It really depends on your previous level of french education because anyone with grade 12 french gets put in this class. So you have a mix of people with core french, french immersion and all french schools in one class, which makes it a little interesting.

I really liked the class...

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Originally Posted by akikokoyoki

is the course ouline on the department of french website for this course the same for all profs? or is it different for each profs.

http://www.humanities.mcmast er.ca/~french/cours/undergrad/2010-2011/French1A06.pdf

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the same for all profs. Just when it comes to the novel you'll be reading, that'll be different and will be announced in class. Or it might be written right on there according to the prof.

DEAR FRENCH IMMERSION STUDENTS:

Okay so I just wanted to add in my "two sense" from the perspective of someone who was in french immersion since I was 5 in Toronto. This course will probably drive you crazy. Well parts of it anyway. This course is HEAVILY weighted on grammar, which if you're in french immersion you will likely find incredibly boring and possibly even difficult/a lot of work. From my experience, most french immersion schools stop incorporating full grammar sections into their curriculum around grade 8/9 so you may find that you are rusty on this type of thing. For me personally, I found that I had forgotten all the intricacies of the actual rules. When I write and speak in french, I do so intuitively and I just know when something "sounds" or "looks" right. Much like if you're a native English speaker and you're asked to explain some complex grammar rule that you constantly use but perhaps don't really "know" all that well.

I found this course slightly infuriating due to the grammar component because my oral french was far beyond the level and scope of most of the other students in the class who could barely hold a conversation, yet many of those students finished with a better mark than I did due to this course's emphasis on grammar so do keep that in mind. The novels and vocabulary activities you do in class and tutorial will likely feel like you're being babied. This really drove me crazy because in class you'd have certain students doing very well when it came to grammar, and we'd get to tutorial and these same people didn't know basic vocabulary words that you learn in grade two like what things in the kitchen and washroom of your house are called.

I apologize for the seemingly angry rant, the profs of this class (Rosner and Posthumus) were actually very nice and very competent, I just don't feel this class was appropriate for french immersion students. It wasn't balanced between grammar components and everything else, and I didn't agree with this weighting. I don't think it makes sense for someone who can conjugate the subjunctive yet who is unable to hold a conversation in french at a grade 4 level to be receiving an A. To me, this is not "knowing" french.

So essentially, if you like grammar and you're good at it as a french immersion student, you'll probably find this class easy but very boring and not at all challenging. If you are a french immersion student who was always excellent at oral and written french, but grammar isn't your thing, then I do not recommend this course because you will likely hate it.

Cheers!

How important is it to purchase the Mise Au Point cahier?

I can find used copies of the textbook online for super cheap, so if I don't need the cahier, I'll just stick to the text.

Thoughts?

You need the cahier for homework.

I had Posthumus for this course last year, and she was pretty good. I'm not sure if all of the French profs do this but she did kinda force you to answer random questions out loud in class and stuff which is kinda annoying (to me anyway). Also the written part of the exams were nightmare-ish.

I took this course last year with Dr. Hanley (great prof).

The course load is not demanding by any means, just make sure you do the hw assigned and pay attention in class. Also, while there is very little emphasis on oral french practice, there are lots of grammar rules and written assignments, some that you have to read aloud to the class.

If you've taken Grade 12 french, done well and love the language, then this course should be no problem for you.

And as many people have said previously, it all depends on your past french experience.
Good luck!

i had this class with Dr. St Leger-Lucas last year (not the greatest prof I've ever have). That being said, this class wasn't great for my experience. I love learning French but I totally have a hard time in the class. I'm in core french, so my conversational skills weren't great but I was pretty good at the grammar. I hated the litterature stuff, i mean I like reading them but not answering questions. Overall, if I have more practice in french conversation skills I would have done better. I stop caring at the end of 2nd sem and therefore ended up with a low mark.

Originally Posted by tsck8

I had Posthumus for this course last year, and she was pretty good. I'm not sure if all of the French profs do this but she did kinda force you to answer random questions out loud in class and stuff which is kinda annoying (to me anyway). Also the written part of the exams were nightmare-ish.

my prof does the same thing, but in my class she goes by the order of the seating and everyone are forced to answer questions. I am very good on answering questions under pressure, I blank out.

