French Reading Skills for Research 2: Intermediate

This course is one of our Academic Reading Skills and Language Courses for Durham University Researchers. Information including the schedule and fees can be found here. 

Prerequisites

• French reading skills corresponding to B1 of the Common European Framework (such as an AS-level or an equivalent qualification) or higher, subject to decision by the LFA Language Lead

Aims

• To promote self-motivated study of French as a preliminary to, and as providing an essential tool for, research in the general field of History and other disciplines that require a reading knowledge of the French language.

Content

• Reading skills for academic French.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
• demonstrate a knowledge and an understanding of the basic underlying French grammar;
• demonstrate a knowledge of vocabulary used in French general academic discourse in Arts and Humanities;
• demonstrate a knowledge of specialised French vocabulary used in their field of study.

Subject-specific Skills:

• On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
• extract relevant information and understand original written sources in French with the requisite aids such as dictionaries, grammars and commentaries to hand.
• acquire various reading strategies such as skimming and intensive reading
• make effective use of reference materials such as grammars and dictionaries (standard and online)
• use a range of language-learning techniques and skills by independently developing strategies to extend the lexis in their subject-area and their knowledge of grammar
• understand and translate passages of French of the type and difficulty level likely to be needed for their research
• integrate French academic literature into their research projects

Key Skills:

• At the end of the course students will have enhanced their ability to:
• work as independent learners and researchers
• use reference materials
• apply reading skills and strategies effectively for academic purposes

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module is delivered through seminar style classes and one-to-one tutorials.
• There will be one 2-hour seminar per week for 9 weeks