_____________________________________
FREN1001. French I.1 (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is intended for complete beginners in French and does not require any previous knowledge of the language. Participants will acquire a basic knowledge in the four areas of competence (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), with a particular emphasis on communicative skills in contextual situations. In this process, participants will also get progressively acquainted with French and Francophone societies and cultures. Classes will be conducted in small groups in order to ensure a high degree of interactivity between participants and teachers. Conversation groups and laboratory groups will also be arranged separately on a regular basis.
Prerequisite: Nil
Assessment: 100% coursework.
This course is offered in the first semester only.
_____________________________________
FREN1002. French I.2 (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is a continuation of French I.1 and continues to build on the previous work. Participants will consolidate and develop their knowledge in the four areas of competence (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), with a particular emphasis on communicative skills in contextual situations. In this process, participants will also get progressively acquainted with French and Francophone societies and cultures. As in French I.1, separate conversation and laboratory groups will be arranged to complement classroom tuition. In addition, participants will be asked to make use of a range of materials available in the School’s self-access facilities (which include audio, video, CD Rom and computer programmes), as well as take advantage of resources accessible through various Internet websites.
Prerequisite: Students must have satisfactorily completed French I.1 or provide evidence that they have attained a comparable level elsewhere.
Assessment: 100% coursework. Includes: (i) progress tests, (ii) participation in class and (iii) various assignments.
This course is offered in the second semester only.
_____________________________________
FREN2001. French II.1 (6 credits) | [course website]
This course continues to build on work done in the first year. The intention is to develop students' proficiency and the functional use of language in the areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing. Class lectures are based on communicative methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to be creative, problem-solving users of the language at basic level. Literary and non-literary French texts selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussions. Linguistic activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to familiarize themselves further with French and francophone cultures.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2001 without having previously completed FREN1002. French. I.2 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
This course will be offered in the first semester.
_____________________________________
FREN2002. French II.2 (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is a continuation of FREN2001 French II.1. The intention is to develop students' proficiency in the functional use of language, i.e. in the areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing. Class lectures are based on communicative methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to use the language creatively to solve basic problems. Literary and non-literary French texts selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussions. Linguistic activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to familiarize themselves further with French and francophone cultures.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2002 without having previously completed FREN2001. French. 2.1 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
This course will be offered in the second semester.
_____________________________________
FREN2027. French culture and society (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is designed to review key aspects of France’s society and culture as well as to offer a concise introduction to the main stages of the country’s historical and territorial development. Topics will include institutions and society (government, education, politics, economy, labour, media etc.) and essential cultural features (festivals, customs, traditions, etiquette, colloquialisms, way of life, leisure, etc.). Major events that have contributed to the shaping of the country will also be presented and their significance discussed. The role and place of the regions within this historical process will be examined, so as to understand the correlation of distinct regional characteristics with related historical developments. The teaching material and resources used for this course will be in French, and the main medium of instruction will be French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2027 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2028. French iconic figures and cultural grammar (6 credits)
Cultural icons (people, artefacts, signs, objects, rituals, historical events, etc.) are symbolic figures that play an essential role in constructing and maintaining the national and social imaginaries, as well as the collective identity. This course investigates a range of cultural icons shared by the French people in the areas of food, history and culture, daily life, celebrities, work and education. Participants will reflect critically on these iconic figures and assess the way they interrelate with each other so as to form a cultural grammar. Simultaneously, participants will be led to conduct a critical appraisal of their own iconic figures. All the materials used in this course will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2028 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2029. French/Chinese - Words and Syntax (6 credits)
This course is intended to students of French at intermediate level who wish to improve their command of the language through the process of transferring meaning across languages. A number of issues arising from the translation of French materials into Chinese and, to a lesser extent, from Chinese into French, will be examined. The main focus will be on indispensable vocabulary and essential phrase structures. By way of class discussions and exercises, the participants will be encouraged to compare French and Chinese in the key areas of grammar, syntax and lexicon. Practical solutions will be proposed to address common errors and misconceptions caused by interferences with Chinese in the process of translation.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2029 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2030. French/Chinese - Registers and Genres (6 credits)
