FR 151Basic French 1
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Arts
- Subject
- French Studies
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 5 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills for communication in various daily life contexts and situations. Students will be exposed to cultural aspects of life in France, French Canada, and other French-speaking countries.
Prerequisites
- Complete 1 of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- FR101 - Beginner French (0.50)
- Must have completed the following: Ontario Grade 9 or 10 French
- Must have completed the following:
Antirequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- Not completed: Ontario Grade 11 or 12 French, 4U Core French, high school immersion, or Extended French
- Student must not have advanced, near-native, or native ability in French
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3146 | 55 / 80 | TTh 11:30–12:20 |
| LEC 081 | 3602 | 179 / 185 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 3768 | 20 / 20 | Th 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 102 | 3769 | 11 / 20 | F 12:30–13:20 |
| TUT 103 | 3770 | 12 / 20 | T 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 104 | 3771 | 12 / 20 | W 10:30–11:20 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3114 | 0 / 80 | TTh 11:30–12:20 |
| LEC 081 | 3519 | 0 / 180 | Online or by arrangement |
| LEC 082 | 7559 | 0 / 50 | Online or by arrangement |
| LEC 701 | 1201 | 46 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| LEC 702 | 1202 | 135 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 3218 | 0 / 20 | Th 10:30–11:20 |
| TUT 102 | 3219 | 0 / 20 | Th 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 103 | 3220 | 0 / 20 | Th 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 104 | 3221 | 0 / 20 | W 10:30–11:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
81% liked it85% easy74% useful
From 208 ratings and 57 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
If you took French in high school and did well in it, this should be a bird course for you.
Jul 2015 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Took online, bird course if done online - consists of five 5% tests, one 20% oral assignment, one 30% written assignment and a 25% online final. Good course, and structured well. Since it’s online, you lose most of the actual speaking part but amazing course to fill a breadth requirement - 10/10 reccomend
Apr 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
bird onln course, not engaging, text available onln for free
Mar 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
just use google translate lol. easy 80%+
Jul 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
It is an easier French introduction course. I took this online. If you do genuinely learn it, and memorize the stuff, connect the concepts your level of French will genuinely improve. If you are taking it because it is a bird course, theres that benefit as well too (at least for online).
Apr 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
225 posts and comments in 177 threads mention FR 151, November 2010 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
FR101 or FR151? 4 points, 2 comments
u/GZ6113PHEV5: “… I heard that FR101 basically taught nothing but FR151 does require a prerequisite of high school French courses. …”
u/Dimtar_: “iirc you can only take the lowest one available to you before advancing further the prerequisite for FR 151 is grade 9 or 10 ontario high school french/FR 101. …”
Winter 2024
Beginner french 4 points, 7 comments
“Does anyone know if I can take beginner French (FR101) if I have previous experience in high school? Im fluent in French and honestly I just want the high grade and to put in little effort. …”
u/voxaun: “if you took french in highschool, you have to take FR151 or FR152 depending on how many years you did it for”
FR 151 Textbook 0 points, 6 comments
u/neenavt: “I have FR 151 this sem and the textbook I need is Deux Mondes 8th Ed. Do I really need to buy it? Will the textbook be necessary for the class? I have Mikalai Kliashchuk as my prof and paying $90 for a rental e-book seems kinda crazy...”
u/Amazing_Ad4489: “What did you end up doing?”
u/Amazing_Ad4489: “So was the connect mandatory in FR151?”
u/sophielovepotato: “… I'm gonna take FR151 this semaster. My professor told us we have to get the Deux mondes (Student’s Edition) 8th textbook. I don't want to pay 90cad to buy it. But someone told me that we have to connect the book through the Mc-Graw Hill. …”
Do they actually check if you have the high school prerequisite for FR 151 4 points, 3 comments
u/rsm-dev: “I only have up to grade 8 but I don’t want to take FR 101👀”
Easy online courses with no in person exams?? 2 points, 10 comments
u/Key-Magazine-6416: “… I’ve taken CLAS 104, FR 151 and 152, ENGL 108P as well as both SOC 101 and PSYCH 101. …”
Spring 2023
Bird course - FR 151? 1 point, 0 comments
u/Individual_Set_9419: “… I heard FR 151 is easy but also heard it takes a lot of time (not sure on this)? …”
Places to learn French on campus 1 point, 3 comments
“Hi, I'm new international students and I'm learning French for fun but it's a complicated system for me especially variety of noun and difficult pronunciations. …”
u/Anal_Iverson: “If you don't want to take the courses, you can purchase some of the course workbooks from the bookstore and learn in your own time. They're not too expensive and get sold as used books a lot too. (I had the FR 151 book)”
Fall 2022
FR 151 textbook - do I really need to buy it? :/ 2 points, 4 comments
u/_donewiththis: “Title. &x200B; This term my prof said that we need to buy a $100 e textbook with an access code, but as far as I can see there are 5 tests (I've taken 6 years of French), and 2 assignments where I doubt I actually need a textbook to figure what I need to do. …”
Spring 2022
Easiest Languages and Cultures course to fulfil BA Breadth Requirements 1 point, 2 comments
“Hi, My major requires 2 Languages & Cultures courses for my BA Breadth Requirements. I've already gotten one done - one more to go. What is the easiest course I can take to complete this?”
u/TheZarosian: “For languages, I found French to be pretty solid and intuitive. FR151 is like Grade 9 French mostly, with some Gr10. FR152 is mostly gr 11 with some gr 12 For cultures, any of the EASIAs were really nice.”
Are all online asynchronous classes work at your own pace? 8 points, 9 comments
u/megbarxo22: “… My asynchronous online classes are: Psych101 FR 151 CLAS 104 Just trying to plan my work schedule for the fall and want to give some more availability if I have the freedom to work ahead Thanks!”
Is FR 151 an easy course? 1 point, 0 comments
waterloo courses 4 points, 5 comments
“Any1 recommend bird courses for first year science students. Something easier and with easier courses material?”
u/GOLDENxWAFFLE: “Take a language course. I find the intro ones bird courses! Like FR151, span101 etc… As well, an Econ101 is a good one :)”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them