REQUIRED TEXTS (3)

1.  Grammaire: Stillman, David; Gordon, Ronni L. The Ultimate French Review and Practice. Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication. Chicago: Passport Books [NTC/Contemprary Publishing Group], 1999. ISBN 0-568-00074-8.  (Also used for Intermediate French, Second Semester)
2.  Civilisation: Steele, Ross. La Civilisation progressive du français avec 300 activités. Paris: CLE International / VUEF, 2002. ISBN: 209-033935-7. (Also used for Interm. French II)
3.  Roman: Benaïssa, Aïcha; Ponchelet, Sophie. Née en France. Histoire d’une jeune beur. Paris: Pocket (#3744), 1990 [first published by Payot]. ISBN 2-266-10624-4.
Recommended: Harper Collins Robert French, Dictionary, 3rd edition.  These texts are available at the College Bookstore.  Other materials for your course are provided by the instructor.
 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

General Objective: The mastery of the target language at the intermediate level through the critical study of culture, cultural practices, and intercultural comparisons.
Specific Objectives: 1/ Enrichment of grammatical competency (of review of structures and acquisition of new structures and uses). 2/ The development of communicative strategies through the 5 competencies (cultural understanding, listening, speaking, reading, and writing).  Towards the end of this course, a student should be able to do the following:
1. Participate in simple, direct conversations on topics related to daily activities and personal environment.  Initiate, sustain and bring to a close a number of basic, uncomplicated communicative exchanges.  Satisfy simple personal needs and social demands to survive in the target language.  Obtain and give information by asking and answering questions.
2. Create with the language and communicate personal meaning to sympathetic interlocutors by combining language elements in discrete sentences and strings of sentences. [1-2 adapted from ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines--Speaking (revised 1999), in ACTFL OPI Interview Tester Training Manual, 1999)].
3. Develop/practice the use of grammar/syntax in context, with focus on using tenses appropriately (past, future) and expressing one’s subjectivity (w/ subjunctive, comparative, etc.).
4. Identify (and respond to) information in French on various supports, including the Internet.
5. Develop his/her appreciation of French-speaking cultures (notably through the final project).
6. Last but not least, fulfill his/her own goals in this course or the necessary foundations for the major/minor in French: general interest? potential professional interest? other?
Please state your goals as they stand now:    a. main goal:
                                                                   b. other goals:
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course, the third in the language sequence, is designed as an intermediate course for students who have completed the two first-year French courses, or for freshmen with extensive prior French instruction.  It is designed to improve oral and written communication skills and further introduce to French-speaking cultures.  It will use the latest ACTFL-designed techniques  in order to enhance your oral proficiency.  Class discussion and questions will take place in French.  Students are welcome to meet with the instructor individually or in small groups to discuss any problems, but are requested to make all effort to stick to French in the classroom at all times.  Three class meetings a week.
The short novel, the films, the lyrics and the other materials are intended not only for the study of grammar and vocabulary in context, but also for an introductory study of French civilization today.  The topic of the short novel selected this semester is intercultural per se, as it speaks about a young muslim woman and her journey from France to North Africa and back.  It is hoped that you will relate to her stories and learn to know about contemporary young subculture in France and Algeria.   The civilization book, along with recent authentic documents, will be used to reinforce your understanding of contemporary French-speaking cultures.  The reference grammar provides many exercises that will be done in class.  All other exercises except ELFE are accessible through our website and Blackboard6 site.  Please send me your UOP email in the first week of classes so that I can enroll you on Blackboard6.
The assignments are designed to help you put into use the material you will study:
1. Once a week, you are required to post a paragraph (5-10 lines), 5 words from the readings (the book on French civilization, then the novel) and their translation, and at least 2 questions on the weekly forums on Blackboard5.  Your fellow students will benefit from your input especially if you do the posting for the week to come no later than the previous Sunday. Thus, you are expected to post your paragraphs, words and questions on Sunday. A paragraph should be 5 to 10 lines long. You may also choose to post on a subject related to the topic of the week, using the Internet in French or other books and movies. The posting still has to be completed on Sunday evening.
2. The exercises in the ELFE software can be completed on the Library computers.  They are self-corrected, and the instructor will be made automatically aware through the network of their timely completion.  The exercises should also be completed on Sunday for the coming week.
3. The writing assignments, the advisory OPI, and the quizzes test your skills as well as your knowledge.
 

