Saint‑Pierre and Miquelon Program Details
Program details
The Saint-Pierre and Miquelon Field School is a three-week immersion program that takes place in the spring.
The program is open to all students who have an intermediate level of French (FREN 1045/1050 or equivalent). Students will complete six university credits in French and live with a French family. The program is based at the Francoforum, a dedicated language training centre, and is supervised by a Dalhousie professor who accompanies the group.
Students in the field school will complete the following course:
FREN 3033 Language and Culture in the Francophone World
CREDIT HOURS: 6
This course is an intensive three-week programme in the French Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Students will stay with host families and attend daily classes, as well as participate in sociocultural activities and excursions organized in collaboration with the Francoforum, a French language and culture institute on the island of Saint-Pierre. Emphasis will be on development of intermediate and advanced oral and aural skills. As well as studying the language, culture and history of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, students will complete an extended experiential learning project involving close working contact with elements of the local community.
NOTE: Students doing the Major, Double Major, Honours, or Combined Honours in French, may take this course as an elective, but it does not count toward the minimal amount of 3000 level credits.
FORMAT: Experiential Learning
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 20
PREREQUISITES: At least five full credits at the university level. Students must also demonstrate intermediate-level French language skills (FREN 1045 or FREN 1050 or equivalent, with permission of instructor)
RESTRICTIONS: Instructor approval must be given to register for this course. EXCLUSION : FREN 3000
Course Objectives
1. Oral competence and fluency
This course promotes and reinforces oral skills for students with intermediate-level knowledge of French. Students will develop their speaking and comprehension skills with the aim of communicating easily with native speakers, through comprehension exercises, role plays, discussions, and debates. The course will include language tasks focussing on vocabulary enrichment, levels of language, correction of frequent errors, and mastery of pronunciation and intonation.
Though the emphasis is primarily on oral French, written work will help students improve their mastery of the essentials of French grammar and introduce them to professional communication in an authentic context.
2. Intercultural competence
Through daily interactions with host families and residents of SPM, as well as interactive classes and site visits focussing on the history and culture of the islands, students will develop their understanding of French and Francophone culture and institutions, of the unique cadre of the Collectivité territoriale, and of the relationships between different populations in the Atlantic region, Francophone and Anglophone, French and Canadian. Students will document their experience through written and oral assignments.
3. Experiential Learning
Students will be partnered with members of the community working in a field of interest to them (administration, health, education, resource management, arts, etc.) and will develop a project based on their interactions (video, written and oral journal; final video documentary and oral presentation).
Further information
The fee for the six Dalhousie credits, plus an all-inclusive program fee (covering flights, accommodation, meals, course materials, excursions and activities) is approximately $4,900. Generous bursaries of up to $1,500 are available.
Information Session
At this time, the date for our next information session is TBD.
Please come see us in the French Department for further information. We are located at 6135 University Avenue #1114 or send us an email french@dal.ca