey meaning.  In the Fiches de lecture, students will be introduced to the techniques of the “explication de texte”, of the “commentaire composé” of prose and poetry, and of the “dissertation” (formal French essay).

In our readings of prose and poetry, we will focus on concepts such as:

-         connotation and denotation

-        figurative meaning (figures of speech)

-        point of view

-        narrator and characters

-        concepts of time and space in narrative prose

-        French versification

-        sound and rhyme patterns

Students will be acquiring a critical vocabulary for textual analysis and will learn to refine their writing style through intense practice.  They will learn to write proper introductions and conclusions and to organize their ideas in a manner appropriate to each writing assignment.  We will develop the linguistic means necessary for organizing the presentation of information, for putting ideas together, for bringing more precision or nuance into writing, and finally for learning to use new grammatical structures in compositions.

In the grammar component of the course, chapters of the grammar book that introduce new notions will be thoroughly presented and grammar points learned at the intermediate level will be reviewed in detail and presented in a more complex manner.  Students will also learn how to use their grammar book as a reference guide according to their specific needs. In addition, students will further their writing skills in French by learning how to use a bilingual and a French dictionary.

Texts:

Marguerite Mahler, Grammaire expliquée du français contemporain or

Monique Callamand, Michelle Boularès, Grammaire vivante du français 3

Catherine Masson, Fiches de Lecture: initiation à l'analyse de texte et au commentaire composé