$97
Spring 2025 registration is now open. Classes begin the week of January 13, 2025.
14 weeks of Zoom classes and online course materials. Less than $7.00 per class!
Accelerated beginning level French language and culture course for adult learners, taught by Carnegie Mellon University faculty for students with an intense desire to learn the language. Is French 1 or French 2 right for you?
Participants can earn a certificate of completion if they meet the requirements.
Elementary French 2 is a carefully sequenced and highly interactive presentation of French language and culture in a media-rich course environment. The latest update includes a self-paced version of the course with scored assessments for independent learners, and new video shot in France and Québec with young professional actors.
In the instructor-led course, you will have a weekly synchronous Zoom class (60-minutes) in which you will get the opportunity to practice your French speaking, grammar, and vocabulary skills with your peers. You will also receive weekly emails from your instructor with suggested pacing for moving through the lesson materials. Additionally, you will be able to email your instructor with any questions you may have about the course.
To successfully use this course, you should be a motivated adult student (aged 8 and up) with a sincere desire to learn about French language and francophone cultures, and be comfortable with computer technologies. Elementary French 2 is a great place for you if you are already comfortable speaking in the present tense, introducing yourself, describing your daily routine, and making plans. If you already have some awareness of the “passé composé”, that will help you to succeed in this course, which starts with the introduction of the “imparfait” (a French past tense).
To receive a Certificate of Completion in this course, you will need to score at least 70% on each of the the end of lesson assessments. To be awarded a Certificate with Distinction, you will need to score at least 90% on each of the end of lesson assessments. Attending the weekly course meetings and doing the auto-graded exercises throughout each lesson will help prepare you for success on the end of lesson assessments. The time commitment will typically range from seven to nine hours a week.
Click here for information on instructor-led language courses
You will be required to use videoconferencing software, such as Zoom, which you will be able to use for free with the link that your instructor provides you.
This course targets communicative competence in the following domains: My Family, My Neighborhood, My Future, The Body, My Regime, Young People and Stress, Vacations, Modes of Transport, A Virtual Trip, Political Opinions, Change, Ecology, Where to Live, Questions of Identity, Languages and Life.
Each lesson opens with a video dramatization that sets the context for the lesson. Parts of the video are then replayed in a variety of interactive activities and tutors. Each video in the course was written specifically to serve as the foundation for the lesson in which it is used. These high quality videos were produced with French actors on location in France (Nantes) and Quebec (Montreal) so the speech, movements and contexts are authentic.
The beginning of each lesson is always a set sequence, from simple recognition of language in a video dialogue, through explicit learning of grammar and pronunciation, to written and spoken production of variations on that language. After this ordered beginning, a number of activities are offered to the student in which the language learned is used in understanding new texts, sounds or videos or in creative production (conversation or writing).
| French 1 might be right for you if any of the following apply | French 2 might be right for you if any of the following apply |
|---|---|
| You have never taken French before, and you are willing to put in around 9 hours per week to studying this course. | You have taken at least one semester of college French or two years of high school French, in the recent past. |
| You took some French in high school or college, but it has been several years since. | You remember most of the basics that you have learned in French. You’re comfortable with verbs in the present tense, avoir, être, and faire. |
| You would like to learn the fundamental French structures and vocabulary for greetings, personality, dates and times, age, appearance, hobbies, work, family, and food. | You can introduce yourself, say your age and origin, and talk about what you like to do in French. |
| You may have some self-study in the form of French language learning apps, but you’re looking to formalize what you know and to learn more. | You have been exposed to speaking and writing in the past in French. There is a review of passé composé and imparfait in the beginning of French 2, but it helps if you’ve already seen the passé composé. |
| You just moved to a French-speaking place, but do not yet feel comfortable speaking French in your surroundings. | You may not have had formal study, but you have had extensive self-study with French in the form of using language learning apps and or books consistently for at least a year. |
| You want to travel to a French-speaking country after this course and to communicate with customer service individuals in French. | You have extensive experience learning another Romance language, like Spanish or Italian, and you also know a little bit of French. |
| No one in your family speaks French. | Your family speaks French and you can understand sometimes, but would like to feel more confident responding in French. |
If you still have questions about whether to sign up for French 1 or 2, you can contact Natalie Amgott (namgott@andrew.cmu.edu).
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