French and Francophone Studies

Year One Semesters One and Two

FREN 161: Practising French I (3, 1, 3)
This course is aimed at enhancing the auditory and production skills of students. Emphasis will be placed on: the ability to discriminate between sounds, correct acquisition of intonation, stress and rhythmic patterns, choice of words use of tense and mood. Class activities include recognition tests, transcription of words, repletion of sounds in isolation, in words and in the stream of speech, reading. Selected radio and TV programmes will serve as a basis for discussions and criticism.

FREN 162 Practising French II (3, 1, 3)
This course centres around the modification of sounds in the stream of speech. Students are formally introduced to juncture phenomena, namely “liaison interdite” and “liaison facultative”. Class activities include: Listening to radio & T.V. programmes, reading aloud of selected texts and free speech.

FREN 163 Introductory French Translation I (French into English) (2, 1, 2)
The aim of this course is to help students translate short and simple texts from French into English and increase their awareness of the need to treat each language as a system of its own kind incommensurate with any other. Topics to be treated at this level are: linguistic translatability/linguistic untranslatability, faux cousins.

FREN 164 Introductory French Translation II (English into French) (2, 1, 2)
Students will be taught the skills needed to translate simple and short texts from English into French. This involves creating awareness that each language has its own way of breaking down the world of reality. Examples demonstrating how English and French use common grammatical categories such as Nouns, Verbs, Adverbs, adjectives, determiners, tense,
mood differently illustrate this point.

French 165 French Language Structure I (3, 1, 3)
The thrust of this course is on sentence structure and sentence formation. Particular attention is paid to the order of constituents, concord (subject/ verb tense, adjective), active and passive voice, mood and sentence quality (affirmative, negative, imperative, interrogative).

FREN 166 French Language Structure II (3, 1, 3)
This course is intended to equip students with the necessary skills needed not only to identify complex sentences but also to form complex sentences of their own. Emphasis will be placed on processes by which simple sentences are transformed into complex one e.g. changing sentences into nominal forms, adjectival forms, relative constructions, impersonal construction etc.

ENGL 157 Communication Skills I (2, 1, 2)
The course takes all first year students through a review of English grammar, and is a required course for all first year students of the KNUST. Students will be assisted to review some of the common problem areas of their writing, such as verb/tense system, concord, sentence construction and paragraph organisation. There shall also be a study of basic grammatical structures that shall involve teaching students to write formally correct sentences, avoiding sentence errors, and using punctuation effectively.

ENGL 158 Communication Skills II (2, 1, 2)
This course is designed to continue the process of helping students to become better writers. The first part of the course will focus on writing skills – paragraphs, and then essays. Students shall also study the preparation of technical documents such as memos, reports, letters, and proposals.

MATH 153: Statistical Methods I (2, 1, 2)
Introduction, Nature and Uses of Statistics; Some Basic Concepts of Statistics. Data Collection: Types and Sources of Data, Data Collection Methods and Questionnaire Design.
Descriptive Analysis of Data: Organisation and Presentation of Data; Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Quartiles, Percentiles, Skewness and Kurtosis. Elementary Probability Theory: Random Experiments, Definitions of Terms and Measure of Probability. Some Basic Laws of Probability involving Compound Events. Computation of probabilities involving Simple Events, Application of Counting Techniques and to Decision Problems.
Random Variables and Probability Distributions: Concepts of Random Variable; Definition and Properties of Probability Distribution; Expectation, Median and Variance of Random Variables; Application to Decision Problems.

MATHS 154 Statistical Methods II (2, 1, 2)
Some Special Probability Distributions: Binomial, Poisson, Geometric Multinomial, Hypergeometric, Normal and Exponential distributions. Inferential Analysis of Data: Sampling Methods; Sampling Distributions of the Means and Proportions, Standard Errors; The Use and Reading of Normal (Z), t -, F and Chi-square(x) Distributions Tables in Inferential
Analysis – Significance Tests for Means and Proportions using Z -, t – and
F – Distributions; One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Analysis of Categorical Data: Chi-Square Tests for Goodness-of Fit and Independence. Regression Analysis: Basic Concepts of Regression and Correlation Analysis; Scatter Diagram, Correlation Coefficient and its Interpretation; Simple Linear Regression Model, Estimation of Regression Parameters and Coefficient of Determination. Use of Statistical Software for Statistical Analysis: Excel, SPSS, MINITAB, SAS, GENSTAT, etc.

CSM 183 Introduction to Computers I (1, 2, 2)
The main themes are: What is Computer? Classification of Computers. Hardware – Memory, Central Processing Unit, Input/Output Devices. Software-System, Applications, Utility, Translators, Programming languages and others. Disk operating system (DOS) and Windows as Operating Systems. Word Processing Software: Microsoft Word.

