French 6

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

3 contact hours/week, 6 additional hours/week. Total 108 hours.

French 5 or French Language and Culture 1A or achievement of French 5 standard in placement test or as determined by the French Program.

Subject Code(s): FREN10006 or 116-131

FREN30004 French Post-Intermediate 3B. FREN10007 French Language and Culture 1B, 116-133 French I: language B

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject offers high-level French students a course in advanced conversation structure and analysis. It will build on the linguistic and cultural competences acquired in previous levels to develop greater awareness of how the historical, intercultural, political and social aspects of language impact on oral communication in French.

The program will focus on two main areas of conversation: the refinement of conversation as an expression of elegance, intelligence and “esprit” during the Ancien Régime and the political dimensions of contemporary conversation and debate. It will include material on significant cultural taboos and the historical underpinnings of sensitive topics, as well as politeness and registers. Current affairs and contemporary debates will be analysed with an emphasis on situational contexts to consider factors such as goals, intentions, situational constraints and contextual expectancies.

The aims of this subject are to understand the historical significance of the value placed on conversational skills in French society. It will build on the introduction to argumentation in French 5 in oral communication, while strengthening aural comprehension competences. Reading and writing will be maintained, and students will refine their understanding of the differences between the written and the spoken language and of how to move from one to the other.

Students who complete this subject should:

• have achieved a high level of competency in the art of French conversation in different registers
• show awareness of the relationship between conversational and argumentative styles in French
• show awareness of appropriate turn-taking in different social circumstances
• have developed their understanding of the status attributed to the art of conversation in France
• have developed their skills in French argumentative discourse in both oral and written form
• be prepared for entry to French 7 in the core subject sequence in French Studies at The University of Melbourne

• An in-class oral presentation of 1500 words due throughout semester [30%]
• A debate equivalent of 500 words due throughout semester [20%]
• A written work - thèse, antithèse, synthèse- of 500 words due mid semester [20%]
• A research project on a historical aspect of conversation (taboos, style, esprit) of 1500 words due in the examination period [30%]

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

• Material prepared by the French Program and other texts to be announced

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• development of skills in independent learning
• development of skills in critical thinking and in the interpretation of texts
• understanding of the social and cultural sensitivity of language use in particular contexts
• ability to appreciate different cultural contexts present in French-speaking communities
• time management and planning: through managing and organising workloads for required and recommended reading, essay and assignment completion and revision for examinations