Program Codes:
BAFRENED
Bachelor of Arts
Introduction
The French education major at Mercyhurst offer students hands-on experiences as they prepare to be language teachers in K-12 classrooms. With practicum experiences from the freshman year, our French Education majors graduate with strong language skills and deep understanding of best practices in world language education. As the only university in the Erie region to certify French and Spanish education students, our graduates are sought-after by area school districts. Additionally, 45 states have signed teacher certification reciprocity agreements with Pennsylvania, so language education graduates can teach all over the US.
Mission Statement
The Department of World Languages and Cultures supports the mission of the University by fostering meaningful language acquisition and cultural study that will enable our students to “exercise leadership in service toward a just world.”
The department promotes the acquisition of indispensable skills in intercultural communication for our students’ future careers and personal development. Understanding that we cannot truly understand a people without understanding their language, the department’s focus is on quality, student-centered instruction in the reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension skills necessary to function in our target languages. Courses in world cultures and literatures are a vital complement to language study and support the University core value of global responsibility, which “challenges us to learn how to steward the resources of the Earth wisely and to act in solidarity with its diverse peoples.”
In order to foster awareness of world cultures, the department supports study abroad experiences, sponsors speakers and other events on campus, and serves as a language and cultural resource to the greater Erie community. The department of World Languages and Cultures works to foster respect for others, an openness to difference, and productive relationships facilitated through intercultural communication.
Major Requirements
All majors must maintain an overall 2.5 GPA and at least a 2.75 GPA in major courses. French Education majors must also meet all the requirements of the Education Department, including their GPA minimums. All majors and those students seeking teaching certification, are expected to maintain a portfolio which will be important for assessment at Sophomore Review.
Entrance into the major program is determined by the successful completion of the Introduction and Intermediate sequence or by the demonstration of equivalent skills on the CLEP, AP, or International Baccalaureate examinations. Students must also successfully pass through the Sophomore Review process before formal admittance to the major is granted. In order to receive this degree and certification in French Education, students must complete all major courses indicated for the French major as well as all the requirements of the Education Department for K-12 certification.
An outline of requirements for the portfolio, which includes written and oral work, can be obtained from the student’s language advisor or from the Department Chair. Students with previous experience in a language offered by the department (including native speakers) must consult with the department faculty to be placed into an appropriate level course. The Department reserves the right to reassign students whose level of experience is not appropriate for the course.
Sophomore Review
During spring semester of the sophomore year, the Department reviews the student’s academic record, the language portfolio, and recommendations from professors to determine academic progress. At this time, qualified students are formally invited into the major and are informed in writing of the Department’s decision.
Senior Review
Spring semester of the senior year, students will meet with department faculty to conduct an exit review. All language majors sit for the Oral Proficiency Interview in their senior year. The OPI is an independent evaluation of a student’s language proficiency level by an outside evaluator. Students can use the OPI rating, which is recognized internationally, on their resumes and employment or graduate school applications.
FREN 203 or equivalent prior experience
Based on short stories, newspaper articles and excerpts from longer works, the course aims to develop vocabulary, reading comprehension, a sense of style and greater facility in discussion.
FREN 204
This course presents an introduction to the contemporary culture and civilization of France. Readings, lectures, reports and other activities introduce students to the geography, history and politics of France as well as contemporary issues such as family life, immigration and the European Union which are shaping the culture of the modern French Republic. The language of instruction is French.
FREN 204
Students will develop their communicative skills, while building vocabulary and a greater understanding of structure and idioms, through composition and guided as well as spontaneous conversations.
FREN 204
FREN 204
This upper level course focuses on the mastery of the International Phonetic Alphabet, the phonemes and allophones of French, phonetic and phonemic transcription, dialectical variation, etc.
FREN 204
Examination of several basic differences in the structure of the French and English languages. Exercises to develop expertise precede directed and free composition, problems of translation.
FREN 204
This course will present a historical overview of language education and introduce the student to various current approaches to foreign language teaching, including the Natural Approach, communicative methods, and Total Physical Response. Issues such as error correction, grammar instruction, testing (including the ACTFL proficiency guidelines), and bilingual education/ESL will be discussed. Students will become familiar with the use of the language lab and techniques for its implementation. *This course includes a 20-hour practicum. Prerequisite: Language education majors or Teaching English Language Learners certification/minor
This course does not assume prior language or linguistics study but rather introduces students to the social aspects of language, in general, and to the relationship between language and social factors that affect its usage, such as geography, gender, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic class.
Majors must choose at least two (2) electives in their major language.
FREN 204
This course is designed in sequence with Conversation/Composition I to provide further opportunities for creative communication, emphasizing both written and oral expression.
FREN 210
This course focuses on the rich cultural heritage of the "Seventh Art" in France, reviewing the history of the form and its artistic periods as well as the elements which distinguish different styles. Films, readings, lectures, class discussions and research writing in French will build strong cultural and communicative skills.
FREN 204
With instructor approval, students may use this course to develop an independent study program based on their experiences abroad. Students must have spent at least four weeks in a French-speaking country and must arrange, prior to the trip, to complete a research or creative project and present it during the term following their return.
FREN 204, FREN 207