Course detail

French for Pre-intermediate Students 2

FAST-VYF004Acad. year: 2026/2027

Grammar

  • Past tenses: distinction between and combination of passé composé (completed action) and imparfait (description, ongoing action)

  • Future tenses: expressing the future using futur proche and futur simple

  • Pronouns: direct and indirect personal pronouns (COD, COI), pronouns y and en

  • Conditional mood: basics of conditionnel présent for expressing wishes, suggestions, and polite requests

  • Relative pronouns: connecting clauses with qui, que, où

  • Comparison: degrees of comparison for adjectives and adverbs

Vocabulary and Topics

  • Travel and transport: booking accommodation, purchasing tickets, navigating the city, resolving travel issues

  • Everyday life and work: daily routine, describing jobs, studies, and leisure activities

  • Health and body: describing health issues, visiting a doctor and pharmacy; staying in shape

  • Gastronomy and shopping: ordering at a restaurant, shopping for groceries and clothes

  • Personality and relationships: describing appearance, character, feelings, and interpersonal relationships

  • Weather and environment: weather forecast, nature, and holiday plans

Communication Skills

  • Narrating past events and personal experiences fluently

  • Formulating plans, ambitions, and future predictions

  • Expressing personal opinions, agreement, disagreement, and argumentation

  • Giving advice, recommendations, and prohibitions

  • Understanding short authentic texts (emails, advertisements, simple messages)

Culture and Realia

  • Lifestyle and customs in France and the Francophone world

  • Holidays, traditions, festive gastronomy, and family customs

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

2

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

Mgr. Markéta Horváthová

Department

Institute of Social Sciences (SPV)

Entry knowledge

Pre-Intermediate French (VYF003) or completion of any French course at the VYF003 level.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The course concludes with a credit. Credit is awarded based on the following conditions:

  1. attendance and active class participation

  2. a midterm test

  3. a credit test during credit week

Aims

1. Speaking and Oral Expression

  • Everyday Communication: Handle conversations in practical situations (travel, shopping, school, doctor visits, dining out).

  • Expressing Opinions and Feelings: Be able to articulate preferences, agreement or disagreement, and briefly justify plans or thoughts.

  • Speaking in Various Tenses: Smoothly transition between describing the present, past experiences, and future plans.

2. Listening and Comprehension

  • Understanding Main Ideas: Grasp essential information in slower, clear audio recordings, short news items, conversations, or movies.

  • Real-World Comprehension: Be able to follow practical information (station announcements, instructions, simple notices).

3. Reading and Writing

  • Reading: Understand shorter texts, newspaper articles, personal emails, product descriptions, or simple literary excerpts.

  • Writing: Compose a structured personal or work-related email, an event description, or a brief essay/letter sharing impressions.

4. Grammar and Vocabulary

  • Verb Tenses: Mastering and reinforcing the present tense, past tenses (Passé composé vs. Imparfait), future tenses (Futur simple / Futur proche), and an introduction to the conditional mood (Conditionnel).

  • Vocabulary: Expanding vocabulary to approximately 1,500–2,500 words (topics: work, leisure, culture, housing, environment, society).

  • Cultural Context: Deepening knowledge of French culture, customs, and the general background of French-speaking countries (Francophonie).

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

L. Mesdorff-Pouilly: Édito-méthode de francais, A1; 2e édition, Didier, 20222026 - ∞ (FR)
R. Amoravain: Édito- cahier d´activités, A1; Didier, 2022 (FR)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BPC-VP Bachelor's 1 year of study, summer semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Exercise

26 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Mgr. Markéta Horváthová

Syllabus

  • Week 1: Introductions; review of the present tense and passé composé

    Week 2: Unit 8 – the pronoun Y; human body, illnesses, at the doctor's

    Week 3: Prohibitions and commands, advice; how to stay in shape

    Week 4: Passé composé; sports and nutrition; sporting events in France

    Week 5: Unit 9 – comparatives (comparison and degrees of comparison); holidays and vacations

    Week 6: Describing a city; prepositions of place; nature and the environment

    Week 7: Introduction to imparfait; describing a place; fauna and flora

    Week 8: Unit 10 – university life; subjects and courses; COD pronouns (direct object pronouns)

    Week 9: Imparfait – habits and descriptions; company and professional life

    Week 10: Relative pronouns; professions; corporate life, communication

    Week 11: Combining passé composé and imparfait; past narration

    Week 12: Introduction to futur simple; review of Units 8–10

    Week 13: Semester review; credit test