1. Preamble KENYATTA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE COURSE IN FRENCH French has been offered at Kenyatta for more that thirty years : first as an S1 Programme, then Diploma and finally B.Ed. since 1971. Kenyatta University is currently training the largest number of teachers in this programme. The department of Foreign Languages has recognized the relevance of French for the various subject combinations offered by the University. The Certificate course which the department proposes to launch aims to cater for those to whom French would be an added advantage on the employment market. 2. Rationale Kenya today is a country at the centre of different world cultures and languages. The French language is becoming more and more relevant to Kenyans for various reasons. Not only is Kenya continuing to grow in popularity as a tourist destination, it has also recently become a preferred choice for international conferences. The acceptance of Rwanda and Burundi into the East African Community will most certainly change the linguistic landscape of the region, the two being basically francophone. Kenya is not only home to several international organisations but also home to communities from french-speaking countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These factors, and others, have led to the increased interest in French, prompting the Department of Foreign Languages to consider offering the beginners' course. 3. Mission The mission of the Department is to play a role in the development of high-level human resources at Kenyatta University. Acquisition of competence in communication skills in French would be an important tool in this endeavour. 4. Vision The vision of the department of Foreign Languages is to become the gateway into the international arena by providing the opportunity to Kenyans to communicate with the world. 5. Objectives 1. To provide a base for the French Language to those interested in communicating in it.
2. To cultivate an interest and provide tools to learners to enable them to express themselves in the French language. 3. To enable learners to acquire a basic knowledge of the French Culture so as to interact with the Francophone countries all over the world. 6. Admission Requirements i. Common regulations for certificate programmes in the University shall apply. ii. General regulations for certificate courses in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences shall apply. iii. Applicants for the Certificate courses in French shall be required to have a KCSE (mean grade C-) or equivalent. 7. Certification i. Students in the certificate programme in French will be required to successfully complete the 12 units offered to qualify for the award of the certificate in French. ii. The certificate in French will be awarded by Kenyatta University. 8. Duration and Pattern of the Programme i ii iii. The programme will be offered on both full time and part -time basis. The programme duration is one academic year (Two semesters) of 12 units. The mode of teaching shall be through lectures, oral skills, role plays, oral presentations, assignments, written and oral examinations. 9. Examinations i. Common regulations governing school/university examinations shall apply. ii. iii. iv. A student enrolled in the programme shall be expected to take examinations in all units taught. Final examination will account for 70% while continuous assessment will be 30%. The grading shall be in accordance with common Certificate Programme regulations of the University. The certificate shall be awarded to those who pass in all the 12 units. 2
10. Programme Structure First Semester AFFCO1- Introduction to French Speaking World: French Language and culture AFFCO2 - Conversational French I AFFCO3 - French Grammar I AFFCO4 - Language Practice: Structural Exercises I AFFCO5 - Reading and Listening I AFFCO6 - French Verb I Second Semester AFFCO7 - Conversational French II AFFCO8 - French Grammar II AFFCO9 - Language Practice: Structure Exercises II AFFCO10 - Reading and Listerning II AFFCO11 -Writing in French AFFCO12 - French Verb II Course Description AFCOI: Introduction to the French - speaking World: French Language and Culture Summary of France geography and history; specificities of the French culture; French as an international language; French speaking countries in the world; introduction to French Language (alphabet, sounds, pronunciation, phonetics system). AFCO2: Conversational French I Greetings and basic courtesies: Getting to know others (expressing likes and dislikes, disagreements; expressing negative ideas ) Getting information: asking questions; Identifying objects; Introducing people and things, counting, asking how much/how many? Having and sharing (talking about friends, family, and professions ) Asking the way and directions; Giving directions. AFCO03: French Grammar I Definite and indefinite articles Study of nouns: singular and plural, gender Adjectives: possessive adjectives, adjective of qualification, demonstrative adjectives, conjugation of the verbs "ETRE" and "AVOIR" in simple tenses.. 3
Adverbs expressing time; place, frequency quantity, negation) Useful prepositions. The simple sentence. The negative form - AFCO4: Language Practice: Structural Exercises I From a given basic French structure, students will do as many exercises as possible to acquire language skills: Interrogative transformation; Exclamative transformation; Negative transformation; The use of some presentatives "Voici" voilà, il y a, c'est. AFCO5: Reading and Listening I Getting used to pronounce french sounds by listening to tapes and repeating. Reading appropriate texts, summarising them, answering Questions to test comprehension. Memorization and recitation of french texts. AFCO6: French Verbs I Conjugation of regular verbs in different tenses; The use of present, past, future, active voice; Personal pronouns, number and gender. Characteristic expressions - AFCO7: Conversational French II French in specific contexts: through oral drills, role plays presentation, to improve one's spoken French in specific situations of communication: In the restaurant, at the bus station, in the market, at the hospital, at the airport, in the classroom/school. AFCO8: French Grammar II Study of French sentence ( coo-rdination, juxtapposition, subordination); The subordinate clause; Indefinite adjective; Adjective degree; Adverbs of intensity; Pronouns, Expressing opinions, orders, and ideas. AFCO9: Language Practice: Structural Exercises II Exercises to improve written and spoken expression skills: Passive transformation; Reduction; Inversion; Amplification; Impérative transformation; Substitution; AFC10: Reading and Listening II Exercises of listening and summarising more advanced texts Reading, memorization and recitation of texts; Reading and Listening Comprehension exercises. 4
AFCO11: Writing in French Written expression; Description of a person, object, scene Written communication: - Private letters; Simple official letters; Asking for an official document, commercial order; Invitations; Simple Advertisements; AFCO12: French Verbs II Conjugation of irregular verbs in different tenses; passive and pronominal voices; Relative pronouns; The use of different tenses of the past; Tense agreement; Characteristic expressions 5