Integration delegation

Initial situation

The Academic Horizon program in which these courses are integrated is aimed at people in the field of asylum and migration who have had to interrupt their studies in their country of origin and/or who have already completed one or more cycles of education. The program lasts one to two years and is a bridge to higher education. Since its creation, this program has offered, among other things, the learning of French to its public so that they can reach the B2 level required to enter university/university of applied sciences. Since the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, in order to offer a French teaching system that is more in line with the particular profiles and specific needs of the target public, the project’s actors have set up a French course on university objectives as well as a “Language & university skills” workshop to complement the classic French course.

Project implementation

The objective of this didactic device is twofold: it aims to reach the level required for the university entrance exam and to develop specific language skills that students need to follow courses and integrate into the university. In order to work on these useful skills at all levels of the university context, the French for University Purposes program offers, in addition to the classic teaching of French, two complementary and closely linked courses.

The first is a French course on university objectives that allows participants to study language skills specific to the university context. During these courses, teachers propose linguistic tasks and other more pragmatic tasks that call upon generic academic skills. These may include the ability to synthesize, take notes, use digital tools, etc. In order to be as close as possible to the needs of the learners, the didactic sequences and exercises come directly from resources used at the University of Geneva. The Academic Horizon program allows students to follow university courses as free auditors in order to experience life as university students. They participate in exams and can, if necessary, obtain ECTS credits, which will be validated once they become regular students. They are invited to bring material from these courses to work on them in the French course. The teaching team uses the Moodle platform to communicate and transmit documents to students, but also to create exercises. It is indeed essential that the participants be confronted with the use of digital tools from the very beginning of the program since they are omnipresent in university life.

The second is a “Language & Academic Skills” workshop that allows students to practice sociocultural and institutional skills (understanding the norms used in academic writing, but also social and cultural norms that allow for interaction, mutual aid and collaboration with peers). These workshops are led either by former students of the Master’s program in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) or by students at the end of the Master’s program in FLE. Since they do not have the opportunity to do an internship as part of their curriculum, getting involved in the program allows Master’s students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired in a concrete way. This practical classroom experience can then allow them to be hired as teachers and to take on the role of trainer for new students entering the program. During these workshops, their role is to allow students to put into practice the elements seen in class. Exchanges and transmissions between students and future students are also encouraged during these workshops.

At the end of the academic year, students take the University of Geneva entrance exam. This formal and summative evaluation validates the B2 level for those who have reached it and allows them to register as regular students at the UNIGE in order to pursue the course of their choice.

Thoughts and advice

Students’ objectives are very heterogeneous. The basic levels and progressions differ from one student to another, which requires a great flexibility in the organization of the program as well as an adaptation to the progress of each student. Students who are ahead of the game should not be slowed down and should be able to progress faster than others. The creation of level groups facilitates this management. A placement test allows us to determine the initial level of French of the students at the beginning of the program in order to assign them to the appropriate classes.

The teaching staff also stresses that such a course format requires a very open mind, since it is not necessary to limit oneself to one’s own discipline, but to know and learn as much as possible about the know-how of other faculties.

Student feedback

“During this class, I learned how to prepare for college: taking notes, reading accurate articles.”

“The activities with videos and actual course text were very helpful for me.”

“I was given keys to read and analyze academic texts and interact with teachers.”