This course is intended to students of French at intermediate level and its objective is to approach French to Chinese translation from a practical, methodological standpoint. The main focus will be on rendering and interpreting texts from a range of registers, styles and genres. French source texts of various types (e.g., literary, journalistic, scientific, business, political, etc.) will be examined in relation to key translation issues. By way of class discussions and translation assignments, the participants will be encouraged to compare French and Chinese in the areas of semantics, style and culture.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2030 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2031. French/English - Words and Syntax (6 credits)
This course is intended to students of French at intermediate level who wish to improve their command of the language through the process of transferring meaning across languages. A number of issues arising from the translation of French materials into English and, to a lesser extent, from English into French, will be examined. The main focus will be on indispensable vocabulary and essential phrase structures. By way of class discussions and exercises, the participants will be encouraged to compare French and English in the key areas of grammar, syntax and lexicon. Practical solutions will be proposed to address common errors and misconceptions caused by interferences with English in the process of translation.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2031 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2032. French/English - Registers and Genres (6 credits)
This course is intended to students of French at intermediate level and its objective is to approach French to English translation from a practical, methodological standpoint. The main focus will be on rendering and interpreting texts from a range of registers, styles and genres. French source texts of various types (e.g., literary, journalistic, scientific, business, political, etc.) will be examined in relation to key translation issues. By way of class discussions and translation assignments, the participants will be encouraged to compare French and English in the areas of semantics, style and culture.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2032 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2033. French phonetics (6 credits)
Students at intermediate level of French will find an opportunity in this course to improve their reception and production of French sounds and to step up their proficiency in the spoken language. Participants will be introduced to the fundamental notions of French phonetics and sound system; there will be a thorough review of the typical pronunciation difficulties encountered by learners of French, in particular those caused by the interference of Chinese and English. Discussion topics will also cover specific phonological phenomena and prosodic features in French, along with some of their paralinguistic implications.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2033 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2034. Reading course in French (6 credits)
This course is designed to introduce students at intermediate level to a range of genres and styles of writing in French, literary and non-literary. The course will review a number of forms and conventions that relate to and/or define these genres, e.g., descriptive, informative, narrative, prescriptive and argumentive. The investigation will lead to the analysis of how important acts of communication and types of discourses appear in these various genres or mutate across genres. This course is very practical in nature and will rely on small group activities. The teaching material used will be in French, and the main medium of instruction will be French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2034 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2035. Popular song culture in French (6 credits)
This course is a review of major authors and songs that have marked the popular music of the French-speaking world (la Chanson française) from the early 20th century to the present day. The discussion will focus on a selection of representative texts, their reception by the public, the social context and how, in many instances, particular song lyrics have interacted with and been incorporated into the French language. The literary nature and the cultural dimension of these lyrics will be emphasized throughout the course. Short biographies of important authors will also be examined. The teaching material used for this course will be in French, and the main medium of instruction will be French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN2035 without having previously completed FREN1002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
_____________________________________
FREN2221. A profile of contemporary France (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is intended to investigate current issues and debates taking place in France today, and to examine the way these issues are presented in the French and international media. The notions of French cultural identity and national citizenship will be looked at, as well as France’s relations with its European neighbors and with the rest of the world. To provide essential references in support of the discussions, the course will bring in background information on various aspects of France, its national iconography, its government and its political, social, demographic environment. At the same time the course will relate these facts to significant moments of the country’s recent history , such as the post-war period of recovery, the decolonization process, the construction of the Francophone community, the European Union project, students’ and workers’ upheavals, and the current debates related to immigration and integration.
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: 100% coursework.
Medium of Instruction: English
Note: FREN2221 cannot be counted towards the 48-credit requirement of the French Major
_____________________________________
FREN3001. French III.1 (6 credits) | [course website]
In this course students continue to build upon work done in the First and Second Year. The intention is to develop students’ proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in French. Class lectures will be based on communicative methods and approaches designed to encourage participants to be creative, problem-solving, and independent users of the language. Various literary and non-literary texts from France and other French-speaking countries will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion. Linguistic activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to familiarize themselves further with French and francophone cultures.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3001 without having previously completed FREN2002. French II.2 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
This course will be offered in the first semester.
