French Beginners Level 1: LANG 2001

Take the mystery out of one of our province's official languages

This course helps you to develop your French language skills (listening, speaking, and strategies for reading and writing) by focusing on the use of vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and sentence construction. Topics covered include:

• Alphabet, accents, pronunciation, gender of nouns, definite and indefinite articles, plural of nouns, present tense of avoir and être.
• Partitive article (du, de la), agreement of adjectives, il y a, forming questions.
• Present tense of verb endings in -er, showing possession, to or at, present tense of aller, immediate future (present tense of aller + infinitive).
• Question forms of verbs, negatives, use of de, possessive adjectives, present tense of dire, lire, partir and prendre.
• Present tense of verbs ending in -ir, position of adjectives, use of de, feminine forms of adjectives, use of on, present tense of jeter.
• Present tense of verbs ending in -re, irregular plural forms of nouns and adjectives, use of tout, the demonstrative adjective, voici and voilà, present tense of boire and faire.
• Personal pronoun objects of verbs (conjunctives), the imperative, position of personal pronoun objects with the imperative, present tense of venir, voir, vouloir, immediate past (present tense of venir + de + infinitive).
• Reflexive verbs, formation and position of adverbs, present tense of ouvrir and mettre.

The material covers a variety of everyday topics in a simple, concise manner. There will be plenty of examples and explanations to illustrate how the language works and to build confidence. Each lesson contains: clear grammar explanations, vocabulary lists, and reading material consisting of a story, dialogue or letter, questions for speaking practice, and oral/written exercises.

By the end of Level 1, you will have gained some elementary vocabulary and be able to understand, ask and answer questions using simple sentences. No materials are required.

Summer term

Thursdays, May 7 to July 9 (10 weeks)
5:30 - 7 p.m.
UNB Fredericton
Carleton Hall, 19 Macaulay Lane, room 204
$225 (No HST)

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About the instructor

Maryse Bernier-Duchaussoy is a native French speaker from Quebec. She has been teaching French and French as a Second Language since 2007 in private schools as well as in francophone and anglophone school districts in New Brunswick. She obtained a Bachelor of Education in Social Studies from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and later completed a Master’s degree in History at Université Laval.

Her experience also includes teaching in Quebec and Nova Scotia in different educational contexts. She has supported learners in preparing for federal second-language evaluations and has contributed to the development of French programming for adult learners. She is passionate about literacy and teaching, and her philosophy emphasizes approaching concepts from various angles to ensure understanding.