CSM 184 Introduction to Computers II (1, 2, 2)
The programmes are Spreadsheet Software: Microsoft EXCEL and Relational Database Software: Microsoft ACCESS

Year Two Semesters One and Two

FREN 261 Listening comprehension & Oral Production (3, 1, 3)
This course is intended to enhance students’ capacity to understand what they are told in day-to-day social interaction in French and talk about daily experiences in the same medium. Class activities revolve around oral comprehension, verbal summaries, role-plays, reconstitution of texts and guided discussion. Students will also listen to specific exercises and comprehension.

FREN 262 French Language Usage (Oral) (3, 1, 3)
The aim is to empower students to express themselves freely in simple French. For this reason, discussion is not guided, thereby exposing students to a wide variety of experiences and speech acts. Class activities such as dialogue, oral presentations, verbal summaries, and discussion will blend with story telling, debates, impromptu speeches involving such speech acts as taking sides, expressing personal opinion, challenging views making
concessions, casting insinuation etc.

FREN 263 Basic French Translation I (French into English) (2, 1, 2)
The aim is to equip students with the skills needed to translate texts in area such as religion, history, literature, and music. The course provides a good working knowledge in terms of vocabulary, expressions and syntax in various fields. Texts for translation will come from recognized authorities in their respective domains.

FREN 264 Basic French Translation II (English into French) (2, 1, 2)
The aim of the course is to equip students with the skills needed to translate English texts in the following areas of liberal and fine arts into French: transport & Communication, education, culture, tourism, sites and Monuments, sculpture and paintings.

FREN 265 Written Communication I (3, 1, 3)
This course aims at helping students improve their writing skills. The main topics include the use of concord (person, Number, Gender, Tense/mood), Class activities will range from exercises in grammar (use of pronouns, position of adjectives, tense concord, use of indicative and subjunctive mood.

FREN 266 Written Communication II (3, 1, 3)
This course is aimed at helping students improve their writing ability. The specific objectives include: acquisition of good vocabulary, sound knowledge of grammatical rules, an awareness of idiomatic usages enhanced awareness of the twin principles of cohesion and coherence, punctuation and typography. All these principles will be combined and
applied in activities such as letter writing, advertisements, announcements and obituaries.

FREN 267 Readings in African Literature (2, 1, 2)
Starting with extracts drawn from outstanding works in African Literature, this course aims at introducing students to a variety of authors and genres. This should help them appreciate ideas and stylistic devices necessary for analyzing complete works.

FREN 268 Selected French Writers 2, 1, 2)
Selected French novels, plays and poems in French literature will serve as basis of this course. Students would be guided to appreciate literature not only for subject matter but also for the various stylistic devices in poetry, prose and drama.

ENGL 263 Literature in English (Poetry and Drama) (1, 1, 1)
This is a basic course in Literature, introducing all university students to opportunities to enjoy and to love the world of books in English and in our various Ghanaian Languages. Special consideration will be given to language as the primary vehicle of literature. Old classics as well as significant contemporary works by living authors will be studied. The course will also draw on the vast stock of Africa’s oral literary heritage and performance
traditions. Given the wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and interests of the students who are expected to take this, the selection of texts will take into consideration the interrelations of literature and other disciplines. The course will focus on poetry and drama.

ENGL 264 Literature in English II (1, 1, 1)
This course has as its main components the study of folktales, short stories and the novel. African and western texts representative of this genre shall be used to illustrate the language, themes, and the literary device employed for these different types of fictional expressions.

Year Three Semesters One and Two

FREN 361 Oral Communication Skills (2, 2, 3)
The aim is to help students acquire the necessary skills and the confidence to talk about diverse topics and issues in French. Emphasis will be on the use of direct speech, indirect speech and free style in tandem with idiomatic expressions already acquired. Attention will also be paid to the logical organization of information and the choice of words and structures to create texts types: e.g. descriptive texts, argumentative texts, narrative
texts, expository texts etc.

FREN 362 Media French (Oral) (2, 2, 3)
This course is intended to introduce candidates to the variety of French used in the media. The main features are vocabulary, syntax which denote objectivity in the manner of reportage. Linguistic markers which specialize in expressing objectivity include the use of nominal forms, conditional, primary verbs impersonal expressions, the passive voice and the use of impersonal pronouns.

FREN 363 Intermediate French Translation I (French into English) (2, 1,2)
Students will be taught the skills needed to translate French texts in the Social Sciences into English. Areas covered include Sociology, Psychology, Geography and Economics. Particular attention will be paid to how specific concepts are translated in the source and target language where lexical correspondences do not exist through alternative linguistic procedures such as: paraphrase, transference etc.

