French Beginner 1 & 2 Accelerated

This is not a prescriptive list. Exact course outlines are determined by the instructor to best meet the needs of the class. This is meant to serve as a guideline and suggest what may be covered at this level. It is often necessary to repeat levels in order to become completely comfortable with the skills at each stage with a different teacher and style.

Communicative objectives

• Introduce and identify yourself and others
• Greet people and engage in basic conversations
• Tell time and exchange contact information
• Describe family, friends, and personal preferences
• Ask for and give directions
• Order in a restaurant and make reservations
• Talk about daily activities and habits
• Make future plans and express past events
• Buy things in a store and discuss preferences
• Describe people, places, and emotions

Linguistic objectives

• pronunciation, phonetics
• conjugation in present tense of regular –ER verbs and irregular verbs to be, to have and to do/make
• possessive adjectives (introduction)
• review of present tense of regular –er verbs, reflexive verbs
• conjugation of some irregular verbs (pouvoir, vouloir, devoir/aller/prendre)
• direct object pronouns
• conditional sentences introduced by « if » in the present tense
• expressions of time and duration (il y a, pendant, dans, etc.)
• passé composé with avoir
• future proche, imperative
• more sophisticated questioning techniques

You can expect to spend about three hours per week attending live, virtual classes and completing course work on your own time. Expect double this amount during the intensive summer term.

This course does not require the purchase of a textbook. Course materials are provided by the instructor.

This course is offered online and/or in-person. See Available Sessions for details on the course format.

Our online conversational courses offer a virtual classroom experience where you can see and interact with your teacher and classmates over Zoom. Log in at a set time to participate in individual, pair and group work, ask questions and receive feedback from your instructor.

Outside of class time, access course materials online at your own pace for up to three weeks after the course ends.

In-person classes are offered at UBC Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. 

Learn more about online learning at Extended Learning.

This is a non-credit course without letter or numerical grades. You receive verbal feedback on your conversation and grammar skills from your instructor during class. Written homework is typically corrected in class. Some lesson modules may include quizzes.

Record of completion

A record of completion will be emailed to students who participate and satisfy the course requirements within two weeks of the course end date. Course completion means 80% attendance and/or 80% completion of mandatory assignments.

You’ll need a computer or tablet with a video camera and a microphone, access to the internet, an email account and an up-to-date web browser. The day before your course starts, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course.