This subject offers students an introduction to the study of language and culture in the French Studies discipline. The subject is designed to equip students who have little or no previous study of the French language with the skills necessary to become independent language learners, and to develop awareness and understanding of French-speaking cultures throughout the world. While developing mastery of the basic grammatical structures of the language, students will begin interpreting and discussing authentic documents in French, including short written texts, for example poems and proverbs, and audiovisual material such as songs and advertisements. Class work and assessment will focus on the development of reading and writing skills via the interpretation of authentic texts, and also on oral communication skills, including listening comprehension, pronunciation, and discussion of the texts studied. Students will undertake a group project on an aspect of French-speaking cultures. Throughout the semester, students will develop increasing autonomy in their study of the French language and French-speaking cultures throughout the world.

This subject offers students who have completed French 1, or equivalent, an increasing immersion into the study of the French language and of French-speaking cultures throughout the world. Students will develop further autonomy in their study of more sophisticated grammatical structures of the language and in their interpretation of the cultural reference of authentic texts. These documents will be of greater complexity in relation to the previous semester’s work and will include written texts, for example poems and proverbs, and audio-visual material such as songs and a feature film. Students will undertake a research project on an aspect of French-speaking cultures. Reading and writing skills will be developed through the interpretation of authentic texts in French. Oral communication skills will be developed through more sophisticated listening comprehension and pronunciation exercises as well as an in-class oral presentation based on the research project and discussion of the texts studied.

This subject aims to consolidate and enhance the overall language competencies that students from the beginner and intermediate streams have previously acquired in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students will be introduced to the rich history and diversity of the Francophonie, and invited to explore a series of culturally and linguistically diverse Francophone communities around the world. Through their research projects, the weekly reading, discussions and analysis of a wide range of authentic materials (such as short stories, graphic novels, articles, songs, documentaries, films, interviews, news clips, etc.), students will develop effective and appropriate learning and research strategies such that they become independent and competent users of French.

Learning a language involves not only linguistic and cultural proficiency but also the development of skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and digital literacy. This subject offers students the opportunity to develop these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to progress an existing project, in consultation with the industry partner. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in some assessable outcomes in a target language.

The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s project; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines, documenting progress through an online platform; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.