To register in the Open Learning Initiative's Elementary French I — Self-Paced for Independent Learners course, follow these instructions. The cost is $10.
- Note this Course Key: frenchiself
- Enter this Course Key on this page to register for Elementary French I — Self Paced for Independent Learners: https://oli.cmu.edu/coursekey
- Follow the prompts to either create a new account, or to sign in with your existing account.
- Payment is accepted via credit card, debit card, or Visa/MasterCard gift card. Disregard the Payment Code option.
- When returning, sign in to OLI here.
This OLI course registration is independent from any formal education you may be pursuing. There is no instructor monitoring your performance and OLI offers no academic credit for completion.
Who should study French Online?
The French Online course shares certain characteristics with many online or distance-delivered courses, and as a result may not be appropriate for all students. Here are a couple of thoughts on what you might need to succeed.
- You should be a self-starter. In spite of our best efforts to furnish opportunities for communication in these courses, you will have substantially reduced human contact during your studies. You will need self-discipline to complete the lessons on time and successfully. There are continuous self-check exercises, but you need to be able to recognize when you have (or have not) studied and practiced sufficiently. Seek out as many opportunities as you can to practice on your own, whether it be by watching movies, going to language tables or conversing with native-speaker friends or other students of the language. For class-based students, there are required weekly activities, including a class meeting, a 20-minute meeting with a peer tutor or the instructor, and an evening chat session, but the essential component is your own motivation. Independent learners should find others like them for practice and consider paying a tutor to augment these materials.
- You must also be comfortable with technology. If you essentially dislike computers, you should not use these materials. In spite of the fact that there is training in the course for all the technologies used, you need to be comfortable with common technologies coming in (word-processing, e-mail, browsers) and be open to learning others.
- Most of all, you must have a real desire to learn the language. Acquiring a language and familiarity with another culture can change your life, but it takes a willingness to pass through a difficult period when you are awkward, when you make lots of mistakes, when your ideas don't come across, when you may feel that native speakers of the language are underestimating your intelligence. This course should not be mistaken for an easy way to pick up language credit, or some magic potion. It is undoubtedly more difficult than a standard classroom course, but with dedication by the student it can lead to the attainment of similar goals.