French BA
Program Purpose
The French BA major allows students to develop and sharpen communicative, analytical and interpretive skills. It is designed to help students appreciate the language, literature and culture of France and the Francophone world. It also aims to form general habits of thought and expression that allow students to interpret complex symbolic systems and gain insights into aesthetic experience. Students learn to use diverse texts as a means for understanding culturally specific as well as universal problems, and they do so in ways that stimulate their curiosity and learning beyond their time at the university.
Learning Outcomes
Language Competence
Graduates in French demonstrate advanced proficiency in French language skills. For speaking and writing, "advanced" corresponds to officially designated ACTFL guidelines and ratings.
Analyze the literature, language, and cultures of the French-speaking world, drawing upon an ability to evaluate and synthesize relevant primary and critical sources.
Students critically evaluate literary, cultural, and linguistic problems from the French-speaking world and discuss them in clear written and oral expression.
Graduates in French are able to synthesize and interpret information, communicate effectively, and navigate cultural difference. They can articulate the value of their humanities degree and the relationship between their academic experience and personal and professional goals. This results from coursework but also from experiential learning such as study abroad and internships.
Evidence of Learning
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Expected Learning Outcomes |
Evidence of Learning |
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Language Competence: Demonstrate "Advanced" proficiency in French speaking, listening, writing, and reading. |
Standardized language tests (ex. Reading tests when available, standardized proficiency evaluations, OPI) Random samples at entry and exit points of the program. |
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Research: Analyze the literature, language, and cultures of the French-speaking world drawing upon an ability to evaluate and synthesize relevant primary, critical, and theoretical sources. |
Representative writing samples collected from senior portfolios and from each major course will be analyzed yearly by committee. |
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Critical Thinking: Demonstrate the ability to articulate and defend in speech and writing clear and orderly thought on literary, cultural, and linguistic topics. |
Representative writing samples collected from senior portfolios and from each major course will be analyzed yearly by committee. |
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Transferable Skills: Connect academic experience to personal and professional goals. |
Surveys of new (entry) and graduating (exit) majors, and exit interviews by the department chair or other designated faculty member. Alumni surveys. |
Coursework
A core set of courses devoted to fundamentals in language, civilization, and literature (15.5 hours) offers equal instruction across three areas: formative language development in reading, writing, listening, and speaking; a survey of French political, historical, and cultural thought; an introduction to French literature with a sampling of movements and historical periods. A broad range of electives allows students to design a program that complements their primary major.
The core:
- Fren 321 Advanced Grammar
- Fren 322 Advanced Composition
- Fren 340 Introduction to Literary Analysis
- Fren 495 Senior Portfolio Seminar (taken semester of graduation)
Complete two of the following:
- Fren 361 French Civ., Beginning to 1715
- Fren 362 French Civ., 1715 to Present
- Fren 363 Contemporary French Civilization
Electives (15 hours) from the following:
- Fren 317 French & Italian Cinema
- Fren 361 French Civ., Beginning to 1715
- Fren 362 French Civ., 1715 to Present
- Fren 363 Contemporary French Civilization
- Fren 377 Introduction to French Language Teaching
- Fren 431 Introduction to French Linguistics
- Fren 432 History of French
- Fren 433 French Linguistics
- Fren 445 Advanced Francophone Culture
- Fren 452R Studies in Period, Movement, and Theme
- Fren 453R Studies in Genre
- Fren 454R Studies in Author
- Fren 455R Studies in Literary Theory
- Fren 456R Francophone Studies
- Fren 457R Studies in French Culture
- Fren 490R Individual Study in French
- Fren 495R Senior Seminar in French
- BUS M 596R Business French
Notes:
1. Core courses may fulfill GE requirements:
- French 340 fulfills the GE Letters elective; for returned missionaries, 340 also fulfills the Languages of Learning Capstone
- French 362 and 362 fulfill the GE Arts elective
- French 363 fulfills the Global and Cultural Awareness Requirement
2. Students may substitute up to two approved courses from their primary major that are related to this French major. Each course must be approved by the French undergraduate coordinator and will require a "French Secondary major course substitution approval form" signed by the professor in their primary major.
3. A minimum of three of the five elective courses must be taught in French.
4. If a student takes each of the civilization courses, two count towards the core and one may be counted as an elective course.
4. To strengthen oral proficiency, the department encourages participation in a study abroad program in Paris, internships, residence in on-campus language houses, and enrollment in conversation courses (Fren 211R, 311R, and 411R).
Major Academic Plan (MAP) Second Major Program
Co-Curricular Activities
Various organizations, activities and programs afford an opportunity to reinforce departmental values and interest, as well as provide specific language or cultural training and practice.
Immersive environment Some co-curricular activities help establish and maintain an on-campus French-speaking community, which nourishes the immersive language environment necessary for foreign language study
- Foreign Language Student Residence Designed to provide an immersive French-language environment
- French Writing Lab
Provides assistance to students for improving written expression and reinforces grammatical skills taught in the classroom - Internships to France
2-3 mos. in-country work and service opportunities for 10-15 students each spring/summer, coordinated through the French Embassy placement includes government agencies, non-profit organizations, etc. - Study Abroad
- Paris: 2-month departmental program every year for majors/minors (20-30 students); 4-month Fall-Winter program for General Education is directed by French faculty once/year (20-30 students, mostly non-majors)
- Other programs have been offered for Quebec and Senegal (three times since 2001, focus on sub-Saharan culture and literature)
- French Club
Active campus club that provides an extracurricular cultural and linguistic environment focusing on awareness of the French-speaking world. Regular attendance is 200-300 students/activity. 3-4 activities per semester, including plays, films, cultural events, etc. - International Cinema
Cultural experience and language immersion through French-language films. 2-6 French-language films out of 30 total screened several days each week.
Incentives for excellence
- Pi Delta Phi French Honor Society. Provides incentive to students to perform at their best and participate in a larger French community by recognizing excellence in the discipline.
- Annual Essay Contest
Annual event with cash rewards and ceremony for 6-9 recipients. Provides incentive to students to perfect their written expression and share their creativity. - Teaching, grading, and research assistantships
- Department Symposia
Other
Regular lectures by invited/guest speakers to stimulate humanistic inquiry and help faculty and students stay abreast of developments in the discipline
Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement
1. The French Section meets several times per semester to discuss student learning, curricular improvements, enrollment, and other matters pertinent to the French programs. This includes one 4-hour assessment meeting each semester, as requested by the College of Humanities.
2. The French Undergraduate Program Coordinator, French Graduate Program Coordinator, French Teaching Program Coordinator, and the Chair meet as needed to coordinate the programs, and prior to section meetings to discuss new proposals and agenda items.
3. The Chair verifies patterns of grade distribution by semester, faculty member performance, and student evaluations. The chair conducts yearly stewardship interviews with each faculty member (bi-annual interviews for pre-CFS faculty).
4. Every fifth year (i.e., 2005, 2010, etc.), the Chair establishes the Periodic Curriculum Committee to assess long-term trends and to evaluate the work of the standing Curriculum Committee.
5. Student feedback is essential to our student learning improvement plan. We collect and evaluate student feedback in the following ways: Entry- and exit-level surveys, Alumni surveys, student evaluations, mentoring programs.
6. A French program student liaison works 10 hrs/week for the department and maintains a French Studies blog. BYU French Studies