French for Reading and Translation – Noncredit

UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON

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French for Reading and Translation

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Upcoming dates (3)

Register Now
For registration assistance: 608-262-2451

Schedule

Jan. 15–April 30
All participants must be registered by Jan. 22 at 11:59 p.m. CT

Register through: January 22, 2025

All times shown in central time.

Fee

$475; Graduate students $375

Cancellation Policy

  • Cancel before the course opens: receive a full refund minus a $25 administrative fee.
  • Cancel up to 4 business days after the course opens, and receive an 80% refund minus a $25 administrative fee. No refunds after 4 business days.

Summary

Gain the basic skills you need to read and translate French texts to English. Learn fundamental French grammar and vocabulary while translating texts from disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. This course is excellent preparation for a French graduate-level reading knowledge exam.

While no prior knowledge of the language is required, familiarity with common grammar terminology in English is highly recommended. Basic to high-intermediate French speakers can use the course to review essential grammar, build vocabulary and increase accuracy in translation. The higher the level French you have, the more you will gain from this course.

Using Celia Brickman's A Short Course in Reading French (purchase required), the course will introduce scholars to important grammatical concepts, reading strategies and important vocabulary for scholarly reading. Textbook available from various vendors.

With the aim of preserving the essence and integrity of the original text, you will become proficient at understanding, critically analyzing and accurately translating from French to English.

This course is open to all. You do not have to be a UW–Madison student to register. The graduate student fee is applicable to graduate students from any institution.

Note: You will not be able to view the course on your Canvas Dashboard or access the materials until the course start date.

Overview

Course Overview

This course will give you systematic approaches to analyzing French text and the tools with which you can expand your understanding. Using texts from various disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, you learn the fundamentals of French grammar, how to use a dictionary and how to decipher the meaning of a text. You will learn how knowing certain grammar points, knowing how sentence structures work and knowing essential vocabulary words will give you the keys to understanding French.

How the course works

There are no video lectures or synchronous class meetings; the course material is text-based. On Wednesdays, new units will be posted. Most units are divided into two main parts: the study assignment (textbook) and the written assignment (selected translation practice). Several units also have quizzes and/or practice exercises for reinforcement. You will work at your own pace on the week's textbook assignments, quizzes and translations. These will be due on Monday of the following week. Your instructor will give you feedback before the new unit(s) are posted the following Wednesday.

Course objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Read and understand, with the help of a dictionary, scholarly texts pertinent to their field of research
  • Identify fundamental French grammatical structures and syntax
  • Recognize essential French vocabulary words
  • Increase confidence in translation abilities

Required reading

  • Brickman, Celia. A Short Course in Reading French, 2012
  • French/English dictionary

Recommended text and study aids

  • Morton, Jacqueline. English Grammar for Students of French. Olivia and Hill, 2002
  • A notebook for vocabulary lists
  • Flashcards

Is this course right for you?

If you answer "yes" to the following questions, you are a good candidate for our online French for Reading Knowledge course:

  • I am a skilled reader who is at ease with written instructions and lessons
  • I am a self-directed learner, with the initiative to visit a course site regularly
  • I am comfortable participating in a course in writing
  • I can continue learning independently while waiting for feedback on assignments
  • I am organized and able to meet deadlines
  • I enjoy working on a computer
  • I have 5 to 12 hours weekly that I can devote to this online course

If these statements do not accurately describe you, please consider taking a face-to-face class.

Earn Continuing Education Hours

By participating in this class you will earn:

Instructional Hours 30
University of Wisconsin Continuing Education Units 3

Explanation of Continuing Education Hours

Upcoming dates (3)

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Program Questions?

Contact Chris Moore at [email protected] or 608-262-7389

Registration Questions?

Email [email protected] or call 608-262-2451.

Continuing Studies FAQs

Meet your instructor

Álvaro Perez Gomez

(MA, French Education, Autonomous University of Madrid and MA, Language Teaching in Spanish, University of Missouri). Since 2012 he has taught Spanish and French to adults and college students in Spain, France and the US.

What Attendees Are Saying

Great course, excellent instruction. Loved the materials.
Adrienne Bosworth, PhD Candidate
The instructor went above and beyond. She was always super helpful and gave very prompt responses to questions.
Karina Duncker-Hoffmann, College Instructor
This course was extremely thorough and very well organized. I am very pleased with how much I was able to learn in such a short amount of time.
Jessica Staedter, Graduate Student
This online course has been fantastic and I've learned more [...] than I did taking four semesters of a traditional language course. Thank you.
Lecturer, UW–Whitewater
I just got word that I passed my department's French exam! This course was really helpful and I will be recommending it to my colleagues.
Graduate student, UC-Berkeley
The Instructor was great, provided very helpful material, and encouraged students to reach out with any questions they might have.
Graduate student, Columbia University
I took your class last summer, and have taken up practicing again this summer with La Rochefoucauld. I started at the beginning of June and am already speeding up! I've even started reading a collection of letters to Rousseau about Julie, and I'm overjoyed to be able to conduct my research by looking at unmediated primary sources. I couldn't have done it without you — thanks so much!
Visiting instructor of political theory
...not only has this French course been a kind of mental grace through these last crazy months, I feel enormous amounts of gratitude for you grace and flexibility to let me (and others) work through this at a slightly different pace. While, yes, I took this course to meet a requirement, as an avid reader of theory, the deeper we got into each chapter of translations, the more delighted I became by the texts I got to see in their original language. Actually has a hard time choosing what to translate for the Final Assignment because I'm so fond of so many of the great minds that authored the passages!
FRT participant, summer 2020