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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME
Bonjour et bienvenue!
My name is Amy, and I am the President of the University of Queensland French Society (or UQFS for short). Congratulations on your decision to study French at the University of Queensland! It is a beautiful language, but undoubtedly a challenge: a long and sometimes perplexing road of accented letters, tenses, modes and nouns with genders. But do not be daunted! It is possible to learn to type incorporating the keyboard shortcuts for accents at almost your regular speed, and—hot tip—a lot of nouns ending in ‘–ion’ are feminine, except ‘champion’, at least. If you work with enthusiasm and immerse yourself, your UQ French studies will be a very rewarding experience that will leave you not only with a richer view of the world, a well-trained brain, a better understanding of language generally (including English!), a whole new world of film/literature/culture at your fingertips and a smooth new way of talking, but a valuable qualification that could send you to the career of your dreams: from French teacher to the United Nations, business to the Olympic Games, French can take you many places.
But it’s not all triple-checking your grammar before you submit your assignment to Turnitin, exams spent rifling through your dictionary (seriously, as long as you are allowed one, never forget it), or lying awake at night wondering why stop signs in France say ‘stop’ and not ‘arrêt’ like those in Québec (please, if anybody knows, tell me—I’ve been wondering since 2012): university is a dish best shared with friends. That’s where we come in!
The UQFS was established in 2014 and has already grown to be the second-largest university French society in the country. We’re here to be your best French friend, as well as a best French friend to your friends who don’t even speak French (quoi?)—from native Francophone to beginner student to future traveller to “I just really enjoyed Amélie” (didn’t we all), we’re here to bring a little taste of la France to anyone and everyone at UQ. Our buddy program for first years will pair you up with more experienced students to impart their wisdom and help you settle in! We’ve also got conversation groups for all ability levels for your practice purposes; French film nights for your audio-visual enjoyment; career, education and exchange information for your major/extended major/minor/diploma of languages to take you as far as possible; lively social events for your recommended dose of joie de vivre; and a dedicated pastry convenor, for all our collective pastry needs (there are many). That’s right—UQFS, c’est bon.
So jump in and enjoy yourself! Come to our events, get involved with our initiatives, meet your fellow French students. Don’t hesitate to come and say ‘bonjour’ if you recognise any of the faces in this guide making their way around campus (we love friends), and if you ever have any questions at all, get in touch at [email protected] and we would be very happy to help you.
I wish you all the best for 2015!
Bon courage,
Amy Bergman
President
FIRST YEAR OFFICER WELCOME
Salut tout le monde!
Welcome to the University of Queensland French Society! My name is Keny Arcangeli and I am your First Year Officer (FYO) for 2015. First year at uni can be intimidating, even more so when you show up to your first French class and the teacher will only speak French! I am here to assist you in your transition into uni as well French! Here is my advice for the year:
-‐ Go to class! Most French classes aren’t recorded and won’t be available on Blackboard. Plus you get to interact with your teacher and fellow students in French, hence improving your speaking skills!
-‐ Make sure you are confident with your class level. Push yourself, but recognise your limits. There is no point putting yourself in a class where you don’t understand what’s going on. Start where you feel comfortable, and build from there.
-‐ Check Blackboard daily. That is where all your course content will/should be put up, including extra worksheets, quizzes, and recordings. This will be one of your largest resources at Uni.
-‐ Find a French hobby. Be it TV shows, music, movies, or tumblr blogs, find something that you enjoy and can improve on your French at the same time.
-‐ Always read the criteria provided for assignments or exams. You can easily go from a 7 to 6 because you forgot to incorporate a specific tense or mention to a subject. Make sure you identify what you need for a 7 and build on from there.
-‐ Always go back over your work, if possible, get someone else to check it for you. Especially when writing in another language, it’s easy to forget the simple basics that another person could easily pick up on!
-‐ Get involved with UQFS! We run conversation classes, picnics, movie nights, and many more activities! Discover people with the same interests as you and perhaps your next study-buddy. I cannot stress how important it is to have someone you can turn to whilst studying French.
Feel free to add your own personal tips and tricks to improve your French here at UQ. If you have any questions regarding anything at all with French at UQ, feel free to email me at [email protected] or call me on 0431 438 502. Good luck with your studies and I look forward to meeting you all throughout the year!
Keny Arcangeli
First Year Officer
FIRST YEAR RESOURCES
1. Your lecturer/course coordinator Your first point of contact should be your lecturer or your course coordinator. They are always happy to help you out with absolutely any question you might have.
