They will practice and develop their oral skills through role-play and simulation and their writing skills through text transformation and production. They will develop factual knowledge of the historical, political, social and cultural informing French life and identity in the postwar decades and make analytical and critical readings of representative texts, developing their expository and analytical oral and writing skills in this area. At the conclusion of the subject, students should be able to express themselves confidently, both orally and in writing, using expository discourse forms. It is expected that students who have completed the subject will have extended their language skills beyond the A5 and A6 levels of the DELF exam, an internationally recognised French proficiency certification, and will have acquired the beginnings of the linguistic competence required for the more advanced DALF certification. Class activities are designed to enable students to acquire advanced communication skills in spoken and written French.
Oral work focuses on group discussion and role play.
Written tasks involve expository essay writing, and English to French translation. Dictionary usage and close attention to vocabulary figure prominently in all written work. Revision and extension of competence in syntax is undertaken in conjunction with the communication skills practised. The cultural component of the subject will study representations of Paris is literature and painting, and with reference to social history. It is expected that students who have completed the subject will have expanded their linguistic competency in areas relevant to the B1 and B2 sections of the advanced level DALF exam.