COURSE EVALUATION

1.  Five Tests (25%).  Students will take a unit exam every three weeks or so.  These exams will test both grammar and vocabulary acquisition as well as listening and reading skills.  Tests cannot be made up. No midterm, no final examination in this course, just 5 short tests.
2.  Homework (25%) = Weekly Postings + ELFE. Late homework is not accepted.  Homework is graded on a scale from F (no homework, or late homework) to A.
a/ Weekly Postings: You have to post a paragraph, 5 French words from the readings or films and their translation, and at least 2 questions per week on Blackboard6 (Weekly forum).  Weekly entries on the forum are to be read by your fellow students in class and beforehand.  They are graded for content, accuracy and quality.  Always post your answers on civilization (and the novel) on Blackboard6.  Only full sentences are acceptable. Try to add original comments (in French), or websites to supplement your answers. (15%)
b/ ELFE: Upon registration with ELFE, students will complete the ELFE exercises assigned for each unit on the Library computers for the date indicated in the syllabus.  The syllabus indicate the daily assignments that you are expected to prepare before coming to class.  All ELFE exercices should be presented with your name, the date and the results on them.  When done, save on drive D/data and immediately email the file to yourself.  The day before the unit test, collect all ELFE files for this unit and send them in ONE message (subject: your name + ELFE+unit #; example: IppolitoELFE1) to Blackboard6, on the ELFE forum under Forums. [Alternatively, students may print out all these xercises (names, results, days and times taken and transcripts are entered automatically) and bring them  to class.  After completion of each unit, they will hand all ELFE material for this unit to the instructor during the test.]  (10%)
3.  Six Compositions (25%).  Prepared in class in the writing workshops. You will write 5 short papers this semester (a paragraph, 1 page, 1.5 page, 2 pages, 2.5 pages).  They will be typed, double-spaced, with a margin of 1.25 inches on all sides.  The papers must be your own work.  Plagiarism (as defined in the Student Handbook) is banned.  Part of the assignment is to learn to proof-read your own work.  You will submit a first draft of the composition.   A correction key will be handed out to you for correcting your writing assignments.  A week later, you will submit a revised and corrected final version of the composition, according to the correction key provided and the additional comments.  Both grades will be average to calculate the final grade for the composition.  Accents must be typed in, not written in pen or pencil.  These papers cannot be made up since one, your lowest grade, will be dropped.  Papers turned in late will receive a penalty of one letter grade per 24 hour period.
4.  Participation (15%). Students will participate in class by speaking in French and working in small groups on class activities . See remarks on attendance in the next section.  Film reports, questions on the readings and exercises assigned for a specific class (other than ELFE) are part of the participation grade, as is the mandatory Oral Proficiency Interview (approx. 10 minutes).  Take an appointment for it with the instructor in late March.  This interview will test your ability to create with language, ask questions, produce a short narrative in the past and eventually some form of extended discourse.  It is also part of the post-evaluation process.
5.  Final project (10%).  To be prepared in groups of 3 or 4, the project will address a particular aspect of French and/or Francophone culture to be determined by the students in each group. Each student will present a section of the group project (5 minutes max.).  Delivery, originality of the material presented, and sources will be subject to peers’ and instructor’s evaluation.  Particular attention will be paid to the coherence of the group project as a whole.  Practice and time yourself to 5 minutes.  Use any props which will make you talk more interesting and easy to follow for the audience: pictures, maps, charts, realia, etc.  Be attentive when taking notes; it is best to put the information into your own words as you are taking notes from your sources.  Prepare documentation of your sources to turn it, including Internet sites.  Do not read the report.  You  may have brief notes, but they must be on index cards.  Reading a report will result in a reduction of one letter grade on the project.
*Departmental Policy: "Course assessment will also include a pre- and post-evaluation of the 5 competencies (cultural understanding, listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in accordance with GE assessment guidelines. They will be administered during class at the beginning and end of the semester. The post-evaluation will count 1/3 of the final exam grade."
 