FREN 364 Intermediate French Translation II (English to French) (2, 1, 2)
The texts translated here will include areas as communication, religion, law, business, administration, marketing etc. students will thereby be exposed to enhance their ability to translate. Particular attention will be given to areas in which the source language and the target language use different techniques and devices to express the same cognitive content.

FREN 365 Composition and Summary (2, 1, 2)
Students will be taught the skills needed to write a composition and to make a summary of a given text. For the composition, emphasis is laid on the ideas, the order in which they appear and the logical link between them. The summary, on the other hand, requires the ability to identify new information and piece together the different ideas according to logic in the original text.

FREN 366 Technical Writing Skills (2, 1, 2)
The aim is to teach candidates how to produce technical documents. Emphasis will be on language (technical words and expressions, constructions) and presentation (structural organization, typography etc). Technical documents to be considered include official reports, circulars, minutes, curriculum vitae, obituaries.

FREN 367 French Language Registers (2, 1, 2)
Student’s attention will be drawn to the different registers and the circumstances under which they can be used. An in-depth coverage will be given to familiar and popular or street French both in France and in francophone West Africa. This should enable students to better understand recommended texts in which such registers are used, so that they will avoid
mixing registers. Class activities include transposition of texts from one register to the other.

FREN 368 French Stylistics (2, 1, 2)
This course is intended to create awareness among students of the existence of different styles of writing. E.g. Rhetoric’s, deliberative, expository writing etc. Emphasis will be laid on the characteristics of each style and the circumstances in which their use can be deemed appropriate. Class activities revolve around analyzing texts illustrating how groups and individuals make specific use of the common resources available to the language user.

FREN 369 African Literature & Culture (2, 1, 2)
The course examines aspects of the negritude movements that search for African cultural roots. At the dawn of awareness African writers seek to whitewash everything black while discrediting everything white. Senghor, Birago Diop, Camera Laye etc fight for cultural roots. Other themes to be examined are rural – urban migration, conflict of generation, individual versus society, social change etc.

FREN 370 Landmarks in French Poetry (2, 1, 2)
This is a survey of French poetry from 17th century to date. It surveys the most famous poems of the major poetic currents of the 19th century French poetry. Selections from Racine, Corneille, Lamar tine, Hugo, Baudelaire, Verlaine, and Pervert etc would form the basis for the appreciation of poetry. Featuring prominently in the list of poetic movements is classicism, Romanticism, symbolism, Realism and Surrealism. The main characteristic
of each movement would be presented.

FREN 371 Protest Literature in Francophone Africa (2, 1, 2)
This course sets out to explore the relationship between the African writer and his society, particularly during the colonial era. David Diop, Sembene Ousmane, Mongo Beti, Ferdinand Oyono, among others, used their pen as an instrument for liberation. The technique consisted invariably in creating awareness and self-confidence among fellow Africans while discrediting the colonial regime in all its forms, particularly the so-called civilizing mission. This main focus is on the notion of commitment.

FREN 372 The Age of Enlightenment (2, 1, 2)
Against the background of Socio-political injustices of the “’Ancient Regime’ 18th century intellectuals resolved to fight for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Diderot, among others, sacrificed private interest for the common good. Their efforts culminated in the French Revolution and the Declaration of Human rights. Contributions of this torchbearers would be highlighted under this course.

FREN 373 Expose on Selected Topics I (Oral) (2, 1, 2)
The aim is to initiate candidates to the art of dissertation. Critical thinking and methodical presentation are hall-marks of the expose. Emphasis will be the organization of ideas from the viewpoint of cohesion and coherence, a basic requirement for the constitutions of text. Before being asked to present an expose, students will be led to discover the various parts of the expose in specific oral written texts in class.

FREN 374 Expose on Selected Topic II (Oral) (2, 1, 2)
Topics chosen will be of general interest and related to current affairs mainly in keeping with the present trend to make formal education development oriented. Sources of information include French and African newspapers and magazines such as “Le Monde, Le Courier, Le Figaro, L’Express, Jeune Afrique, and Africasie”.

Year Four Semesters One and Two

FREN 471 Francophone Africa Today I (3, 1, 3)
This is a mixed bag of oral comprehension, discussion and debate based on current affairs in Francophone Africa. Areas to be discussed shall include the political and economic landscape of Francophone Africa, the educational set-up, tourism, social life etc. each group of students would be assigned to a specific country of the ECOWAS. They would be expected to make an oral presentation providing all details needed to serve as a basis for questions
and answers.

FREN 472 Francophone Africa Today(Oral) (3, 1, 3)
This course concentrates on Franco-African cooperation, French and English as official languages in Africa, ECOWAS, the CFA and the search for a common currency in West Africa, Negritude and Francophone, conflict resolution etc. it takes the form of question and answers between students, lectures and francophone guests as resource persons.

