The Foreign Service Institute has developed a series of language-learning courses for use by the state department and other government agencies. These courses have been developed, tested by use, and improved over a period of many years. Working with the Departments of Defense, Education, other government agencies, and various universities, the Foreign Service Institute has created the largest body of complete courses for languages of the world available anywhere.

This course produced by the Foreign Service Institute as part of its Basic Course series, provides introductory through intermediate level material. The goal of Foreign Service Institute courses is to provide the English Speaking student's from any occupational background with practical knowledge and proficiency in their language of interest.

The course is presented over four levels, so students can choose the level of proficiency they desire or decide when they no longer need assistance. This is a modern course, revised by Monique Cossard and the FSI staff. It follows a format of learning, practice and progress at your own pace, which is standard to these courses. For beginning students, the twenty-four units are designed for a six-month intensive training program of six hours of work per day, plus outside preparation. Each unit presents a situational topic introduced in a dialogue, and usually five grammar points. Each grammar point is preceded by grammar notes which generally are expressed in non-technical terms. Planned in four volumes, the French Basic Course was designed to help students reach a level of proficiency which will enable them to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations.

Planned in four levels, the French Basic Course was designed to help students reach a level of proficiency which will enable them to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations. The dialogues, drills, situations and narrations have been recorded on audio unless otherwise indicated in the course.

For beginning students, the twenty-four units are designed for a six-month intensive training program of six hours of work per day, plus outside preparation. Each unit presents a situational topic introduced in a dialogue, and usually five grammar points. Each grammar point is preceded by grammar notes which generally are expressed in non-technical terms.

Other units include materials of the following kinds:

* 1. A dialogue to provide a body of natural French conversation as a source for subsequent drills and exercises. (At FSI these dialogues are commonly memorized.)
* 2. Useful words to supplement the vocabulary with a limited number of additional words, usually related to the topic of the dialogue.
* 3. Vocabulary awareness to enable the student to better identify the elements of the utterances learned as a whole and to regroup and review vocabulary.
* 4. Drills of six different kinds, each type designed for a specific purpose.
o a. Lexical drills to manipulate already acquired vocabulary and improve fluency.
o b. Learning drills to introduce new grammar points (with reference to the corresponding grammar notes).
o c. Practice drills to give the student an opportunity to illustrate in sentences the grammar point he just covered.
o d. Question drills to prepare the student for normal conversation.
o e. Answer drills to prepare the student for normal conversation.
o f. Review drills (Drills preceded by an (*) have been included for optional use with fast-moving students..)
* 5. Situations to improve comprehension and serve as a basis for questions and elementary conversation.
* 6. Narrations to provide reading material and introduce a very limited number of vocabulary items.
* 7. Written exercises to offer to the student opportunity to relate the spoken language to the writing system.