Faire du chemin means "to make progress" in French.

Welcome to Faire du chemin, a free website textbook for intermediate and advanced French learners at UIC and beyond.

UIC French instructors created Faire du chemin with you in mind.

Faire du chemin means “making progress,” and we encourage you to think about your own language and culture learning as making progress. It’s very much like learning formulas in biology or chemistry, or learning to read music. You begin by memorizing pieces, and then putting them together. Making mistakes is part of the learning process.

Research mind means that mistakes are part of learning. You work on learning something, you try it out, and you get it right–or you get it wrong. If you get it wrong, no big deal. You try again. Everyone makes mistakes while learning. If you are feeling discouraged, talk to your teacher.

Note taking: Taking notes both while you study and while you are in class will help you better understand and remember the material. Research shows that students who take notes feel better about the class material and do better on homework and exams. Here are some suggestions about how to take notes. There are lots of different ways to take notes: whatever way works for you is the best way for you!

How to "Faire du chemin"!

Faire du Chemin is composed of ten chapters. Each chapter contains several different ways to work on learning and understanding French.

Some of the information will be a review and some of it may be new to you.

All of the sections of each chapter include vocabulary and ways to practice conversation, listening, reading, and writing.

Chapters 1-5 are French 103
Chapters 6-10 are French 104

You can access all the chapters anytime.

Note: Devoirs (homework) is only accessible to the UIC French class you are currently enrolled in.

In each chapter:

Mots et expressions: Outside of class. Vocabulary for the grammar part of the chapter. Study and practice on your own. We will review in class.
Grammaire: Outside of class. Grammar poing (for example, a verb, a tense, adjectives, pronouns…). Study and practice on your own. We will review in class.
Pronunciation: Charts, conversations, and audio clips by topic. Listen and repeat to practice prononciation.
Mise en Pratique: Activities to practice information during class (or as assigned by instructor). You are welcome to do them ahead of class to prepare, but it’s not required.
Devoirs: Activities to practice information before and after class. This homework is all on Blackboard, and open only to UIC students.

Use these buttons to navigate between pages within a particular chapter and/or topic:

Film & Lecture:

Each film includes a glossary and brainstorming and discussion activities for the classroom.

Additional Resource & Lexique:

The Additional Resources provide more information about specific grammar topics.

The Lexique provides a comprehensive list of the chapter, film and reading vocabulary in this textbook.

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