Any student wishing to declare a concentration in French should complete a Major Concentration Counseling Sheet with a department advisor (any of the French professors—Fetzer, Konyndyk, Mathews, Selles, Vos-Camy--can help you fill out the appropriate form). The forms are available from the Office of the Registrar.

French Major and Minor Requirements

For students who enrolled before September 2006:

• French 122 or 201 still count towards a French major or minor.
• French 122 and 123 or 201 and 202 still count towards a French Education major or minor.

The following information is applicable to students who declare their major or minor as of September 2006.

French Major Requirements: General

French 215
French 216
French 217
Two from French 219, 220, 221, 280 or Study in France 230
Three from French 295, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 371, 390 (Interim Assistant), the department’s Interims abroad (W80, W85), or Study in France 295, 315, and 316
Two approved electives (6 s.h. minimum), beyond French 122 or 201, and excluding IDIS 356, 357, 359.

French Minor Requirements: General

French 215
French 216
French 217
Two from French 219, 220, 221, 280 or Study in France 230
Two approved electives (6 s.h. minimum), beyond French 122 or 201, and excluding IDIS 356, 357, 359.

French Elementary/Secondary Education Major

French 215
French 216
French 217
French 315 or Study in France 315
IDIS 356 (elementary) or IDIS 357 (secondary)
Two courses from French 219, 220, 221, 280 or Study in France 230
Two courses from French 295, 311, 312, 313, 314, 371, the department’s Interims abroad (W80, W85), or Study in France 295 and 316
One approved elective (3-4 s.h.), beyond French 123 or 202.

French Elementary/Secondary Education Minor

French 215
French 216
French 217
IDIS 356 (Elementary) or IDIS 357 (Secondary)
Two courses from French 219, 220, 221, 280 or Study in France 230
One approved elective (3-4 s.h.) beyond French 123 and 202.

French Department Grading Scale

A   93- 100%
A-  90-92%     
B+ 87-89%
B   83-86%
B-  80-82%           
C+ 77-79%
C   73-76%
C-  70-72%
D+ 67-69%
D   63-66%
D-  60-62%
F    0-59%        

French Education Student Teaching

In order to qualify for the elementary or secondary teaching internship in French, all major and minor students are expected to pass, prior to the teaching internship and in addition to the State of Michigan competency exam:

• a written departmental proficiency exam;
• an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) taken with a recognized outside examiner.

For details on the proficiency exam and the OPI, see below.

Directed teaching in French is available only during the spring semester. Students interested in the teacher education options should consult the Teacher Education Program Guidebook, available from the Education Department.

To be admitted to the Teacher Education Program, a student must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 in the courses required for the major and /or minor.

In those cases in which education students have majors both in K-12 French and another discipline, student teaching MUST be done in a K-12 discipline (such as French, Spanish, Art, or Music), regardless of the student’s other major subject.

French Major Requirements: Honors

1.  A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a minimum of six honors courses (18 hours minimum), including at least three honors courses in the major and three outside the major;

2.   A minimum GPA in French of at least 3.5;

3. The completion of an honors component in at least three courses in the French Department from the following: 217, 219, 220, 221, 280, 311, 312, 314, 315, and 371; (Note: a student may complete an honors component in 123, 202, 215, and 216 to fulfill the general college honors requirement).

4. The satisfactory completion of a senior honors thesis, to be completed during the first semester the senior year and presented orally to members of the department faculty.

Notes regarding the completion of courses for honors:

As regards the completion of an honors component in at least three courses in the French Department from the following:  FR 217, 219, 220, 221, 280, 311, 312, 314, 315, and 371:

• Students wishing to complete a course for honors must make that intention known no later than two weeks after the first day the course meets.  The honors paper or project is due one week prior to the last day the class meets for the semester.
• Students will complete one paper of 8 to 12 pages, or a project of a similar length.  Students may be required to present their work orally in class.

As regards the completion of an honors component in FR 123, 202, 215, and 216 to fulfill the general college honors requirement, but not the department honors requirement:

• Students wishing to complete a course for honors must make that intention known no later than two weeks after the first day the course meets.  The honors work is due one week prior to the last day the class meets for the semester.
• The honors component for these courses varies from course to course.  It may consist of additional work conducted independently by the student or additional meeting times of the professor and the student to discuss readings or writing projects.  For each of these courses taken for honors credit, an honor’s contract must be completed.  The website for the Honors program at Calvin houses a sample contract.

Notes regarding a Senior Honors thesis:

A student wishing to graduate with honors in French must complete an honors thesis.  The paper is to be prepared during the first semester a student has senior status (usually the fall semester). The paper will be written in French, and will range from 25-30 pages (Times New Roman, font size 12, double-spaced).  Although the project is to be directed by one member of the department, a committee of two faculty members from French will supervise the process. 

Students writing an honors thesis must adhere to this timetable:

• The statement of thesis and bibliography are due at the end of the first month (no later than week 4 of the semester);
• The first draft is due at the end of the second month (no later than the end of week 8);
• The second draft is due by the end of the third month (no later than week 12);
• A third and final draft (if needed) is due the last week before the period of examinations.

The student will make an oral presentation of the paper before the members of the department faculty.  The oral presentation must be made before February 15 if the student wishes to graduate in May.