FRE - French

Video Clips on French Social Issues: A Tool for Practicing Listening Skills Outside of Class

MacRewrite

Development of a prototype of a composition assistance program (MacRewrite) for advanced French and Spanish, under the direction of François Hugot (now retired), Annie Wiart, and Sara Schaefer (who is no longer at Brown).

Ateliers d'Ecriture: French Composition at the Advanced Level

Development of a computer-based writing program with four discourse-oriented units (how to write a letter; how to write a diary; how to write a story; and how to write an essay) and the related discourse grammars. With François Hugot.

Looking for Belgium: Contemporary arts as a gate to Belgian culture and history

This project will be repository of digital and scanned images, written documents, video fragments, songs and interviews that will introduce our students to Belgian culture and history through Belgian contemporary arts. Artists will be chosen within the visual arts (painting, sculpture, video art, architecture and photography), the ninth art or art of comic strips as well as those working in music, film, theatre, dance, literature and those preserving the traditions, gastronomy and popular culture in Belgium. The main scope of the repository will be artists who are currently active or who have created their work in the last decades of the 20th century. These contemporary artists will be the starting point for different chains of references to Belgian culture and artists. Indeed, this project will present contemporary materials as links to Belgian history, culture and artists of the past. It will give students access to a unique culture with different influences, mainly the French, the Flemish and the German communities living together in Belgium and each contributing to what Belgian culture represents. Therefore, artists from the three communities will be included in the repository.

The materials will be organized within a traditional MetaMedia archive, which will include the different themes around which the classes will be structured, and each theme will feature the artists most relevant to the theme being studied. The selection of artists within each theme is not exhaustive. This will allow students to make their own selection of materials to be included under a theme and to assume the role of an online curator creating different links between artists.

Study Abroad Research

Study abroad and language learning; a pilot study of program organization and data, with Barbara Freed. (The project director is deceased.)

Rencontres multiethniques, part II

Development of a Web-based module for intermediate French on social interactions and among ethnic groups in France today. The module includes interviews with young Parisians, a multicultural "notionary" (a compendium of cultural notions from different perspectives), a glossary of colloquial, and related print materials expressions

FELIX: French Language Index

Development of course content modules consisting of grammar explanations and exercises, as well as Web-based exercises, using a database structure developed at Brown.

Virtual Paris: Using Multimedia in an Advanced Intermediate French Course

"French 0151: Virtual Paris" is an advanced intermediate course designed especially to prepare students for a semester or year of study abroad in the "Brown in Paris" program. The course relies heavily on activities with various electronic media. This proposal seeks funding assistance for the purchase of a CD-ROM and DVD titles to be used in the course and available as well for inclusion in other courses in the French studies department.

ELFE: French Web-Based Exercises

ELFE is a popular interactive program allowing learners of French to practice specific grammar skills. ELFE does not explain grammar, it merely checks the learner’s knowledge of grammar, while using basic vocabulary suitable for all levels. This stand-alone program has proven quite effective but is currently obsolete due to changes in both Mac and PC’s OS. This project will update ELFE to distribute it over the web while keeping its main features intact. It will also add much needed flexibility to the menus, allowing for customization that will enable teachers to choose which exercises to select for each level of French.

Computer-Mediated Communication

Integration of the Daedalus Exchange program for computer-mediated instruction into intermediate French.