2. Other Students Becoming friends with other students in your class will not only make class more fun, but also give you people to cram with in SWOTVAC. If you miss something in class or just want to practise more, ask other students in your class.
3. UQFS Buddy Program Your buddy is there to give you tips, help you understand the assessment, and let you know what to expect from your course. They can’t help you with your actual assessment, but if you have your first oral exam coming up and don’t know what to expect, or you don’t know how much preparation you should be doing for class, then ask your buddy.
4. Conversation Classes The UQ French School is running different classes a week (at each level). So come along each week to practise speaking French in a laid back environment. Conversation classes even double as revision and practise for your assessment!
5. The UQ French Society If you are having an issue, talk to us. We will either help you or direct you to a person who can. If you have a complaint, want to know about more events/conversation classes, want career information, want to know more about your courses or want information about exchange; then just can email the relevant officer, the first year officer or uqfrenchsociety@ gmail.com (a general email address for us). Like us on Facebook to keep up with all of our notifications.
6. Facebook Groups We have created groups on Facebook for each course, so find your course and join now! They are all named the same way for instance FREN1010 - Intro French A Connection Group or FREN3112 - French Language Connection Group . Here you will be able to ask other students/UQFS questions about the course and see notifications and reminders.
7. The French Guide The UQFS will be releasing a French Guide really soon which will include student reviews of all French courses at UQ, exam and study tips. This will be invaluable for choosing electives and knowing which textbooks are/are not necessary.
FIRST YEAR SEM. 1 COURSES
The courses listed below should be one of your first French Courses, depending on your level.
FREN1010: Introductory French A
For: students who have not studied French before.
Assessment: participation (10%), 2 x blogs (10%), a recorded speech (10%), a group interview (10%), an oral simulation (20%) and a final exam (40%, of which 20% is writing and 20% is listening).
Textbook: Nouveau Rond-point 1 and accompanying workbook. These were found to be necessary by past students, along with a dictionary you can take to class with you. There is further material on Blackboard.
Tips: It is very useful to attend all classes, as it is difficult to catch up. Group practice outside of class was very useful to prepare for the oral exams.
FREN2010: Intermediate French A
For: students who have completed FREN1020 or ab initio high school (i.e. up to year 10).
Assessment: Class participation and discussion (10%), 2 group orals (10% + 30%), a mid-semester exam (20%), and a final exam (30%).
Textbook: Nouveau Rond-point 2 (B1) and accompanying workbook. You also need L’Analphabète by Agota Kristof which is an easy but interesting novel. There is further material on Blackboard.
Tips: Keep up with the worksheets. They require a bit of effort if you want the marks.
FREN3112: French Language A
For: students who have completed Senior French at high school (or equivalent).
Assessment: An email (5%), a formal letter as a mid-semester exam (15%), a reflection on the formal letter (5%), an audio role play (20%), an autobiographical text plan (10%), a speech (20%), and a final exam (5% listening comprehension, 5% reading and 15% essay: 25% total).
Textbook: Grammaire du français Niveaux B1/B2 du Cadre européen commun de reference, which was helpful for reference and used in class on some occasions.
Tips: The teachers were approachable and provided helpful pointers and tips for assessment. It is worth attending classes, especially for the help. Make the most of teachers being able to comment on drafts for written assignments. The final presentation is a pair project, so pick a good work buddy.
JULIANA’S 10 TIPS FOR FRENCH @ UQ
FROM JULIANA DE NOOY (FRENCH COORDINATOR)
1. The best piece of language advice I ever had was from an Australian on the day I landed in France. She said “Never speak English to French speakers unless they are paying you.” It was great advice and I followed it: the money trickled in from people who wanted to practise their English and I learnt a heap of French.
So that was the Number 1 Tip that helped me. Here are a few more for improving your French while you’re at university. The first half are for everyone, the last ones are for intermediate and advanced students. They are not primarily focused on assessment, but the wonderful thing about languages is that if you improve your French skills while focusing on rock climbing, photography or yoga, your grades in French are likely to improve at the same time. So here goes:
2. Find a French-speaker and get to know them in French. It doesn’t have to be a native speaker. The first friends I made in Paris were a Lebanese and a Greek student and my real boost in fluency came from talking with them every couple of days. So find someone from your French class – maybe someone from your group for the first assessment – and make a pact to have regular coffee/skype/facetime sessions with them where you speak in French. It’s quite possible to go through university and hardly meet anyone, so don’t let it happen to you! Use your French classes to make a new friend and at the same time improve your French.
