SMCE4012 F25 Cinélangue: Explore French Cinema and Language

• Delivery: In-person
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Day of the week: Thursdays
• Dates: October 16 – November 6, 2025 (includes French cinema snacks each week, and a vin-fromage on November 6)
  • Note: Optional class outing to see the new musical comedy Tell Tale Harbour at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for an additional fee on Wednesday, October 29 at 730 p.m. available, see details below.
• Time: 6:30- 8:30 p.m.
• Location: Alumni Hall Room 400, 121 St. Joseph St, Toronto
• Cost: $225 (includes HST)

Course Overview

Immerse yourself in the world of French cinema, while enhancing your language skills. During this course, we will watch and discuss two films, La grande séduction and Le Dîner de cons, while at the same time exploring related idiomatic expressions, vocabulary, and themes of community, personal pride, deceit, social hierarchy, and hope.

Each session combines discussion and reactions to the film with practical language exercises, allowing you to actively practise speaking, listening, and comprehension. Whether you’re a film lover or a language enthusiast, this course offers a dynamic, interactive way to deepen your appreciation for both French culture and language.

This series will include French cinema snacks each week, and a vin-fromage on the final evening.

A new musical comedy, Tell Tale Harbour, is playing in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre this fall. The musical comedy, starring Alan Doyle from Newfoundland folk-rock legends Great Big Sea, is adapted from the film screenplay, The Grand Seduction, which is an English version of the film La grande séduction.

If course participants are interested in purchasing tickets to the theatre production at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, we can coordinate to see the play as a class on Wednesday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. Please note that participants will be responsible for purchasing their own theatre tickets, subject to regular availability, and the cost is not included in the course fee.

Method of Instruction

Using film as our text, learners will be guided in interactive exercises designed to improve speaking, listening, and conversation skills. Learners will add new French words and phrases to their lexicons, and practise conversation and dialogue. This course is suitable for beginning learners.

Learning Outcomes

In this course, learners will:

• Identify and use vocabulary related to humor, social interaction, professions, emotions, and small-town life. 
• Improve pronunciation and listening skills through exposure to regional accents and colloquial language. 
• Engage in structured conversations and debates using appropriate expressions for agreement, disagreement, and emotional nuance. 
• Compare cultural norms between France and Quebec, with a focus on language variation, regional identity, and values. 
• Discuss the ethical, and social implications of characters’ actions in both films, using appropriate cultural context 
• Express informed personal opinions about characters, themes, and cinematic techniques in oral and written French. 

About the Instructor

Career educator and author, Dr. Salvatori serves as Director of Continuing Education at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.  Prior to this role, Michael served as Vice President of Strategy and as Associate Professor at Niagara University in Ontario.

As the Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers from 2009-2021, Michael led Canada’s largest self-regulatory body for the teaching profession.

Earlier in his career, Michael served as an elementary and secondary school core French and French immersion teacher, a vice-principal, principal, and as an assistant professor at Glendon College of York University.

Long a champion of second language education, he is fluent in French, Italian, English, and German and is author and co-author of numerous textbooks and teacher resources.

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