• french

    TWO!

    July 11, 2019

    Hi!
    I took the french placement test prior to my first year cause I thought I was going to continue my french immersion studies. I’m now in 3rd year and am interested in taking my first french course. I know you’re usually supposed to take the test prior to the course. Am I allowed to take the placement test again? I tried contacting the french.secretary email last month but no response.
    Thanks!

    ——————————————

    hey friend,

    my apologies this answer was so long coming– i’d never encountered this situation before and have little-to-no prior knowledge about placement tests. luckily, the lovely french department came through. 

    according to them, a placement test is valid for two! whole! years.

    to clarify, that should mean if you took it before first year and you’re now headed into your third, you won’t need to take it again. that is, if you’re planning to enrol in that french course for the upcoming school year. 

    however, if you choose not to tackle that french course now and end up wanting to do it later (your fourth or fifth year), you will need to retake the placement test. it’s not as simple as just signing up for and taking the test, though: you’ll need to obtain permission to retake it first.

    you’ll likely need to contact the french undergraduate counsellor in order to do this. just let them know your placement test expired, or whatever the correct term for it is.

    i suspect that if the french secretary still hasn’t answered your email as of now, they may only be the person to contact to schedule placement tests, not to answer questions about them. 

    anyway, hope this helped!

    be Boundless,

    aska

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  • commerce,  french,  near and middle eastern civilizations,  non degree

    an especially confused mood

    July 19, 2018

    Hello ASKA!

    Hope your summer is going well. I’m going into second year at UTSG, doing my BComm in Public Accounting. The thing is that I also planning on a major in French Lang & Lit, which y’know, is nbd, but uhhh I was also interested in minoring in NMC? I’m cool with not doing the full minor and just getting the language certificate for Arabic but I think that I’d be going over 20.0 FCEs no matter what? PA is 15 and French is 7, and a minor, as you definitely know, is 4. Req 1 for my specialist says “At least 20.0 Credits from”University Course(s)”” (Not sure why university courses needed to be in quotation marks but ok, degree explorer.) which makes me think that it’s cool if I go over, but would I need to pay more? What happens if I fulfill all the requirements for the B.Comm and still want to keep going? Should I finish the MAJ/MIN stuff before my specialist requirements? I know that it’s fine to go over 4 years, and I’m planning on doing summer school anyways so I’ll prob be paying for extra tuition no matter what but like, is there an additional fee for going over 20 credits?????

    woW those were a lot of question marks, but I am in an especially confused mood. I had an appointment with my registrar earlier but I forgot to ask so I’m just shouting into your asks here.

    As an aside, I really love your post titles! Thanks for your patience with our questions.

    ——————————————

    hello!

    THANK YOU FOR NOTICING MY TITLES. tbqh, they’re the hardest part of every response and i (sadly) spend an inordinate time making them up.

    anyways, the answer.

    first, for something this long-winded, complicated, and specific, you really should get in touch with your registrar’s office. as you mentioned, you’ve already had an appointment with your registrar, but this really is something that is worth going back for. they can actually dig up specific info for you that i don’t have access to (i’m powerful, but not that powerful).

    you’re right when you say that it’s fine to go over 20.0 credits– that’s just how many you need to graduate. basically, you don’t get to graduate until you actually request graduation. also, there’s isn’t any additional fee for going over 20 credits, just the tuition fees you would be paying anyways.

    something that you could also consider is coming back as a non-degree student after finishing your bcomm. non-degree students are students who’ve already earned a degree from the university and are taking courses without working towards a degree. you could be taking courses to get into a graduate program or self-interest. i don’t know why you wanna do both a bcomm and a major/minor in arts programs, but i respect it. i see you. game recognize game.

    anna kendrick salute GIF

    anyways, if you’re just looking to take french language and literature and nmc courses out of self-interest, looking into coming back as a non-degree student after finishing your bcomm may be a good option.

    if you want to do the french and nmc programs at the same time as your bcomm, then i suggest going back to your registrar to discuss your options.

    hope this helps!

    xoxo,

    aska

    PS- i literally couldn’t come up with a title for this–i got performance anxiety!!

