The Advanced French Studies minor is for students who have an advanced, near-native level of competence in French. It aims to deepen students knowledge and critical understanding of French and Francophone cultures and societies, whilst continuing to improve their fluency in reading and listening comprehension as well as oral and written expression. Through the study of thematic courses in a broad range of areas such as literature, cinema and songs, as well as thematic courses targeting specific aspects of history, social movements and politics in the Francophone world, students will gain in knowledge and critical thinking, academic writing and oral presentation skills in French.

Students are encouraged to study for part of their French Studies minor at a French-speaking university. It is standard practice for Honours students to spend a semester abroad. The ANU has exchange agreements with several French universities, including in the Pacific (Noumea, Tahiti). We also have exchanges with Canada: McGill University, Montreal; the bilingual University of Ottawa; and with Switzerland: the University of Geneva.  Scholarships are available on a competitive basis.  

Learning outcomes

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

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

• Students will have develop an extensive ability to express themselves orally and in writing in different genres and learning contexts.
• Students will have gained extensive knowledge on key aspects of French culture, history, politics and society. They will be able to interpret critically French and Francophone literary and historical texts, movies and visual-media.
• Students will have gained extensive intercultural awareness. They will be able to critically compare and reflect, at a sophisticated level, on cross-cultural differences between Francophone and Australian cultures and/or their native culture.
• At the end of a French Studies Minor students should be able to achieve at least the B2 level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) Students who perform at a very high standard should be able to achieve the C1 level.
• Students will be able to conduct research topics related to the content of the thematic courses they have studied.