Beginning French 101/ A1.1

RESERVED FOR COMPLETE BEGINNERS (who never had French). ALL OTHERS, PLEASE TAKE PLACEMENT TEST: /en/Placement.aspx

Grammar: gender, definite/indefinite articles, negation, interrogation, present tense regular "-er" verbs and Etre & Avoir , nationality adjectives, interrogative adjectives quel and quelle, possessive adjectives (1), prepositions + contracted articles, pourquoi/parce que, closed questions (est-ce que...) present tense for prendre and descendre, prepositions + names of country(1 and 2), demonstrative adjectives.

Conversation: alphabet, numbers 0 to 99, dates, days of the week, months of the year, formal and informal greetings, formalities, questions and answers, nationalities and languages, expressing one's tastes (1), city places, housing, directions, ordinal numbers.

Know-How To : introduce oneself, inquire about someone, ask or give personal information, count, communicate in the classroom, greet, take leave, ask politely, ask about the price of something, talk about one's tastes (1), one's dreams and passions, talk about one's city, give directions, ask or give explanations, get information on housing/ lodging, give out a simple itinerary, write a postcard, give one's impressions of a place, talk about one's hobbies, talk about the weather

Lessons:Alter Ego 1, Unit 0 to Unit 2 (page 9 to 48)

Beginning French 102 / A1.2

Pre-requisite: completion of class 101 or placement test.

Grammar: verb + noun/verb, present tense of aller and faire+ contracted prepositions, gender in professions, gender and plural for adjectives, stressed pronouns, present of pouvoir/vouloir/devoir, pronoun "on" = "nous", imperative, different ways of telling time, pronominal verbs in the present tense, expressing time, présent/ passé composé, passé composé (1): verb dire in the present, near future, chez + stressed pronoun.

Conversation: work, sports and culture, animals, physical and psychological description, outings, colloquial and idioms (1), time, daily activities, celebrations.

Know-How to: talk about one's tastes and activities/hobbies (2), talk about one's job, talk about oneself, describe someone, suggest an outing, invite someone, accept an invitation, refuse an invitation, make an appointment, give instructions, ask about time and schedules, talk about one's personal schedule, tell events in the past, understand and complete a survey, talk about one's projects.

Lessons:Alter Ego 1, Dossier 3 et 4 (pages 49 à 80)

Beginning French 103 / A2.1

Pre-requisite: completion of classes 101 and 102 or placement test.

Grammar: possessive adjectives (2), recent past / near future, passé composé (2): pronominal verbs and verbs with être, C'est / Il est + adjective, il a + noun, grammatical structures to indicate weather /climate / date / season / month, grammatical structures to describe a place, place of the adjectives (1): adjectifs qualificatifs, pronoun y for places, simple future, continuous present, specifics of oral French, pronoun on (2)

 Conversation: family events, avoir mal à + body parts,  family links, telephone conversations, expressing percentages, physical description, weather and climate, senses, sensations, perceptions, geography, outdoor activities; food. 

Know-How to:  announce a / react to a family event, ask about or give news about someone, talk about one's family, call / answer the phone, understand statistics, relate past events, understand biographical data, describe someone physically, express sensations and feelings, talk about the seasons, understand and give simple information about the weather (2), place an event in the year, locate a geographical place, present and describe a place, talk about outdoor activities, understand a program of visits, talk about cultural activities, write a vacation letter, talk about one's culinary tastes and food consumption; understand and compose a menu.

Lessons:Alter Ego 1, Units 5 and 6 (pages 81 to 112) and first lesson in Unit 7 (pages 113 to 117)

Beginning French 104/ A2.2

Pre-requisite: completion of classes 101 thru 103 or placement test.

 Grammar: Prepositions de / à ; partitive/definite/indefinite articles, negative quantity : pas de, direct object complement pronouns: le, la, les, l'; indirect object complement pronouns: lui, leur; relative pronouns qui/que; pronoun en; precise quantity, remainder (ne...plus), restricted quantity (ne...que); place of the adjective (2), imparfait to narrate memories; imparfait for a past situation / present for a current situation; comparative structures (with nouns and adjectives); depuis / il y a; infinitive and imperative; devoir / pouvoir + infinitive; il faut + infinitive.

Lessons:Alter Ego 1, Unit 7 (second half) to Unit 10 (pages 118 to 165)

Brush Up! Beginning Level A2

If you have previously learned French but feel “rusty” or feel the need of reinforcing your knowledge of the  basic levels, then this brush-up course is geared toward you! In this course, you will re-acquaint yourself with proper pronunciation, re-activate your vocabulary and focus on basic grammatical rules.

Discutons! A2

Pre-requisite: completion of at least classes 101 thru 103.

A good way to take a break from the regular classes as well as to reinforce your conversational skills. For students achieving levels 103 to 201.

Teachers will encourage students to speak using many different techniques and approaches (little groups, main group) and exercises.