FREN 473 Advanced French Translation I (French into English) (2, 1, 2)
This course is intended to empower students to translate texts in French in the Medical Science & Pharmacy into English. Particular attention will be paid to vocabulary (cross-culture equivalences and phenomena) and expression. The main topics include names of diseases in both source and the target language, appellation of patients suffering from various disorders, forms of treatment, drug nomenclature, directions for use of these drugs, mode of administration, mode of preparation, active ingredients etc.

FREN 474 Advanced French Translation II (English into French) (2, 1, 2)
This course is intended to help students to translate French texts in the Physical and Applied Sciences into English. Particular attention will be given to vocabulary (names of phenomena, names of operation, use of primary verbs), connecting particles and various markers of objectivity. Students will be encouraged to build their own stock of vocabulary through private endeavour and avoid the tendency to systematically have recourse to
dictionaries.

FREN 475 Advanced French Linguistics I (2, 1, 2)
This course introduces candidates to new semantic models of language description. The main topics to be treated are the contribution of Sociology (situational concept), of psychology (underlying semantic structure) and the contribution of philosophy (argumentative scales, presupposition and inferences, propositional calculus) to the study of language.

FREN 476 Advanced French Linguistics II (2, 1, 2)
This course is aimed at equipping students to go beyond surface meaning to retrieve opaque meaning. The focus of this course will be on analyzing texts in the light of the contributions of sociology, psychology and philosophy to the study of language (cf FREN 475). Excerpts from local and foreign papers as well as extracts from books and magazines will be studied in this light.

FREN 477 Teaching of French as a Foreign Language I (3, 1, 3)
The aim of this course is to initiate students into the theory and practice of foreign teaching with special reference to French. The course will center around: The different Theories and Methodologies of Language teaching, with emphasis on grammar-translation method, direct method, audio-oral method, audio-visual method and the communicative method, the various phases of the language class, classroom techniques and activities, types
and role of teaching/learning materials (T.L.M) and modes and types of assessment.

FREN 478 Teaching of French as a Foreign Language II (3, 1, 3)
The aim of this course is to initiate students to further relevant theory and practice of foreign language teaching/learning with special reference to French. The focus of this course will be on errors in the teaching/learning process, past and current perceptions of errors, linguistic classification of errors, procedures for correction of errors and educational psychology and its application to teaching/learning, with emphasis on motivational skills.

FREN 479 French for Specific Purposes I (3, 1, 3)
The course is intended to initiate students to the use of the French Language in specialized fields with peculiar registers, vocabulary, grammatical structures etc. The focus will be on economics/business French. Texts will be chosen from books, magazines, newspapers etc to give students training in essential vocabulary and expressions to enable them communicate in these areas.

FREN 480 French for specific Purposes II (3, 1, 3)
This course seeks to broaden the scope of students’ knowledge in the fields of tourism, hotel business, law, computer science. Texts will be chosen from books, magazines, newspapers etc. to give students training in essential vocabulary and expressions to enable them to communicate effectively in these areas.

FREN 481 New Trends In Francophone African Literature (3, 1, 3)
1960 marks the watershed between anti-colonial literature and a new trend that looks critically at the new elite (politically, intellectual, bureaucratic, bourgeois etc) who took over from the white man. The major features of these developments shall be examined in the works of Sony Labou Tansi, Henry Lopez, Amadou Kourouma, Alioume Fantoure Sembene Ousmane, Mongo Beti. The themes to be examined in the works are, the portrait of the new elite, women’s emancipation and the emergency and the impact of women writers. The techniques of these writers will also receive attention.

FREN 482 The Contemporary French Mind (3, 1, 3)
Whereas Descartes placed premium on Reason and Doubt as the surest keys to the truth, Pascal prioritized faith. In the eyes of the 20th century thinkers, however, the world is characterized neither by faith nor reason but by the Absurd. The aim of this course is to critically examine how these ideas are illustrated in the works of Camus, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir etc. Lectures would center around the following themes: the absurd, freedom,
Commitment and God as a concept.

FREN 484 Modern French Drama (3, 1, 3)
This course starts with a survey of the development of Drama since the beginning of the 20th Century. Attention will be paid to both content and style. Starting from Anouilh, Ionesco, Giraudoux, and the course would focus on Beckett, Camus, Sartre etc.

FREN 489: Dissertation I (0, 6, 3)
Final Year students will, in conjunction with their supervisors, choose topics related to national development and research into them under supervision. The aim of the exercise is to guide them to become independent and original thinkers capable of making critical analyses and informed decisions.

FREN 490 Dissertation II (0, 6, 3)
Every Final Year student is expected to conduct research on a given topic in his area of specialisation as part of the requirements for the award of the BA Degree. The topics, which need to be approved by the Department, must be such that study is development-oriented. There shall be an oral defence of the dissertation.