_____________________________________
FREN3002. French III.2 (6 credits) | [course website]
This course is a continuation of French III.1. The intention is to develop students’ proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in French. Class lectures will be based on communicative methods and approaches designed to encourage participants to be creative, problem-solving, and independent users of the language. Various literary and non-literary texts from France and other French-speaking countries will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion. Linguistic activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to familiarize themselves further with French and francophone cultures.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3002 without having previously completed FREN3001. French III.1 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
This course will be offered in the second semester.
_____________________________________
FREN3021. Francophone literatures and identities (6 credits)
This course offers a broad introduction to leading authors from the French-speaking world outside France, with a special emphasis on Quebec, the Caribbean, the Maghreb, West Africa, and Vietnam. The discussions will be based on a selection of works involving the issues of race and minorities, identity and nationality, colonization and self-determination, native land and exile, as well as multilingualism and universality, modernity and tradition. In investigating the way these various themes appear in Francophone literary texts and essays, students shall aim to gain a better understanding of how the use of the French language as a medium of expression may facilitate creativity and reception or, on the contrary, distort or hinder cultural distinctiveness. The medium of discussion will be French, and the supporting material will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3021 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3022. French and Francophone cinema (6 credits) | [course website]
This course offers an introduction to French and Francophone cinema through a range of topics, such as its historical, cultural, economic development, popular genres, and major trends. These aspects will be discussed in relation to important issues in France and the rest of the Francophone world such as the question of identity, cultural policy and globalization. Additionally, students will analyze the position of French-speaking cinema and its standing in today’s broader international context. The medium of instruction and most of the materials used will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3022 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3023. Media watch: Tracking French news (6 credits)
This course focuses on the media industry in France and the management of information in relation to news and current affairs on the national scene. There will be a detailed scrutiny of the French press in its various forms: newspapers, periodicals, radio, TV, and Internet. Students shall compare and contrast how the different media process information and target their audience according to political, social or gender affiliation, commercial interest, and intended readership. By doing so they will also be keeping abreast with the country’s current affairs. The medium of instruction and all the materials used will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3023 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3024. Modern French literature (6 credits) | [course website]
This course offers a broad survey of French authors and literary movements from the 19th century to the present day. Emphasis will be placed on the literary ideas and styles that emerged during this period. The discussions will also cover the most important moments in French recent history as imagined and rendered by writers. In addition, through the close reading of selected passages of major works, the participants will be introduced to methods of textual analysis and critical appraisal of literary texts in various genres (novel and prose, poetry and drama). The medium of discussion will be French, and the supporting material (excerpts, press articles, films, iconography, notes) will be in French or, where appropriate, provided in translation.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3024 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3025. French-speaking comic strip culture (6 credits)
This course offers a broad introduction to comic strip culture in the French language, known as BD (bande dessinée). Students will learn about key aspects of its history, its various formats and its status in France, as well as in other French-speaking societies. In this process, students will become familiar with major authors, stories, and characters that have had an impact upon the consciousness of several generations of readers. Through a range of selected readings, the course will also focus on some of the important language features found in the BD and the links that can be established between the textual content and the drawings. The medium of discussion will be French, and the supporting material will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3025 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3026. Conveying otherness: French imaginings of Asia (6 credits) | [course website]
This course discusses the way French travelers, writers, and artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century have represented in their works countries such as India, China, Vietnam, and Japan — commonly regrouped under the Euro-centered term of “Extreme-Orient.” Students shall investigate a selection of key novels, narratives, essays, travel logs, memoirs, journalistic reports, films, as well as works of art that depict discoveries, encounters, and experiences with the view of identifying underlying trends and recurrent themes. While the question of the construction of the Far East as Other and its subsequent orientalization by Western visitors will come into play in our readings, the extent to which these various accounts have inspired and influenced the aesthetics and the literary production in France will also be examined. The medium of discussion will be French, as well as all the material under investigation.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3026 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3027. Decoding commercials in French (6 credits) | [course website]
