Skills and Content: New Designs for the Survey Course

This article describes an innovative approach to teaching a survey course. The course unites delivery of content with development of skills using techniques from the Oral Proficiency Interview. The article presents strategies that improve both research and language skills while teaching students about French literature and culture from the Middle Ages through the eighteenth century. The article provides specific examples of how research skills and language development are integrated into all tasks. Films, the Internet, and newspaper articles give the historical material a contemporary feel that also emphasizes its relevance.