- Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne
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Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne 
Sorbonne-saint-jacques
Location 17 rue de la Sorbonne, Paris
FranceInformation Type Private school Established 1919 President Pierre Brunel Number of students 9000 Website Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne The Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne (CCFS - the Sorbonne French language and civilisation courses) depends on the Société des Amis des Universités de Paris (SAUP – the Paris University's Friends Society), a public utility and non-profit association of private status regulated by the French law of 1901 on associations. The purpose of this association is to uphold the French culture around the world by teaching French civilization and French language as a foreign language. Created in 1919, The CCFS is a French as a foreign language school (FLE).
Primarily attended by Americans,[citation needed] the CCFS regroups today nearly 130 nationalities with a prominent presence of Germans, Americans, Britons, Brazilians, Chinese, Swedes, Koreans, Spaniards, Japanese, Poles and Russians. Between eight and nine thousand students attend the institution each year.
According to its statutes, the CCFS is directed by a professor, an emeritus professor or a University lecturer. The current director of the courses is Mr. Pierre Brunel, Professor of comparative literature at the Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV), member of the Institut Universitaire de France and the Deputy-Director is Mr. Jean-Louis de Boissieu, lecturer in the same University.
Contents
Sites location
The administrative headquarters of CCFS is located in the Sorbonne. Apart from the Experimental Centre, none of the courses are taught in the Sorbonne itself, but instead in buildings near the Sorbonne.
- Sorbonne Centre, 17 rue de la Sorbonne, Paris 5th: management committee and administration
- Fouarre Centre, 6 rue du Fouarre, Paris 5th: classes, administrative assistance service
- House of students, 214 boulevard Raspail, Paris 14th: classes, phonetic laboratories
- Estrapade Centre, 16 B rue de l'Estrapade, Paris 5th: classes, civilisation lectures, welcome and housing services
- International Students Centre, 93 Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris 5th: classes
- Ecole des Mines, 270 rue Saint-Jacques, Paris 5th: classes
- Irish Cultural Centre, 5 rue des Irlandais, Paris 5th: classes
Teachings
The CCFS provide French courses for students of all levels, from complete beginners to professor of French as a foreign language. These courses prepare either to pass various national and international evaluations such as TCF or DELF or to obtain the school own diploma or certificate.
French language and civilization courses
Various formula of courses are proposed according to the learner teaching intentions and needs. These formulas are made up with various courses association that includes:
- French language classes (grammar, conjugation, spelling, vocabulary, approach to literary texts, written and oral expression);
- phonetics with language laboratory (expression, pronunciation and understanding exercises);
- French civilisation taught in lectures or in small groups.
Specialised Modules
The CCFS also prepares to pass French tests and diplomas issued by the Minister of National Education that certify French skills of foreign candidates. Some of these tests allow the entrance into the French University. These specialised modules prepare to pass:
- the DELF (Diploma in French language studies);
- the DALF (Diploma in advanced French language studies).
Special courses
These courses are designed for students with a good level of French. Some of these specialisations can allow to pass the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry's diplomas.
The pre-university section
The pre-university section prepares the entrance into the French University. Students are selected upon arrival and attend courses designed to improve their knowledge of the French language and French civilisation. The diploma awarded at the end of this course is recognised in several foreign countries as an equivalent of a study semester in an undergraduate course at a French University.
The University Summer Courses
The University Summer Course (EUC) is specifically aimed for foreign professors teaching French – as a foreign language or as a secondary language - and students with good skills in French. It offers seminars and courses based on a set of methodological techniques that make it a high-level course.
The "Business French" Specialisation
The Business French specialisation prepares simultaneously students for both the Sorbonne's French language certificate and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry's diploma by teaching French business language (composition of business documents, study of economics articles...)
Certificates and diplomas
A successful completion of the studies are awarded by the CCFS own series of certificates and diplomas during a formal graduation ceremony in the Sorbonne biggest amphitheatre. A continual assessment and final exam system is used to evaluate the work completed in each of the sessions. Depending on the level and the course chosen, the CCFS award:
- Diplôme d'études de la civilisation française (Diploma in French civilisation studies): pre-university section
- Diplôme de langue et civilisation françaises (Diploma in French language and civilisation): advanced level
- Certificat de civilisation française (Certificate in French civilisation) : advanced level
- Certificat de langue et civilisation françaises (Certificate in French language and civilisation): intermediate level
- Certificat de langue et d'initiation à la civilisation (Certificate in language and introduction to civilisation): intermediate level
- Certificat de Langue française (French language certificate: all levels
- Certificat de stage de français écrit (Certificate in written French): advanced level
- Certificat de stage d'expression orale (Certificate in spoken expression): all levels
- Certificat de fin de cours - de l'oral à l'écrit (Course certificate - from speaking to writing): advanced level
- Student transcript (University Summer Course): advanced level
The CCFS also provides courses allowing students to obtain various evaluations from other organizations (i.e. DELF, DALF, TCF and Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry's diplomas).
Other activities
The TCF CIEP-Sorbonne Centre
Through a partnership agreement signed in 2006, the TCF CIEP-Sorbonne Centre is the only centre affiliated to the International Centre of Pedagogical Studies empowered to pass the French Knowledge Test (TCF) in Paris.
The Experimental Centre for the Study of French Civilisation
Attached to the Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) through a partnership agreement, the Experimental Centre for the Study of French Civilisation aims to organize specialised courses, conferences and research seminars over the French language and civilization. This centre prepares students with a high-level of French to the Master of French Civilisation and prepares Paris-Sorbonne's students to teach the French as a foreign language.
Groups welcome
In partnership with a number of organizations and universities, the CCFS coordinate linguistic journeys with personalised teachings.
Organization
CCFS courses are organized into sessions of various duration:
- Winter semester (October-January)
- Spring semester (February-May)
- Summer courses (June-September with flexible durations)
- Fall session (September-December)
See also
- Francophonie
- Français langue étrangère
- Sorbonne
- Société des Amis des Universités de Paris
External links
- Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne official website (French) (English) (Spanish)
- Sorbonne dans la Ville
- Sorbonne official website
- Partner Institution Paris Summer Study
Categories:- University of Paris
- Cultural organizations
- French culture
- Language schools
- French-language education
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