3. Don’t s tew! Talk to your tutor if you’re worried. True story: I spent my first semester at uni worrying that I would fail French because I only understood half of what people said in the listening exercises. I was all prepared to drop French in semester 2 if I failed. Bad idea, and I could have saved myself a lot of angst if I’d had the courage to talk to my tutor. I didn’t realize that the point was to catch the gist of the conversation, and that you didn’t need to understand every word to manage the listening test. Which brings me to the next tip:
4. Don’t worry i f you don’t understand everything. Whether you’re listening or reading, put all your energy into what you do understand. Don’t focus on what you don’t know or you’ll miss the bits you know. You don’t need to understand every word to get full marks on the listening test.
Now some simple ways of increasing your exposure to French:
5. Go into the settings of your phone/ipod/facebook page/kindle and change the default language to French. You already know what all those prompts mean, now learn the French terms!
6. Turn routine into remarkable. Any moment where you’re doing something relatively mindless (taking a shower?), tell yourself what you’re doing in French. If you’re stepping on a bus, for example, Beginner: je prends le bus. Intermédiaire : je paie trois dollars quatre-vingt-treize centimes pour un voyage inconfortable dans un bus surchargé. Avancé : Si j’étais mieux rémunérée pour mes heures chez Macdo, si j’étais moins consciente du réchauffement climatique, et s’il y avait des places de parking après 8h45, je me rendrais à la fac en bagnole au lieu de suer dans les transports en commun. When you see a car number plate, or a telephone number, say it in French. When you can’t help hearing someone’s telephone conversation, invent replies in French.
7. Songs -- can’t get the words out of your head? So find some in French! Try Zaz, Tal, Shy’m, Matt Pokora, Faudel. Great for pronunciation too. Of course the vocabulary you acquire might not be appropriate to every conversation…
8. Do i t in French : Whatever your passion, pursue it with Francophones. Use google to find out about rugby, vinyl, quilting, gaming, whatever, in French. Like their facebook page, and leave comments in French.
9. Watch the news in French on SBS TV, or listen to France Info (http://www.franceinfo. fr/ ) or follow reddit in French.
10. Say i t in French. If you really need to say it, you’ll remember the words for it. [I’ll never forget how to talk about spark plugs after having my car towed]. So whatever is on your mind, find out the words for it in French. Carry out imaginary conversat ions in French in your head. Rehearse what you would say, what they would say. This is good preparation for orals too.
Je vous souhaite un bon semestre et beaucoup de progrès en français.
A bientôt
Juliana
UQFS EXECUTIVE 2015
Amy Bergman President
Lachlan Duffy Vice-President
Arabella Bennett Secretary
Kate Buchanan Treasurer
Marco Pedrett i Socials Convenor
Dan Mouat Socials Convenor
Keny Arcangeli First Years Officer
Lucy Byram Education Officer
Henry Steel Careers Officer
Lucinda Tonge International &
Exchange Officer
Coen Riddle Marketing and
Sponsorship Director
Lucy Endicott Pastry Convenor
Akash Mahendra Ambassador to German
Club
UQFS SOCIAL CALENDAR SEMESTER ONE 2015
Market Day
25th of February
Launch Party
6th of March
French Film Festival UQFS Movie Night
Week 3
Pétanque et Profs
Week 6
Eurovision Party
Week 11
Raclette et Fondu Soirée
Week 13
End of Semester Drinks Last Week of Exam Block
UQFS CONTACTS 2015
Name Position Email Amy Bergman President [email protected] Lachlan Duffy Vice-President [email protected] Arabella Bennett Secretary [email protected] Kate Buchanan Treasurer [email protected] Marco Pedretti Socials Convenor [email protected] Dan Mouat Socials Convenor [email protected] Keny Arcangeli First Year Officer [email protected] Lucy Byram Education Officer [email protected] Lucinda Tonge International and
Exchange Officer [email protected]
Henry Steel Careers Officer [email protected] Akash Mahendra Ambassador to
German Club [email protected]
Coen Riddle Marketing and Publishing Officer
Lucy Endicott Pastry Convenor [email protected]
Any general questions, or unsure whom to contact? Email [email protected] and we would be happy to help. We look forward to hearing from you!
