Truman Study Abroad Programs -
CIDEF, Intensive French Language Summer Program
The Catholic University of the West
The CIDEF is open to students of all nationalities who have completed their high school education. It is one of the academic divisions of the Catholic University of the West (Université Catholique de l'Ouest). It offers semester and year-long programs as well as summer programs in July and September, a July program for teachers of French and a September Program to prepare students who will study in regular programs at a French university.
There are 47 professors at the CIDEF, 33 of whom teach French as a foreign language. Some 1500 students take classes at the Center each year.
Since it is very clear that one cannot learn a language without learning the culture of the country where the language is spoken, the CIDEF offers various courses on French culture and civilization as well as activities outside of the classroom to promote a better understanding of French culture and society.
The program is offered at 4 different levels: True Beginners, Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each student (except True Beginners) will take a placement test on July 2 at 8:30 am to determine language level.
The program consists of an intensive French language course (44 to 52 hours depending on your level), a conversation class in small groups (20 hours), lab exercises (8 hours), individual or group projects (8 hours, Intermediate and Advanced levels only), and one elective to be chosen from the following courses: Conversation, Grammar, Civilization, Literature, Business French (hours for these classes vary from 10 to 20 hours depending on the course).