Presents procedure for designing a course in directed conversation in a second language, including choosing topics and developing workbooks that become the psychologically accepted replacement for an official text and a tool for the teacher. Gives two sample units. (Author/BK)

Discusses a course offered in both French and English at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia that is based on the study of representations of Paris from the Middle Ages to the present. It uses architecture as a point of departure and explores the myth of Paris as expressed through a profusion of images in literature, painting, and film.…

Traces the evolution of the unexpected popular and critical success of French musicals during recent years and describes a course designed and taught on the comedie-musicale moderne. Used a variety of Internet sites to expand and enrich the traditional notion of text to include thematic, visual, and lyrical elements by making the musical…

Discusses two key problems that plague intermediate French courses, particularly the overemphasis on the formal study of grammar and the neglect of content. Suggests that emphasis be shifted to a coherent presentation of contemporary culture, and that grammar be relegated to its proper place as the vehicle of effective communication. (MES)

Describes a French introductory course that prepares students to travel in France and relies entirely on materials and themes related to such travel. Use of realia and props helps the instructors to stage real-life situations. Emphasis is placed on comprehension and oral language communication. (MES)

Describes a one-semester French course taught by undergraduates and offered to elementary school students. The course stresses basic French vocabulary, a variety of interesting activities such as skits and songs, and parent participation through a "parents' night." (AM)

A Mount Holyoke College course on gender and the development of modern fiction focused on the novel in eighteenth-century France, emphasizing women writers, writings about women, and the application of modern feminist criticism to the genre. (MSE)

A course designed to establish interpersonal communication as the context for learning French and focusing on rhythm of communication as the course's primary objective is described. (MSE)

A third-year university French composition course aims to develop student interest in/knowledge about a topic; promote discussion/writing of ideas, personal opinions, and experiences; help students explore the topic through progressively more difficult writing tasks; focus on communication of ideas, with some attention given to form; teach…

Describes the components, course objectives, texts and materials, and structure and assignment of The American University's translation course, which hones students' foreign language competence through its focus on the short-term goal of attention to subtleties of meaning in the foreign language and nuance of expression in English. (CB)

The graduate program in French civilization at the Pennsylvania State University includes an experimental course in introductory teaching theory and methods, complemented by a one-credit course in research methods and bibliography. The methods course presents interdisciplinary techniques of cultural analysis and cultural history. An extensive…

A French course for graduate students and professors preparing for field work in West Africa is described. Difficulties included defining the context for the language's use, time constraints, and learners' job-orientation and tendency to set their own standards of performance. Students' preexisting knowledge of the subject was an advantage. (MSE)

New video technologies available for French second-language instruction are reviewed, and their incorporation into a Pennsylvania State University third-semester French course is described. Issues discussed include considerations of media availability, authentic vs. contrived video, second-language acquisition theory, and curricular goals and…

An intensive college-level French language course, based on the principles of immersion and designed to aid students in the transition between intermediate and advanced proficiency levels, is described. Focus is on three course aspects: teacher contacts; meetings with native-speaking students; and use of audiovisual aids. (21 references) (MSE)

Describes a one-semester conversational language course based on specific proficiency goals. The oral proficiency pre- and posttests, goal contracts outlining performance objectives for each chapter of the text, specific instructional and grading techniques, and class activities are detailed. (MSE)