FSL - French as a Second Language Courses
A&S French as a Second Language Course Descriptions
FSL221 - Intermediate French
Marking Scheme: 10+ assignments/tests ranging from listening comprehension, short essays, interviews, quizzes, midterms etc. + a FINAL worth 33%
I love french. I did France abroad this past summer and perhaps maybe I'm more critical of this course than I should be. It has its' good moments (honestly, the entire 1st semester was good b/c the lecturer was competent) but a useless lecturer = slow torture (even though the people in the class are amazing/hilarious).
You have 2 hours of lecture + 1 hour of oral 'tutorial' every week. My TA was amazing -> a joy to attend tutorials (wow...can't believe I said that) and learning experience = awesome.
Now the main crux of the problem: too many assignments. They're too constant and can get annoying (I nailed all of them except 1 so this is not a bitter bias) + grammar is explained in too many technical terms...sometimes it sticks with you better if you just give a down-to-earth explanation.
Despite constant testing/assignments the workload was not that intense for me (but I was happy with going on the gut feeling of the language I developed while listening to French being spoken constantly by everyone instead of memorizing a bunch of rules + all exceptions).
The exam will be quite a bit of work to prepare for but regardless of how good or bad it will be the rating for the course will remain a 3/5 for me.
Rating: 3/5
FSL331Y - Practical French I
Yevgeny Medvedev & Gabriela Tanase
Marking scheme:
First Semester: Participation (5%), 500 word in-class essay (15%), listening test (10%), oral test (10%), Interview (10%)
Second Semester: Participation (5%), 500 word in-class essay (15%), listening test (10%), oral test (10%), Presentation (10%)
I actually found this course easier than FSL221. There was a focus on
grammar, but not as much as FSL221. The professors tried to focus more
on the oral aspect, so there were many class discussions. The second
semester was extremely difficult compared to the first. Our class
average fell by at least 5% I would say. Nonetheless, it is possible to
do well. There are readings, but you'll be fine going in not having
prepared.
Rating: 4/5
FSL431Y - Practical French II
Adina Balint-Babos & Marie-Raymond Dufour
Marking Scheme:
First Semester: Participation (5%), 500 word in-class essay (15%), listening test (10%), oral test (10%), Expose/Presentation (10%)
Second Semester: Participation (5%), 500 word in-class essay (15%), listening test
(10%), oral test (10%), Individual Interview with professor (10%)
I really enjoyed the course. Both professors were very encouraging and
stimulated many class discussions. There was a textbook called 'Le
Francais Pratique II' by Prof. Visoi. I wouldn't say it was a heavy
workload. You could easily go into class not having prepared, but I
found with the second semester it was best to do the readings
beforehand. The readings came straight out of the book and they were
interesting. The interview and presentation were not bad at all, and
the professors were actually pretty decent markers. The class average
was a low to mid 70. Overall the course was pretty enjoyable.
Rating: 4/5
