University French Concise Course

Author: Xue Jiancheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-03-06
Features: According to the teaching syllabus, "The main purpose of French (as a second foreign language) teaching is to cultivate students' preliminary listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation skills, enabling them to grasp the basic knowledge and skills of French and lay a language foundation for further study." The target audience is undergraduate and graduate students at higher education institutions who take French as a second foreign language. Therefore, the textbook limits the number of words to be mastered through comprehension to 1,500, and the grammar is carefully selected to be concise and progressive. The textbook consists of thirty-six lessons: four lessons for the pronunciation stage and thirty-two lessons for the basic stage (including four review lessons). Calculating half a week per lesson in the pronunciation stage and one week per lesson in the basic stage, plus review and examination time, the total teaching time required is one academic year.
The arrangement of the lessons in the basic stage is as follows:
1. Texts—The topics are diverse and ( means "" in Chinese, so it should be translated as "" or "" in English), emphasizing the introduction of cultural background knowledge. The materials are primarily dialogues, with narrative texts kept simple and easy to recite, facilitating training in listening, speaking, and communication skills.
2. Vocabulary Lists—Each lesson includes a vocabulary list, which not only provides the meanings of words used in the lesson but also adds one or two other commonly used meanings. A comprehensive vocabulary list is also provided at the back of the book.
3. "Savoirdire"—There are 15 entries, all belonging to common expressions and sentences in daily life, enriching students' means of expression. In teaching, students should learn and apply them in specific contexts.
4. "Savoirvivre"—There are 13 entries, introducing cultural knowledge about food, clothing, housing, and travel in France, thereby better integrating language and culture.
5. Notes—To help students overcome minor linguistic difficulties, each lesson includes several notes.
6. Grammar—All grammar items specified in the teaching syllabus appear and are repeated in the texts. The arrangement of grammar items is scientific, the explanations are concise and accurate.
7. Exercises—Exercises are divided into grammar exercises and text exercises, with diverse, practical, and innovative formats. They emphasize repetitive review, helping students master the fundamental skills of language.
8. Reading Texts—Starting from the 5th lesson, each lesson includes a reading text with a vocabulary list and notes. The texts are practical, informative, and engaging, making them highly readable. The purpose is to provide students with opportunities to reuse language materials and improve their reading skills.
9. Review Lessons—There are four review lessons, arranged in the middle and end of each semester, providing comprehensive practice on the language knowledge learned.