MODERN LANGUAGES
All new students are required to sit these diagnostic tests (See the Registration Calendar for the time of written and oral tests). Students should arrange a specific time for their oral interview(s) when they register.
Students are advised that certain courses may demand special prerequisites, and these should be checked for each course. In general, passes at Level I in both language and literature are required for entry to all Level II and II course. Students who wish to take a course for which they do not meet the prerequisite should consult the course Lecturer, the Coordinator and/or the Heade of Department.
Language Laboratory: The Language Laboratory is a resource centre where you can improve your French language skills independently or assisted by your lecturers in a class. It offers films, cassette recordings and computer software programmes as well as access to a wealth of information and enjoyable activity via the Internet. The Language Laboratory timetable will be posted on the facility’s main entrance in the second week of teaching. Please consult it for the independent listening hours and make frequent use of the resources on your own.
Please help the Department to keep the lab in the best condition: while there, refrain from eating, drinking tampering with the equipment or doing anything that would lead to the deterioration of the unit and its contents.
Most of the well-known dictionaries needed for French studies are available in the Reference Section of the Campus Library. Each student should, however, secure a personal copy of the bilingual dictionary recommended in the booklists. The dictionaries recommended by the department are:
• The Robert-Collins French-English, English-French Dictionary
• Harrap’s New Shorter French and English Dictionary
• Harrap’s Standard French and English Dictionary
• Dictionnaire du Français: reference apprentissage
The Library also has a number of French magazines which offer interesting reading. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the good supply of periodicals located on the lower floor and should also consult the library texts recommended for further reading in the various courses. :
The student exchange with the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane has been suspended for the year 2004-2005. However, the Department remains committed to promoting study and travel for students specialising in the modern languages. In 2005-2006, it expects to increase opportunities for study abroad by organising student visits to Martinique and Guadeloupe of one month’s duration and by offering an improved exchange programme with the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane It is also exploring contacts with francophone universities outside of the Caribbean.
The French Government awards a limited number of assistantships to final-year students selected by the Department. The successful candidates will spend a year in France. Each assistantship carries a salary sufficient to cover basic living costs. Applicants are advised that they will have to pay their year-round return air-fare and take with them sufficient funds to cover living costs for one month. Proof of health insurance to cover the year in France is also required.
Students are informed that practical criticism forms an integral part of all courses in French literature. Lecturers will advise in the first semester on how you can develop your skills in this area.
You are encouraged to take an active part in the Language Club, visit French-speaking territories, listen to French language radio stations, and read French language magazines and newspapers (a number of these are available in the University Library and from members of staff) in order to expose yourself further to use of the language in authentic situations. Make maximum use of research facilites offered by the library, and material available in the Language Laboratory and the Learning Resource Centre for listening/viewing, in order to improve your speaking skills and knowledge of your area of study.
he Internet provides access to a wealth of information in French. Please note, however, that the University’s warnings about plagiarism apply as much to this mode of information as to any other.
The Department’s mission throughout your programme in French at the Cave Hill Campus is to foster in you a love for the French language and an appreciation for francophone literature and culture in all their diversity, while providing you with the competences necessary for an effective role in the workplace. We look forward to discovering the talents and personalities of new students and will do our utmost to make this an exciting period of learning and development for them as well as for continuing students. Whether you are new or continuing, we ask you to be aware that all disciplines, and language learning in particular, will be less than rewarding if they are seen as a process of note taking at the end of which there is an examination with the necessary concentrated revision. Instead, live French from week to week in the classroom in the Language Laboratory, between classes, in your lecturer’s, offices, at home, in the library, anywhere you see fit. A fruitful year awaits you.
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