Module LZF-3020:
French Language Skills (Minor)

Module Facts

Run by School of Languages, Literatures, Linguistics and Media

20 Credits or 10 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Dr Jonathan Ervine

Overall aims and purpose

  1. To consolidate key areas of advanced grammar.
  2. To further develop advanced test translation skills into and out of the target language.
  3. To promote appropriate use of style and register in written work.
  4. To develop and refine advanced skills in structured formal essay writing and paraphrasing tasks.

Students on this module will be working towards achieving C1/C2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

Course content

This 20 credit module running throughout the year promotes appropriate use of style and register in all written work and ensures that students can deal with variations in register and idiomatic expression in a confident and accurate manner. Through exposure to selected texts and complex grammatical structures, students acquire reading and writing skills which match the required standard of final year linguists.

Assessment Criteria

threshold

40-49%: A limited knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and a limited ability to translate and paraphrase the prescribed range of texts.

good

50-69%: A good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and a good ability to translate and paraphrase the prescribed range of texts.

excellent

70+%: An excellent knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and an excellent ability to translate and paraphrase the prescribed range of texts.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate in essay and translation work a sophisticated command of both the target language and English/Welsh that is alive to the rhetorical range of both languages.

  2. To read and understand complex texts varying in style, tone and register and comment on these texts in a concise and fluent manner.

  3. Students will have an enlarged vocabulary in relation to the themes studied.

  4. Students will be able to offer accurate and empathetic translations which not only capture the meaning of the text, but also its mood.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Translation Exam 50
Article Summary/Paraphrasing 25
Essay 25

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Seminar

1 x 1 hour translation class per week for 11 weeks per semester 1 x 1 hour applied language skills class per week for 11 weeks per semester

 44
Private study 156

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

  • The ability to use the target language creatively and precisely in short written assignments in the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.14)
  • The ability to translate short passages into and out of the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.3, 5.4)
  • The ability to read, understand and summarise written texts in the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.3, 5.4)
  • The ability to use the target language creatively and precisely in sophisticated written assignments in the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.14)
  • The ability to translate sophisticated passages into and out of the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.3, 5.4)
  • The ability to read, understand and summarise more sophisticated written texts in the target language. (Benchmark statement 5.3, 5.4)

Resources

Resource implications for students

There are no resource implications for the students

Pre- and Co-requisite Modules

Courses including this module