Learning objectives
Students, at the end of the course, will be able to:
• translate into standard French literary and specific language texts
• understand literary and specialized language written texts (through skimming and scanning techniques)
• understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning.
• understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract subjects
• understand a variety of oral texts (e.g. dialogues, TV Programmes etc.)
• understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.
• summarize information from different spoken and written sources,
• reconstruct arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
• express him/herself spontaneously, fluently and precisely,
• differentiate among finer shades of meaning in complex communicative situations.
• understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning.
• use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
• produce clear, well-structured, detailed texts on complex subjects, showing competent use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.(e.g. Synthesis)
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course will be held in French and focuses on the study of texts in French through the practice of the “synthèse de texte”. This is first discussed from a theoretical approach to arrive at the illustration of the methodology and, finally, the practical application of the method, according to the following progression:
• La Synthèse de textes
• Our Definition of what constitutes a “Synthesis”
• The role played by the “Synthèse de textes” in the final exams of Grandes Ecoles Françaises (BTS, CELSA)
• What’s a “Synthèse de textes”?
• Semantic and pragmatic aspects in the “Note de Synthèse”
• Building a “Syhthèse”, starting from a variety of documents
• Principles , methods, processes
• From the “task” to the “conclusion”: a series of steps to take in order to achieve our end
• From “Summary” to “Synthesis”
• What a “Synthesis” have to be (impersonal, anonymous, etc.)
• The Theme
• The Subject
• The problem to solve
• Documents list
• Building a “Plan (of action)”
• Building a plan 1 connectors and cohesive devices
• Building a plan 2 dividing into parts
• Building a plan 3 Introduction
• Building a plan 4 Conclusion
• Openings
Full programme
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Bibliography
Bibliography
- Louis-Marie Morfaux, Roger Prévost: Résumé et Synthèse de textes : Méthode et Exercices corrigés, Coll. Cursus, Ed. Armand Colin, Paris, 2010
- Claudia de Oliveira Gomes, Réussir la note de Synthèse, coll. Principes, Studyrama, Paris, 2010
- Yves Stalloni, La synthèse de textes: Méthodes, exercices, épreuves : concours d'entrée aux Grandes écoles, IUFM, Ellipses, Paris, 2004
- Alain Trouvé (par), Réussir le résumé et la synthèse de textes aux concours, coll. Major, 3ème éd. puf, Paris, 2006
(Grammar text in use)
Le petit Grevisse , Grammaire française Maurice Grevisse, deboeck duculot , Paris, 2009
Sitography
www.espaceformation.com
www.fr.wikipedia.org
www.intellego.fr
www.puf.com
www.users.skynet.be
Teaching methods
Teaching is by lecture, and material used in class will be made available on the University platform ‘LEA’. Traditional and innovative theories and methods will be analysed and compared in class. More practical work is also integrated into the course with the language courses held by the language tutors throughout the academic year, as well as self-study activities in the multi-media laboratory.
Assessment methods and criteria
Competence and skills will be assessed through an oral examination in French after successfully passing the compulsory written examination. There are four parts to the written examination: listening comprehension, translation, dictation and written production-synthesis. Synthesis is an original written production based on a range of documents (usually 3/4 texts and/or images, pictures, articles etc.), and aims at the reconstruction of arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
Competence and skills tested during the oral examination are as follows:
- The ability to discuss written tests results
- Acquired knowledge, contents and skills
- The knowledge and ability to use semantic and pragmatic aspects of the language
- The ability to prepare and present an original written work (Synthesis)
The final mark will be calculated from the average of the written and oral examinations.
A negative assessment will be given if the student
- has failed to reach the minimum requirements of the course;
- has failed to achieve spoken competence at a C1 level;
- has failed to work in autonomy or make use of the information available.
Other information
Students are required to pass the written examination before being admitted to the oral examination. In order to take the written exam, it is compulsory for students to have completed 6 hours of self-study in the multi-media laboratory.