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  • enrollment,  french,  programs

    french it up!

    April 30, 2018

    Hi,

    What are the differences between the French programs at U of T St George? What is the best program to take if someone with very minimal french knowledge (near beginner) would like to be at a high B2/C1 level by the time of graduation?

    ——————————————

    hi!

    at u of t, we have a lot of very different french programs that all have different focuses, so it all depends on what aspect of french you’re interested in.

    if you’re interested in ONLY learning the french language, you’d want to enroll in the french language learning program. there isn’t too much information on the website or the faculty calendar about what exactly this program entails, but it looks like students registered in this program only take french LANGUAGE courses, meaning that you just learn the language itself.

    if you’re interested in french language AND literature, you’d want to enroll in the french language and french literature program. again, there isn’t too much info online, but it looks like students take both strictly language courses as well as literature courses that are taught in french.

    if you’re interested in french language AND linguistics, you’d want to enroll in the french language and french linguistics program. once again, there isn’t that much info online, but it looks like students are focused on both learning the french language itself as well as the linguistic system that makes up the french language.

    phew! ok, that’s a lot of different programs with a lot of vague information. i think that, from your question, you’re looking to just learn the language itself? in that case, you’d probably want to just enroll in the french language learning program. you can take a look at some of the links i’ve put above to see what the required courses are and if they interest you.

    keep in mind that you will have to take a placement test in order to be put into any french language courses.

    again, because there isn’t a lot of info out there online, i suggest getting in contact with the french department itself who’ll be able to give you more information and better explain the differences between the french programs.

    i hope this was helpful! go out there and french it up!

    french bonjour GIF

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • credits,  exchange,  french,  transfer credits

    je m’excuse, je ne parle pas le francais

    January 31, 2017

    heya aska. this is a question that is not u of t-specific necessarily, but i can’t seem to find the answer anywhere online, so thought i would ask here first before resorting to talking to whomever in whatever administrative position that would know. i completed the explore program in summer 2015 (at a u of t-approved university) but still haven’t transferred the credit (for ~complicated reasons~); i’m just wondering if anyone knows if it counts for 1.0 FCE or just 0.5. thanks !

    ———————————————

    hello,

    i contacted the french department’s study elsewhere coordinator (a lovely man named Paul) and he was very helpful in answering your question! i’ve paraphrased his words below:

    in short, all explore courses are worth 1.0 FCE, but there are other steps you need to take to ensure you receive the transfer credit.

    1. you need to go to the transfer credit office at sidney smith hall (100 st. george street) and fill out a transfer credit application
    2. then, arrange to have your Explore course transcript sent to the transfer credit office at sid smith
    3. after that, contact french.secretary(at)utoronto.ca to book a french placement test
    4. after the test, forward the results to the transfer credit office

    our friend Paul also included the following note: “if you have already taken an FSL course at U of T, the placement test result must show that your level has increased by the one full course in order to be eligible to receive a transfer credit”.

    hope this helps!

    bonne chance!

    paix et amour,

    aska

     

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  • french,  gap year,  transfer credits

    i read something somewhere about it

    July 22, 2016

    Hey!

    I finished my first year at UTSG and I’m thinking of taking a gap year. During the gap year, I’m thinking of attending a language school to improve my French skills. But I think I read somewhere that attending an institution while taking a year off is prohibited. I’m not sure if this policy only applies to post-secondary institutions or any institution at all. I would really appreciate some information on this.

