M.A. French Language

Department of French

Master of Arts in French Language

M.A. French Language

1. List of Academic Staff

Name	Status and Qualification	Research Interests
Y. O. Tijani	Senior Lecturer & A.g. Head of Department B.A. (Ed.) (OAU, Ile-Ife); M.A. (AbdouMoumouni, Niamey); Ph.D. (Ilorin)	French as a Foreign Language, Applied Linguistics, Didactics, Translation
Afsat, Sanni- Suleiman	Senior Lecturer B.A.  (OAU,  Ile-Ife);  PGDE  (Ilorin);M.A. (Ibadan); Ph.D. (Ilorin)	French as a Foreign Language, Sociolinguistics, Didactics,Translation
Omotayo F. Siwoku- Awi	Senior Lecturer B.A. (OAU, Ile-Ife) M.A. (Ibadan); Ph.D. (OAU, Ile-Ife)	Francophone African Literature,Didactics, Feminism, Postmodernism
Adelaide K. Dongmo	Lecturer I B.A. (Douala) ; M.A. Ph.D. (Ilorin)	Francophone African Literature,Didactics, Feminism, Postmodernism
I. Abdulmalik	Lecturer I B.A. M.A. (ABU, Zaria); Ph.D. (Benin)	French Literature, Didactics,Methodology of Teaching French Literature, ICT
S. Oyelabi	Lecturer I B.A. M.A. (Ilorin);	French as a Foreign Language,Applied Linguistics, Translation
I. Bayo	Lecturer I B.A. M.A. (Ilorin);	French as a Foreign Language,Sociolinguistics, Didactics,

B. Introduction

This programme is designed to provide the holders of Bachelor of Arts degree in French the opportunity to develop themselves further in the area of the French language. This programme will also contribute to the solution of manpower problems in the specific field of the French Language instruction and research.

C. Philosophy

The philosophy of the programme is to anchor on creating a people with adequate tools to meet the challenges of national development and also of harnessing its foreign language resources to meet global competitiveness. Besides, the programme provides for a high level of imaginative and communicative skill the type of which is indispensable to building a humanistic future characterised by tolerance, security and good neighbourliness. The products of the programme will thus have been equipped with the minimum that is required for reliable competence in expressing and interpreting values of all sources and categories for the benefit of mankind and that of Nigeria in particular.

D. Aim and Objectives

The aim of the programme is to produce motivated specialists in French Language. The objectives of the programme are to:

1. develop in these students competence in communicating effectively and pragmatically in the language;
2. assist the students in developing a high level of abstraction and bringing this to bear on the discussion of topics of general and specific interests;
3. enhance the students‘ knowledge of the workings of the French Language through a close study of its forms and structures;
4. get the students to acquire a deep knowledge of the common features of the French language through literature and culture with a view to comparing these with what obtains in the Nigerian context;
5. explore the offerings of the French Language for the benefit of the Nigerian society;
6. determine the peculiarities of the French Language when compared with other languages in translation; and
7. produce graduates that will be capable of filling specific gaps in the manpower needs of Nigeria such as in education and in the industries.

E. Admission Requirements

1. All candidates are required to have had a minimum of a credit pass at O/level or its equivalent in 5 relevant subjects including English and Mathematics.
2. The programme is open to first degree holders of B.A. French or its equivalents with a class of degree not lower than Second class (Lower Division) from a recognised University. In principle, graduates with results lower than Second Class (Upper Division) may be asked to sit for a qualifying examination.

F. Duration of the Programme

1. The Full-time programme shall run for a minimum of 18 calendar months and a maximum of 24 calendar months.
2. The Part-time programme shall run for a minimum of 36 calendar months and a maximum of 48 calendar months.

G. Detailed Course Description

FRE 801    Research Methodology 3 Credits

General principles in academic research. Statement and justification of the research problem. Tools for investigation. Methods of analysis. Presentation of findings. Compilation of data and references. 45h (T); C

FRE 802 Issues in French Morpho-Syntax 3 Credits

Detailed study of positions held in relation to the major morpho-syntatic features of the French language. Opportunity for the study of the main mechanisms at work in the face of the changing status of words in given grammatical contents. 45h (T); C

FRE 803 French Usage and Registers 3 Credits

Language use associated: politics, science, technology, medicine, law. Students to build up registers appropriate to each domain in fairly specialised modes of interaction. 45h (T); C

FRE 804 Applied Linguistics in French 3 Credits

Survey of the theories associated with the teaching of French especially as a foreign language. Problem posed by each theory and the achievement of each. Practical illustrations from French in the Anglophone and mother tongue setting. 45h (T); C

FRE 805 Research Seminar 3 Credits

Opportunity for candidates to show evidence of ability for continuous writing in French in accordance with standard principles of research documentation. Seminar which may be on/around the dissertation: in view, will be presented for collective discussion and advice. 45h (T); C

FRE 807    Sociolinguistics 3 Credits

Inter-relationship between language structure and social structure. French as main illustrative language. Tools to appreciate the socio-cultural foundations of language in communication.45h (T); E

FRE 808 The French Language Today 3 Credits

Survey of status and features of the French language: France and elsewhere. Analysis of texts in metropolitan French. Texts in metropolitan French. Texts in other varieties. 45h (T); E

FRE 809    Studies in French Semantics 3 Credits

Role of semantics in linguistics. Modern semantic theories as they affect the French Language. The correspondence between forms and meanings. Semantics theories as they affect French language. 45h (T); E

FRE 811 Aspects of French Stylistics 3 Credits

Approaches to the problems of style in language. Contribution of linguistics to some of the approaches. Emphasis on language use among writers of French and Francophone origin. 45h (T); C

FRE 813 Translation and Interpretation 1 3 Credits Theoretical and practical knowledge of the technical and linguistic skills needed for translation and interpretation from English into French and vice versa. 15h (T); 90h (P); E

FRE 814 Translation and Interpretation II 3 Credits Continuation of FRE 813. Diverse forms of translation such as literary, scientific and technical translations and interpretations. More advanced and complex notions and texts. 15h (T); 90h (P); E

FRE 815 French Phonology: Theoretical Advance 3 Credits Major trends in the description and analysis of French phonemes. Articulatory vs acoustic phonetics. Role of phoneme environment: phoneme vs archiphoneme. Primary and secondary articulation: assimilation, syllabification, coalescence, phoneme boundary. 45h (T); E

FRE 899    Dissertation 6 Credits

Each student is required to prepare and present an original essay of about 10,000 words on a topic to be agreed upon by the department and, in principle, under the supervision of a member of staff of the department. Language of presentation must be French. 270h (P); C

H. Graduation Requirements

To be awarded the M.A. degree in French Language, a candidate must have:

1. passed all the core courses.
2. successfully completed his dissertation on a relevant topic agreed upon by the Department which must be in French, unless otherwise indicated.
3. satisfied all other conditions as stipulated by the School of Postgraduate Studies.

I. Summary Core Courses:

FRE 801 (3), 802 (3), 803 (3), 804 (3), 805 (3), 811 (3), 899 (6) 24 Credits

Elective Courses:

FRE 807 (3), 808 (3), 809 (3), 813 (3), 814 (3), 815 (3) 18 Credits

Total (C + E) = 4 credits + a minimum of 9 Credits of Electives

*Language students are advised to choose, at least, one Elective from Literature courses in the Elective brackets.