This course develops the oral competence of students through the use of simple texts. Attention is given to the study of aspects of grammar such as parts of speech, and conjugation.
Emphasis is placed on spoken competence. Conversation and speech drills are conducted in the language laboratory.
This course lays a solid foundation in literature in the students. It explains elementary notions of art and the various branches of art and art forms. It then deals with literature as
an art form with its own resources, limits and justification. It further explains and discusses the three main literary genres – Prose Fiction, Poetry and Drama – their nature, differences
and similarities using illustrative examples. This will develop in the students a systematized sensitivity to literature and prepare them for more advanced literature courses.
This course develops in students the fluency of expression and adequacy in their verbal reaction to basic communication situations in both the local and international contexts; implying that equal attention is given to both oral and written expressions. Areas covered include grammatical structures related to direct and indirect speech and expressions used in various oral communicative situations.
This course introduces the students to the elementary notions of translation such as what, how and why we translate, the types or levels of translation and the qualities of a good translation. The practicum consists mainly of many exercises of translation of “units of translation” (phrases, clauses, simple individual sentences); then progressively of longer, more complex sentences, and then short passages.
This course lays emphasis on the correct use of tenses, moods, aspects and on the accurate use of grammatical structures and expressions used in descriptive essays.
Particular attention is paid to the logical and chronological ordering of thought and expression.
This course sensitizes students to some difficulties of translation and how to surmount them; difficulties such as the use of the ‘post position’, some uses of tenses, some uses
of the French subjunctive, use of the ‘Expletive Ne’ and some ‘traps’ such as ‘faux amis’ to accord. Exercises and quizzes on these difficulties train students to overcome them.
This is an introductory course that studies the notion of “l’Art poétique” in general and “l’Art poétique” of Boileau in particular. It undertakes a survey of literary trends, movements
and schools of the Classical and Enlightenment periods. Attention is focused specifically on literary movements and schools like classicism, neo-classicism or pre-romanticism.
This course teaches business, industrial and commercial organisations the functions of the secretariat and of the secretary in general. Its focus, however,
is the most important function of the secretary: correspondence, both within the organisation and with other corporate business organisations or individuals
in business relationships with their organisations. Model correspondences will be studied and analysed; many exercises, assignments and quizzes will be
given to ensure practice and assimilation.
This is an introductory course in French Linguistics, covering such areas as the history of the French Language, French Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Semantics.
It also introduces students to the basic concepts in Linguistics with the aim of helping them understand how language works as a complex system of signs.
The course introduces students to the emergence and evolution of modern African literature written in French. The historical development of the Négritude Movement is examined. Selected poetic
works of the protagonists and antagonists of the Négritude Movement are studied with due emphasis on their themes and style. Other genres (drama and prose) illustrative of current themes are
studied through representative texts. Works of Sembène Ousmane, Bernard Dadie, Oyono-Mbia, Ferdinand Oyono, Birago Diop, Aimé Césaire, Mongo Beti, Calixthe Beyala, Mariama Bâ are studied.
