Mia ([info]speaktruth2powr) wrote in [info]yorku,
2009-01-12 22:37:00

Learning French

I tried to search for this, but it didn't come up in the search function...so I'm making a new post.

I am interested in applying for an MA program in History next year, I've been told that in order for me be considered for a couple of the schools I am looking at I have to have a working knowledge of French.

Can I take a beginners French courses through York and have it count as a Pass/Fail course? 
Is there another way/place/institution I can learn French for less money than a 6 credit York course would cost me?

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  • 11 comments

[info]suitablyemoname

January 13 2009, 03:46:53 UTC 3 years ago

Can I take a beginners French courses through York and have it count as a Pass/Fail course?

Yes, but Pass/Fail tends to look bad on transcripts when you're applying to grad school.

I would recommend applying for this bursary program instead. It means you won't be able to do much work over the summer, but it's probably going to do more for you than six credits of beginner French. (Immersion is by far the best way to learn a language, and two hours a week over the course of a year just doesn't compare.)

[info]frandroid

January 13 2009, 04:02:37 UTC 3 years ago

I hugely recommend this program. Many friends who have taken it have impressed me (je suis québécois) with their knowledge of French upon their return. Do try to pick as remote a location as possible, to avoid contact with bilingual people. Montréal is a big no-no, Québec City has become a lot more bilingual, so aim for small towns.

[info]speaktruth2powr

January 13 2009, 04:04:48 UTC 3 years ago

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately this won't work for me. I have a child and I can't a) take off for 5 weeks without her, or b) bring her with me for 5 weeks.

[info]strikevictim

January 13 2009, 03:50:48 UTC 3 years ago

thanks for the link on the bursary program! that is good to know.

[info]jacksonspoint

January 13 2009, 03:57:32 UTC 3 years ago

A beginners' French course is not going to give you the working knowledge of French that will be necessary for grad programs that require foreign language fluency.

[info]speaktruth2powr

January 13 2009, 04:03:38 UTC 3 years ago

I have to be able to translate passages from French to English.

My issues is speaking - I am quite adept at picking up the reading/writing aspect of it. I just don't have the confidence to speak it.

[info]mildred_strange

January 13 2009, 11:28:37 UTC 3 years ago

There's a place downtown that offers french courses. I was looking into it to brush up on my skills before applying. Can I remember what it was called? I asked in the TO community. I'll search for it there when I get to work and email it to you.
For my application I was getting all worried about the french proficiency, but then I saw that it was only a reading and writing comprehension, not spoken. I can understand french perfectly, but thanks to my brilliant french immersion education, I can't speak it worth a damn.

[info]liliez

January 13 2009, 12:53:42 UTC 3 years ago

I had 8 years worth of French learning through the lovely TDSB system, and 2 years of elementary and intermediate French at Glendon. And I still probably wouldn't be able to francais my way out of a paper bag. The good thing is though, I learned more French through the French courses at Glendon than I ever did in junior and high school. You wouldn't be able to do this at Glendon (they take attendance) but depending on the class size at Keele and how the class is administered, why don't you try to sit in without being officially enrolled? I always do that @ York when I need extra knowledge but don't have the finances to pay for it. The beginners class might not teach you much at all--but you could try the Advanced Oral Communication courses.

[info]punkprincess19

January 14 2009, 10:52:30 UTC 3 years ago

not just the attendance, the classes are so small that they'd notice a stranger! i tried bringing my boyfriend to a french class with Shodja, he noticed right away!

[info]espressocup

January 13 2009, 14:28:43 UTC 3 years ago

I've been in a history graduate programme for a while now. For graduate school, you only need a reading comprehension of French with the help of a dictionary. I used a book 'French for Reading' by Sandberg and Tatham, which gave me the competency to write a fairly extensive research paper using only French sources.

Last year, York was offering some sort of French reading competency course which incoming students were being encouraged to take on a pass-fail basis.

It's not too big a deal, I wouldn't let it deter you from grad school.

[info]nightingale0

January 13 2009, 14:43:15 UTC 3 years ago

York offers French reading courses (2 different levels) every year. I still haven't done anything about my 2nd language - I'm really bad a languages - but I somehow have to learn German on my own. I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that a school that offers graduate degrees in Musicology does not offer a reading course in German :-(
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