Great course. If you've taken French throughout high school, it should be a breeze for you. Yeah, you end up doing a lot of grammar but its fine. You spend an AGE on the present tense and passé composé which you'd be really familiar with if you've taken French in high school. Good way to keep up your French and its a pretty light course work wise.

Any insight on 1A06's difficulty from a first language student's perspective?

EDIT: Nevermind, I read above.

Just wondering about some of the other profs? As a core french student im super worried about not understanding the class, and whether or not the teachers will be adaptable to someone who hasnt really been immersed in the language, and whether they will go slowly enough for me to understand. The timetable slot right now says i have Moran, p? any thoughts?

Just wondering about some of the other profs? As a core french student im super worried about not understanding the class, and whether or not the teachers will be adaptable to someone who hasnt really been immersed in the language, and whether they will go slowly enough for me to understand. The timetable slot right now says i have Moran, p? any thoughts?

I love the course and find it very interesting. That being said, here are a few "fair warnings"

1) This course is COMPLETELY in French. and not your slow, gentle speaking high school english-tainted French either. French French. I recommend you look up a french movie and listen to that to judge how well you understand the language. I came from grade 12, but had taken 5 months to live in Quebec to learn the language. I can safely say, I would have been completely lost without that. That being said, it is do-able based on how the other post-grade 12's are doing

2) This is a grammar course. If you just want to maintain your language skills or learn to speak the language itself, I might start by joining the language club first. We do work on vocabulary and speaking skills in Tutorial, but the rest is on your own though you will get much better at all skills naturally by the end of the course, but that is not the focus)

3) 17-century French. Enough said. (though that was just my Prof, I do not believe every professor uses the same book)

4) If you take the night core, be prepared for 4 HOURS of strait french. I start at 6 and go to 10. Believe me, it is mentally exhausting

Now for the highlights:

the class was very small, so you get to know everyone and the Prof gets to know you. I loved Mme Dos Santos, she is very helpful and really wants you to succeed. She would bump a quiz if she felt we were genuinely not ready. The material was easy to follow, and the textbook was well worth the money. I really only required a couple hours extra work a week, outside of the assignments, so the workload is light.

Really consider this course carefully, and I encourage you to stick it out if you do choose to brave it!

The course is taught in all French. I'd say if you had Immersion/Extended Grade 12 French where you actually spoke French at all times during class in high school, you are more than fine.

The first semester instructor was Dr. Grodek. She's a very good prof and can explain concepts very well. She's quite interesting. Her quizzes and tests were very fair and if you did the homework, came to class and did the corrections then you would have been fine. For our literature unit we read Carmen. The story was way too hard for a first year class and the story was written in a way that was too sophisticated. The only upside to reading such a popular work is that there is an english word for word translation of it on the internet. But that completely defeats the purpose of learning it in French...

I was shocked when she announced that she'd be leaving after first semester to conduct research and that we'd be getting another professor. Our replacement was Daniela Grigorescu, a PhD student from Western University and although she was very nice, i wouldn't say that she was the best person to be teaching a language course. She was from France and clearly knew the language well but she really had trouble explaining the grammar rules to us. Most of her explanations usually consisted of "because if you said it that way, it wouldn't make sense", "that doesn't sound right in French" or "French people don't say that". Her quizzes and tests were hard. They usually had some tricks or some extra concepts that were not taught in class and the only way you would be able to get it correct was if you were French. You could also tell she was a lot harder because her sentence structure on quizzes and tests was a lot more sophisticated than what Grodek would give. Not that being challenged is a bad thing, but there's a limit to how much you can challenge someone in a language course where this isn't a first language or a language that the students use on a daily basis. Also she kind of lost control of the class at times because of how quiet her voice was.

The real catch with this course was that attendance was mandatory in lectures and in tutorials. Absence from more than 3 lectures or tutorials without justification results in a lowering of your final grade by 5%, which depending on where you end up, can be more than one grade point. I felt that the difficulty of the content and the workload of the course would definitely make this course a bird course for many people, especially those who come from full french, immersion, extended french, come from french families, grew up in a french region. However it's not a class you can just skip because you don't feel like going. Also keep in mind that this is a full year course. Even if you think this course will be a bird course, if you don't think you'll be able to commit to it for the entire year then you're better off picking two seperate electives where youll be guaranteed a high mark and where you can skip a few classes without losing marks. Also since this is a full year course, it's your final grade that really matters and that final grade will count as two courses so choose wisely.