COURSE POLICIES

1.  Attendance: Attendance in class is mandatory.  It is also a very important part of the final grade, as classes can be considered as workshops.  Since attendance is essential in this course, regardless of their combined grade average, students with more than 5 absences will not receive an A, those with more than 10 will not receive an A or a B, and students with more than 15 absences will automatically receive a F.  Excused absences require written documentation, such as Dean or Doctor’s statement in case of illness (one exception: religious holidays).  Two late showings count for an absence.
2.  Preparation: Students (and/or groups of students) are expected to be well prepared for each lesson before the actual classroom time so that the class time can be fully used for practice at a desired pace.  One to two hours of preparation are usually necessary for each class period.  You will often need a partner to prepare the exercises.  Pick your partner!
3.  Any delay in handling the assignments (incl. web postings and ELFE) will lower your grade for this particular assignment by a letter grade.  No make-up tests will be allowed.
4.  The following schedule is subject to changes.  Any changes will be announced in class, ahead of time.  Should you be absent on a day a change is announced, it is your responsibility to remain apprized of all changes.
5.  Tutors, peers or others may be consulted on ungraded assignments only, and with the instructor’s permission.  Plagiarism of sentences, texts and other documents is banned and will be handled according to the UOP Honor Code.  Specialized  Internet search engines now make the task of identifying plagiarism a fast and easy one.
6.  UOP Honor Code: The University Honor Code is an essential element in academic integrity.  It is a violation of the Honor Code to give or receive information from another student during an examination; to use unauthorized sources during an examination; or to submit all or part of someone else's work or ideas as one's own.  If a student violates the Honor Code, the faculty member may refer the matter to the Office of Student Life.  If found guilty, the student may be penalized with failure of the assignment or failure of the course.  The student may also be reprimanded or suspended from the University.  A complete statement of the Honor Code may be found in the Student Handbook, Tiger Lore.
7.  Retention of Pedagogical Material: Copies of students' work may be retained to assess how the learning objectives of the course are being met.
8.  Students with disabilities: Please notify me about any special needs during the first week of the semester.  Those students needing accomodations due to a disability should arrange a meeting with me during office hours and provide an accomodations request letter obtained from the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in Bannister Hall, Room 101.
 
 

STUDY TIPS

1. Never miss class.  Use every opportunity to speak, hear and read French.  Keep on trying to keep a conversation going.  Be willing to take risks, trying out the new structures and vocabulary you’re learning.  Students who play it safe (stick to the simple, reliable forms instead of trying new ones) will only hold themselves back.  There’s no disgrace goofing with something you didn’t know; but progress comes from learning from it and doing better next time.
2. Make a constant effort to participate in each class.  The classroom is the primary focus for all second-year work.  As you are novice speakers, you should not be afraid to make mistakes.  They are a necessary part of the learning process.  Never fear to ask for help: often the same thing puzzling you is confusing others too.  Get help fast when you need it; do not let problems develop.  Take at least two appointments with the instructor to discuss honestly your progress and difficulties.
3. Do not fall behind in your work.  Be organized: do your homework in time.  “Catching up” is extremely difficult in an intermediate language course.  Success depends largely on regular contact with the material (In practicing a skill, four 15 minute-study periods with full concentration may work better for you than one-hour sessions).  Don’t be satisfied with knowing the material.  Be sure to practice enough times to be able to perform it with relative ease and fluency.  Tests examine not only what you know, but how well you know it and how quickly you can put it into use.
4. Watch yourself as a learner: try to determine what type of material helps you learn best and what doesn’t.  Ask for help from your instructor.  Avoid translation at all costs: you want to develop skills in French, and it doubles your processing time.  It is more useful to develop the ability to paraphrase (circumlocute).
5. Design your own learning aids: flashcards, charts, lists, repertories, website, etc.  This will help you memorize and recycle the material. Take advantage of cognates while building your vocabulary.  Put tricky points on cards to carry with you and take advantage of those mentally idle moments in your day (walking, standing in line, eating breakfast, etc.) to practice the language.  Memorize not only vocabulary, but useful formulas you can rely on to get things done.
6. Assume that grammar and syntax do mean something.  In Romance languages, among others, place, form and endings of words can make a huge difference in meaning, and have for hundreds of years.  Use the hand-outs and the course Internet site on the Blackboard.
7. Practice out loud.  Read the material and learn the spelling of the words.  Use the website’s suggestions to improve on your speaking and listening abilities.
*Some of these suggestions come from the Middlebury College Summer Language School Handbook, 1997, the Wake Forest University Romance Languages Home Page and the following individuals: Kara Rabitt, Joan McRae, Lucile Duperron, Nancy Mellerski.  See also Joan Rubin & Irene Thompson, How to be a More Successful Language Learner, Heinle & Heinle, 1982, or H. Douglas Brown, A Practical Guide to Language Learning, McGraw Hill, 1989).