MGFR6200 French and Didactics for French 1, Module 2 Course description

After completion of the course, the student will have acquired the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence.

Knowledge

The student

• can communicate in French and has oral and written skills corresponding to advanced B1 level of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
• is able to adjust the knowledge to the capacity of teenage learners
• can communicate about culture and society in French-speaking countries, including culture, history and geography,
• can communicate about French-speaking countries with the use of visual art, literature, music, cinema and cultural events.

Skills

The student

• is capable of using French corresponding to advanced B1 level : linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic level
• is capable of selecting the elements of the everyday-life in France relevant to teach in a task-oriented approach, by using authentic materials including literature and art.
• can develop a course in French dedicated to pupils from class 5 to 10 following an task oriented approach
• is able to plan classes with of grammar, selecting basic grammar structures in French and teach these elements for a public of pupils (class 5-10)

General competence

The student

• is capable of integrating the basic skills in the French language subject for everyday life even in unexpected situations and related to multimodal artistic formats.
• is capable of assessing his/her own teaching practice
• is able to explain and justify own learning and communication strategies
• has developed multilingual competence
• has developed intercultural competence
• can develop multilingual and intercultural competence in own teaching practice

Language:

Oral and written skills focused on vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Culture and society in French-speaking countries:

Cultural, historical, geographical expressions, and everyday life knowledge about France and French-speaking countries through visual art, literature, song and cinema and cultural events.

Didactics of grammar:

Selecting basic grammar structures in French and teaching these elements for a public of pupils (class 5-10)

Didactics and developing own teaching material:

How to select authentic material (primarily literary texts), and how to develop a course from authentic documents.

The teaching method will be based on a task approach, where a reflexive learning method will be the general working method. The session in Caen will be an intensive and immersive session during the second semester, and the students will be able to select and to identify on their own elements of cultural events, of everyday life that can be useful for the development of own teaching practice.

Every module is seen as having two goals that work together: learning and teaching French.

Collaborative work in groups is encouraged, not only during the sessions in Oslo and in Caen, but also by e-learning method: peer-learning, exchange of good practices moderated and supervised by a teacher, collaborative and individual digital portfolio. The group of in-service students is at that time constituted and the main goal is to allow efficient co-working and make sure that the new knowledge and skills will be transferred into the students’ own classrooms in lower secondary school.

The organisation is as follows:

• intensive course in Caen: courses in the classrooms of the university, school outings and investigations in the city
• online period with supervision: online courses, tasks on the platform, feedback from the peers and the teachers, digital portfolio consisting on an individual blog and an open forum moderated by the teacher; an online course delivered in synchronous time (frequency to be defined). The portfolio is a reflexive task allowing the teacher to ask questions about the way he/she learns French, which is why it is based on the language course. The didactics modules will help the teacher to develop his/her own grammar and other type of teaching material. The portfolio will also help the student to examine how he/she selects the material and to define how he/she will use it in the classroom.
• intensive course in Oslo: courses in the classrooms of the university

80 % attendance and participation in face-to-face weeks and virtual sessions.

The following coursework requirements must be approved before the student can take the exam:

- One oral presentation related to French language (10 minutes, online)

- One individual written assignment related to French society and culture (300 words, +/- 10 %).

- One individual written assignment related to teaching of grammar (350 words +/- 10 %).

- One individual written assignment related to selection of authentic texts (350 words, +/- 10 %.

- One oral presentation related to selection of authentic texts (10 minutes, online).

The course requirements aim to enhance oral and written skills integrating a task focused on vocabulary and grammatical structures. Further, they aim to evaluate students’ ability to analyse teaching and learning materials in order to plan and conduct teaching for pupils in class 5-10.

Oral exam: Individual oral exam. The exam consists of a dialogue with the examinators during a 10-minute online session on the subject of multilingualism. The aim is to evaluate oral skills and interaction in French as well as the candidate’s ability to reflect on the multilingual dimension of language learning.

Written exam: Online portfolio consisting of three written texts each of ca. 300 words.

• The first text is about didactical possibilities in using visual art, music, cinema and cultural events as teaching tools.
• The second text is an analysis of a literary text including a didactical approach.
• The third text is a presentation of a grammar activity that introduces the topic for the target learners.

The exams are in French.

The exam is constituted by two exams. The result of the two exams are combined and weighed equally.

New/postponed exam

The resit/rescheduled exam is organised in the same way as the ordinary exam. You resit the exam you did not pass.

All aids are allowed.

A grade scale with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade is used. The grade F means that the student has failed the exam.

The exam will be assessed by one internal and one external examiner.