French Beginner 1

If you have little or no previous knowledge of French, Beginner 1 is the right level for you. Speak and hear French from the first day as you quickly gain basic conversation skills to communicate information about yourself, your family and friends, your work, and your daily life. Learn grammar, pronunciation, expressions and vocabulary that allow you to function in everyday settings.

Practise your new language skills in a relaxed environment with the support of our passionate and experienced instructors. Between classes, you can practise your skills using online resources chosen by your instructor.

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:

• introduce and identify yourself, and greet others
• tell time
• give and ask for a telephone number or address
• describe one’s family and friends
• ask for and give directions
• speak about one’s tastes, preferences and interests
• speak about everyday actions
• accept or decline an invitation
• order in a restaurant, and make reservations.

Course outline

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 oneself, to greet, to identify oneself
• tell time
• give and ask for a telephone number or address 
• describe one’s family and friends
• ask for and give directions
• speak about one’s tastes, preferences and interests
• speak about everyday actions
• accept or decline an invitation
• order in a restaurant, make reservations

Linguistic Objectives

• pronunciation, phonetics
• conjugation in present tense of regular –ER verbs and irregular verbs to be, to have and to do/make 
• pronouns: personal (je, tu, il, etc.)
• question words and question methods
• possessive adjectives (introduction)
• singular, plural, masculine, feminine
• negation
• prepositions of place (introduction)
• adverbs of quantity and frequency (beaucoup, souvent, etc.)
• courtesy expressions

Expected Effort

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.

Textbook

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

Course Format

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.

How am I assessed?

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.

Technology requirements

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.