    Thanks 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’m not sure what the rule is when it comes to “post-secondary institutions.” i only have incredibly specific and non-transferable knowledge about uoft that is probably taking up too much space in my head. lucky me.

    anyway, the only time this would be true is if you are away from school because of a suspension. students are not allowed to receive transfer credits from another college or university while on suspension. obviously, uoft bodyguards aren’t going to burst in on your first day of class at ryerson or centennial and strong-arm you out of the lecture hall. you can still take courses elsewhere, if you want to. they even kind of encourage it, since it may “help improve your academic skill level before you return to university studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science.” it’s just that you can’t use those credits towards your uoft degree.

    if you’re actually just taking a gap year and you’re still in good standing, however, you can totally take courses elsewhere, AND you could potentially (emphasis on the “potentially” – take a look at transfer explorer to see how the courses at the other institution might transfer over to uoft) even get transfer credits for your degree, if that was something you wanted to do.

    so go ahead! allons-y, as they say, nous allons avoir un aventure.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • first year,  french

    @ les mecs: je parle francais, hmu

    July 30, 2015

    hi aska! i took the language placement test for french and it told me to enrol in FSL221Y, however, I’m going into my first year of university and I’m a bit nervous about taking a higher level course. Any advice?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    if you took the test and you’ve been placed in FSL221Y, that’s the one you should probably take. language competency is a bit weird – it doesn’t fit neatly into the academic levels prescribed by the university. a first-year student who’s spoken french all their life is at a much higher level than a fourth year who’s only been speaking it for a couple of years.

    SO, if your language competency in french is at a second-year level and all your other courses are 100-levels, i wouldn’t be too concerned about it.

    however, keep the drop date for Y courses in mind. if you start the course and feel that it’s too difficult for you, you can always drop it before the deadline and enrol in another french course.

    you also may want to speak with the french department about how easy it is to downgrade from FSL221Y1 to a 100-level course, just so you know how the process works just in case you decide to go for it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • extracurricular,  french

    oui oui

    May 11, 2015

    Hello ! I’m going into second year at UTSG next year, and I was considering getting a citation in French in my degree (or maybe a French as Second Language minor?), but it might make arranging my other courses a bit difficult. I don’t want to lose all the French I learned through high school if I decide not to take it, so I was wondering if you know of any services in UofT that provide french language practice? Thanks a lot! 🙂

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    that’s a very admirable goal! i personally plan on keeping up my french by just rewatching le petit prince over and over when it comes out and crying over the nostalgia.

    BUT that might be a bit emotionally draining for some people, so why don’t we explore some other options. y’know. for the weak-willed out there.

    1. the French Association puts on events monthly to “create strong ties between Anglophones and Francophones by providing an inclusive and convivial space where cultural and linguistic exchanges happen!” so that might be a cool thing to be a part of.

    2. if you’d like a more intensive way of keeping up with your french, the french department organizes a “weekly conversation group” at the Kelly Cafe and in New College, which is a great way of keeping up your french speaking.

    3. the french as a second language minor is also a great idea! you only need 4.0 credits to complete it, so it shouldn’t be too hard to fit into your degree.

    bonne chance avec votre enterprise linguistique!

    aska

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  • courses,  french,  UTM

    i wish we had a parseltongue class

    September 18, 2014

    Hey there aska! Could you possibly tell me anything about French languages courses, particularly at UTM? I am taking one as an elective (Y course) and am afraid of signing myself up for something that will take up too much time and become a GPA killer. Are languages courses particularly well known as time suckers? Thanks so much, I-want-to-be-bilingual-without-becoming-insane.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    language courses aren’t well-known to me as time suckers, but 1) i don’t go to UTM and 2) i haven’t studied any secondary languages at the post-secondary level. i’m not an expert in the topic.

    BUUT it seems like indications of ease/proficiency in french are pretty clearly indicated in course descriptions.

    this class, for example, is very clearly called ‘advanced beginner,’ specifies a prerequisite, and says that it is not open to native speakers of french.

    if you still feel unsure of the difficulty level to expect, you can always chat with someone at the department of language studies about it.

    also, we’re into the semester now, so hopefully if you decided to take it, you now have a decent idea of how intensive it’ll be. just keep in mind that september 21st is the last day to add or change F or Y section courses, so you’ve only got a few more days to make up your mind!

    cheers, my bilingual bud,

    aska

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