This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Undergraduate Handbook 2006-2007 (archived)

Module FREN3111: FRENCH SYNTAX & VOCABULARY

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3111: FRENCH SYNTAX & VOCABULARY

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	3	20	Not available in 2006/2007	None.	Durham

Pre-requisites

French Language 2 (FREN2051) or French Language 2 and Year Abroad (FREN2071) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

Modern European Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: French Language 4 (FREN3041). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combinations

None.

Aims

The Syntax component seeks to heighten students' awareness of Modern French grammar.
The vocabulary component seeks to heighten awareness of the origins of different sections of French vocabulary, to introduce concepts such as borrowing, word formation, semantic change and register, and to enable students to apply them to the analysis of texts.

Content

The module will concern itself with the development of French syntax and French vocabulary, from the Old French period up to the present day.
The syntax component will concentrate on a number of specific topics (for example, the use of the subjunctive, patterns of word-order), and the vocabulary component will study, amongst other things, change of meaning, word-formation and the borrowing of words.
A considerable amount of time will be devoted to the analysis of representative passages, and an anthology of illustrative texts will be available.
The module is taught and examined in English.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

By the end of this module, studnets should be able to demonstrate a heightened awareness of Modern French grammar, how 'rules' develop and how they can change.
By the end of the vocabulary element, they should have acquired an expanded vocabulary and a greater awareness of how meanings shift and how the register of a word is part of its 'meaning'; they should also have gained a historical sense of the different layers of French vocabulary.

Subject-specific Skills

Key Skills

Through the commentary exercise, students should develop analytical skills.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

One lecture a week is devoted to syntax in the first term and to vocabulary in the second. Fortnightly seminars are used to examine texts to reinforce material from the lectures, and also to analyse the syntax and vocabulary of texts in order to prepare for writing commentaries. The module is taught and examined in English.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours
Lectures	22	1 per week	1 hour	22
Tutorials	4	Occasional, for the return of written work	1 hour	4
Seminars	9	Fortnightly	1 hour	9
Preparation and Reading				165
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Commentary	40%	Commentary, in English	2000 words	100%
Examination	60%	Examination, in English	2 hours	100%

Formative Assessment

4 written exercises.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.