Summer 2016/Pasadena
LG565
Ramos
LG565: THEOLOGICAL FRENCH (4 Units: 160 hours). Melissa Ramos.
DESCRIPTION: This course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of French. Students will be introduced to French vocabulary and grammar necessary for reading and translating the Bible, theological journal articles and books in academic research. Students will also be introduced to available resources and tools for reading and translating French texts.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who pass this course will demonstrate that they are able to (1) translate academic articles and books that are available only in French and are necessary for their research using only a dictionary; (2) make informed choices about tools for translating, such as grammars, dictionaries, and websites; (3) distinguish similarities and dissimilarities between English and French grammar; (4) improve upon their French pronunciation skills.
COURSE FORMAT: This course meets once weekly for two-and-a-half hour sessions over eight weeks for 20 hours of classroom instruction. An additional 20 hours of instruction will be conducted online. Classroom and online instruction will include lecture and discussion for a total of 40 instructional hours.
REQUIRED READING: [450 total pages required]
Brickman, Celia. A Short Course in Reading French. Columbia University Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0231156776, Pub. Price $35.00. [264 pages]
La Bible en français au courant. Alliance Biblique Universelle, 1988. Free online: lire.la-bible.net [50 pages assigned]
A French Dictionary such as:
Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary: French-English English-French. Edited by M. H. Correard and V. Grundy. Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0198614227, Pub. Price $55.00.
Collins-Robert French-English English-French Dictionary. 8th. ed. Collins Publishers, 2006. ISBN: 978-0007221080, Pub. Price $55.00.
Literature, academic articles, and liturgical materials in French available online and through eReserves: [75 pages]
Lectures and other resource materials on the course website.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Kendris, Christopher. 501 French Verbs Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses. 5th ed. Barron’s Educational Series, 2003. ISBN: 978-0764124297, Pub. Price $16.99.
Ritch, K. Janet. Reading French: A Guide for Students of Religion and Theology. Clements Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 978-1894667272, Pub. Price $39.95.
Sandberg, Karl and Eddison Tatham. French for Reading. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1997. ISBN: 978-0133316032, Pub. Price $71.80.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
Online class activities, including short video lectures, visual and audio presentations [15 hours].
Attendance and participation in all class meetings at the Pasadena campus is required (10%) [20 hours].
Weekly quizzes on vocabulary, grammar, and translation (25%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3] [20 hours].
Weekly online homework/forum posts demonstrating mastery of vocabulary, grammar, and nuances of translation (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-4]. [65 hours].
Translation of an excerpt from an academic article or book chapter in French (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, and 3] [25 hours].
FINAL exam (30%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [15 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None. Transcript evidence of prior study required to audit this class.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.
FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.