Commercial advertising is often regarded as an art form, to the point that some advertisement campaigns have earned cult status. This course will examine a wide range of contemporary advertisements and commercials from France as well as from other French-speaking societies in the form of print materials, posters, and film footages. In this process, students shall be exposed to some of the basic techniques used in advertisements and commercials (iconography, narratives, design and layout, puns and humor, catch lines and rhetorical devices) as well as to the various messages and constructs one finds subsumed in these creations: social mythologies and representations, gender-based stereotyping and characterization, racial exoticization, and class politics, among others. The medium of discussion will be French, as well as all the material under investigation.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3027 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3028. The art of brevity in French (6 credits) | [course website]
This course focuses on the study of various forms of textual brevity in the French language, literary as well as non-literary. While short textual forms include a large range of distinct genres (e.g., poems, maxims, witticisms, aphorisms, proverbs, adages, idioms, idiomatic expressions, slogans, graffiti, telegrams, titles, catch phrases), they still share common goals: to achieve optimal impact upon the reader and to convey meaning concisely. In examining many examples from a large historical corpus, from Chamfort’s aphorisms to May 68 situationist graffiti, students shall also review some of the common rhetorical devices that support or reinforce condensed expression, such as ellipsis, brachylogy, zeugma, paradox, antanaclasis, euphemism, and alliteration, to name some of the most important forms. The medium of instruction and all the materials used will be in French .
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3028 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3030. Guided writing in French (6 credits)
In this course, participants will receive tuition and guidance to complete an extended piece of writing in French of about 3,500-4,000 words based on a topic of their choice related to France and/or the French speaking world. Discussions with tutors will focus on developing students’ organisation skills, and ability to use discourse markers and text grammar to present their composition in a sequenced and coherent way.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3030 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3031. Maupassant's short stories (6 credits)
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), rightly regarded as one of the finest authors in modern French literature, is notorious for his numerous short stories, or “nouvelles”. These stories do not only carry a universal appeal and timelessness, they are also written in a concise, delicately crafted style that has eventually become Maupassant’s most distinctive feature as a writer. This course undertakes to read a selection of Maupassant’s short stories so as to underscore on one hand the way they relate to French society in recent history and, on the other hand, why these works are still relevant today. All the materials used in the course will be in French.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3031 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3032. French in the economic context (6 credits)
This course is intended to students with advanced level of French who want to develop their language and cultural skills from within a corporate environment standpoint and familiarize themselves with issues related to business activities, global economy and trade. A variety of topics and situations will be studied, such as the structure of a firm and the way it operates both internally and with its partners, job application, interviews, business correspondence and etiquette, transactions and contracts etc. The material used for this course will be drawn from actual sources and discussions will focus on the local region, with the particular aim to provide the participants with first-hand facts and information on the current relationship between various French-speaking economic partners and the Hong Kong corporate sector.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3032 without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: 100% coursework
_____________________________________
FREN3119. Overseas immersion language course (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study French and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion in a partner institution located in a French-speaking country. The course usually takes place in the summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) and the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their second year of language studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language competence acquired during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more advanced work in the final years of the programme.
Prerequisites: Students wishing to be admitted to FREN3119. without having previously completed FREN2002 will be required to satisfy the Faculty Board through the Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures that they have attained elsewhere the required standard.
Assessment: In order to be granted credits for this course, participants are requested to check with the teacher in charge prior to their enrolment and departure whether the course they have chosen is suitable for the purpose and, after completing of the course, (1) to produce a formal statement of attendance and certified transcript bearing mention of the final grade(s) obtained from the host institution, as well as the level attained according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL); (2) to provide a portfolio including i. a learning journal written in French relating to daily class activities and, ii. samples of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects etc.) along with evaluation results.
Download Enrollment procedure to FREN3119 Overseas Immersion Language Course - Download application form
|
