French courses information
FRENCH COURSES IN SMALL GROUPS COMPRISED OF NO MORE THAN 12 STUDENTS
Our French courses are taught by certified instructors who are all used to teaching French as a foreign language. The small student-to-instructor ratio encourages individualized instruction so that each student can improve rapidly according to her/his needs and desires. Particular emphasis on communication.
All our French courses are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).
Upon your arrival at school, on the first day, you will be given a written and oral placement test which will determine your group for the French lessons.
A certificate of attendance is delivered at the end of the session.
If you wish to, you can take the DELF exams at CILFA during the academic year at the end of your session in March, June and December.
Methodology
“Approche actionnelle”. The four skills (oral and written comprehension, oral and written productions) are taught in a balanced way while focusing on interactions, in particular during group work.
Numerous learning activities are offered: role play, debates, presentations, authentic French documents, songs, DVD excerpts, games, etc. Writing a diary is also encouraged, notably for levels A1 and A2 (individual correction available on request).
Assessment during the session :
– formative assessment takes place throughout the session in the form of continuous assessment to measure progress,
– an overall assessment of the 4 skills (DELF type) is carried out in class at the end of the session.
CILFA offers courses all year to A1, A2, B1, B2 levels. (C1 and C2 levels on demand).
CILFA is a center for the DILF exam (Diplôme Initial de Langue Française), the DELF exam (Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française) and the DALF exam (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française).
The common European framework of reference for languages (CEFRL) :
A1 level (Discovery)
At this level, A1 (Discovery), the student can understand very simple and daily expressions about himself when these expressions are clearly pronounced.
He can understand simple written words and sentences.
He can communicate on familiar subjects and his elementary needs as well as those of the person he is speaking to if the latter is cooperative.
He can describe his place of residence and people he knows, write a postal card and fill in an easy questionnaire.
A2 level (Survival)
At this level, A2 (Survival), the student can understand and write messages, letters or simple and short texts related to his close environment. He can shortly participate in discussions about subjects or activities which are familiar to him (family, studies, work, hobbies, accommodation).
He can also evocate other subjects connected to his direct needs.
B1 level (Threshold)
The common european framework of reference for languages (CEFRL)
At the level, B1 (Threshold), the student can understand the main points of a speech about a familiar topic or a current event in a dialog, on radio or television, in a newspaper or a letter.
He can cope with usual situations in his daily life or during a trip and participate in a discussion connected with his environment.
He can also explain facts and projects, while providind brief details about the subject.
He can express a written and coherent text on personal matters and describe feelings and experiences.
B2 level (Independent)
At this level, B2 (Independent), the student can easily understand a fairly long speech about familiar subject including more technical discussion in the media.
He can quite easily understand a film in a standard language. He can understand informative and argumentative texts connected with the news, including current literary texts.
He can express himself with a native speaker on various subjects, while defending his opinion.
He can clearly express himself on many written subjects connected with his environment.
Services and workshops
From October to June, in addition to French lessons, CILFA offers services and workshops in order to help students to learn French more efficiently:
- Tutoring
- Phonetics
- Conversation
Library
All year round, CILFA students can borrow books appropriate for their level (grammar and vocabulary books, easy-to-read French novels, etc.) and DVDs with French subtitles from the school library.
During the library opening hours, a French teacher is available to provide students with the most appropriate resources to learn French at their level.
It is also possible to use computers to practice the French language or phonetics.