French for Library Professionals Course

French for Library Professionals Course Syllabus

The course is completely flexible! You can as much or as little as you need based on your current French abilities and your library responsibilities. Feel free to learn it all, or to skip units or lessons that you do not need.

Unit 1: Issuing Library Cards

• Conversation
  • Practice issuing a library card to a patron.
• Vocabulary
  • Filling in Forms
  • Meeting and Greeting
• Grammar
  • Definite Articles
  • Subject Pronouns

Unit 2: Discussing Library Resources

• Conversation
  • Practice telling a patron about available resources, from books to computers to e-resources.
• Vocabulary
  • Library Materials & Resources
  • Translation Facilitation
  • Personal Pronouns
• Grammar
  • Yes or No Questions
  • Indefinite Articles

Unit 3: Finding Library Materials

• Conversation
  • Practice helping a patron track down a specific book and locate it inside the library.
• Vocabulary
  • Locations within a Library
  • Book Genres
  • Making Polite Conversation
• Grammar
  • Plural Nouns
  • The verb "être" (to be)

Unit 4: Checking Out and Returning Materials

• Conversation
  • Practice helping a patron check out materials and explain how to access materials online.
• Vocabulary
  • Check out and returns
  • Online holds and renewals
  • Numbers
• Grammar
  • The verb "avoir" (to have)
  • Past tense with avoir

Unit 5: Using Library Computers and Printers

• Conversation
  • Practice helping a patron use a library computer and print a document.
• Vocabulary
  • Computer Terms
  • Printer Terms
  • Office Supplies
• Grammar
  • Possessive Adjectives
  • Demonstrative Adjectives

Unit 6: Accessing E-Resources

• Conversation
  • Practice telling a patron about available e-resources for audiobooks, research, language learning, and more.
• Vocabulary
  • Types of E-Resources
  • Creating Accounts
  • Common Verbs
• Grammar
  • Interrogative Words
  • Asking questions with "quel" and "lequel"

Unit 7: Discussing Adult Programs

• Conversation
  • Practice introducing adult programs like adult English classes and use dates and times to explain when they meet.
• Vocabulary
  • Types of adult programs/events
  • Registering for events
  • Times of day
• Grammar
  • Adjective placement when describing people/things
  • Present tense reflexive verbs

Unit 8: Discussing Book Clubs

• Conversation
  • Practice promoting an upcoming book club meeting that might interest a patron based on a book she's checking out.
• Vocabulary
  • Registering for events
  • Days of the week
• Grammar
  • Formality: "tu" vs. "vous"
  • Expressing quantity with "tout"

Unit 9: Summer Reading Program

• Conversation
  • Practice explaining the library's Summer Reading Program to a patron checking out a book for her daughter.
• Vocabulary
  • Summer Reading Programs terms
  • Months

• Grammar
  • Prepositions of Place
  • Present tense "-ir" verbs

Unit 10: Storytime

• Conversation
  • Practice helping a patron sign up his children for storytime.
• Vocabulary
  • Storytime terms
  • Registering for storytime
  • Common adjectives
• Grammar
  • Describing situations with "il y a"
  • Common idioms with "avoir"

Unit 11: Explaining Library Policies

• Conversation
  • Practice answering a patron’s questions about the library’s rules and policies including library hours.
• Vocabulary
  • Library hours
  • Library rules
  • Asking the time
• Grammar
  • Pointing out things with "c'est" and "il est"
  • Imperative