V45.0010Intensive Elementary French
– V45.0010 What if you were able to
communicate directly, and in a meaningful way, with over 200,000,000 people in
over 50 countries around the world, people with whom you cannot communicate
today? What if you were able to learn
about these people directly from what they say and write instead of depending
upon someone else’s interpretation? What
if you could gain access to the linguistic and cultural production of these
nearly quarter-of-a-billion people to deepen your understanding of the world
and all it has to offer? Now you
can….welcome to French! Materials: Débuts:
An Introduction to French i. Textbook ii. Workbook
and Laboratory Manual, Parts I and II iii. “Le
Chemin du retour” (DVD) Course and Materials Description: This Intensive
Elementary French course is designed to give those of you with no previous
experience in French, or very little experience, the opportunity to begin to
acquire the fundamentals of the French language, a language spoken by hundreds
of millions of people scattered throughout every continent around the
globe. The tool that we will use to
explore this language and the numerous cultures for which it is a vehicle is
“Débuts,” a year-long, multi-component beginning French program that includes a
textbook, a workbook and laboratory manual, and a feature-length film on DVD,
“Le Chemin du retour.” All the
components are fully integrated, so you should familiarize yourself with the
structure of the program and all of its parts before you embark on your
linguistic adventure this semester. The movie, “Le Chemin du retour,” is an essential feature of the
“Débuts” program. The film is divided
into episodes, each episode corresponding to a chapter in the textbook. Each episode is preceded by a short review of
previous episodes (“Vous avez vu”), a brief preview of what you will see in
that episode (“Vous allez voir”), and (for the first half of the film)
suggestions for viewing strategies that will allow you to understand better the
language in the film (“Paroles et images”).
Each episode is also followed by a listening comprehension section
(“Vous avez compris?”) and a preview of what you’ll be seeing in the
corresponding textbook chapter (“Langue en contexte”). While
your teacher may chose to view certain episodes or portions of certain episodes
in class, it is crucial that you faithfully view each episode of the film before
you begin reading and working on the corresponding chapter in the
textbook. Watching the corresponding
film episode before beginning work on a chapter of the book will allow you to
participate more meaningfully in class since you will have had a chance to see
and hear the elements presented in the chapter put to use in the film. (And of course, it’s only by watching the
film that you’ll be able to try to solve the mystery in Camille’s life!) The chapters in the “Débuts” Workbook and Laboratory Manual
(discussed in more detail below) are keyed directly to the chapters in your
textbook. That is, the chapters in both
books are divided and subdivided into the same sections. This way, as you’re reading your textbook,
you can easily find the corresponding exercises in the workbook, exercises that
allow you either to apply your knowledge or to check your mastery of a given
vocabulary, grammar, or culture point. You
can find additional resources for success in this class at the “Débuts” Online Learning
Center (www.mhhe.com/debuts2). The
Online Learning Center, along with housing the audio files for the listening
exercises in the workbook, contains many additional exercises and links to
websites related to the cultural topics covered in each chapter. On a final note, keep in mind that learning a language is learning
to do something (e.g., speak, read, write, and listen), not learning about
something. Successfully learning to do
something requires regular practice, not last-minute, frantic study. You couldn’t become a good basketball player
by reading about basketball every so often, then reading a whole lot the night
before a game, and then stepping out onto the court for the first time the day
of the game. The same holds true for
language. To do well, you need to
practice every day; you need to train your mouth and your mind to speak and
think differently. That can’t be done in
one all-night cram session! Remember that this is an intensive French course. You will complete the entire book in one
semester. You will have homework every
night, and the pace of progress reports, workbook assignments, and essays is
demanding. If you do not think you can
devote the time necessary to succeed in this class, you might want to
reconsider your French class choice. Grading: Written Tests (4) 45% Oral Test 10% Oral Presentation 10% Homework 15% Essays (6) 10% Participation 10% Tests: Tests
should not be solely an indication of the average of where you have been during
the semester; they should also reflect the level of skill and knowledge you’ve
achieved by the end of the course. As a
result, your four tests during the semester, all of which are cumulative, are
unevenly weighted. The first test is 8%
of your final grade, the second test is 10% of your final grade, the third test
is 12% of your final grade, and the fourth test is 15% of your final
grade. Not only is this a more logical
distribution of points, since you should know a lot more by the end of the
semester, but it also benefits those of you who are new to language study and
might need a little more time before everything “clicks.” You
will take your written tests in class on the days indicated on this
syllabus. (NOTE: no calendar or schedule
has been included on this syllabus; dates will vary from semester to semester.)
Be sure you arrive a little early on
test days because each test begins with an oral comprehension section. If you arrive late, you will miss the reading
necessary for the completion of that first section. No late written tests will be administered. The
oral test (administered during the final two weeks of the semester) takes place
in your teacher’s office. The oral
diagnostic (administered in the middle of the semester) also takes place in
your teacher’s office; however, while feedback will be provided for the oral diagnostic,
the oral diagnostic itself is not graded.
The oral diagnostic is simply a chance for you to practice taking an
oral exam. No late oral tests will be
administered. Oral Presentation: At the end of the semester you and a partner
will give a eight to ten minute oral presentation on a francophone region
(e.g., Louisiana, French Guyana), personality (e.g., Marie Antoinette, Tanya
St-Val), event (la Guerre d’Algérie, the passage of the Charte de la langue
française), etc. You can find information
for your presentation in the library, on line, or from interviews with French
speakers, but be sure when you give your presentation in class that your words
are your own. If you cite a source, make
it very clear that you are citing someone else’s words so you can avoid the
trap of plagiarism. Homework: Your homework grade is not based on how many
of your homework answers are correct, but rather on how much effort you put
into doing the work. Mistakes are an
essential part of learning anything new, including a new language…there is a
reason why people say, “You learn from your mistakes.” You should think of your homework assignments
as an opportunity to try to see how well you know what you’ve been studying and
to pinpoint areas that you still need to work on. Your homework grade is made up of the
assigned exercises from the workbook. Your
workbooks contain an array of well-designed exercises focusing on listening,
speaking, pronunciation, grammar, writing, reading, and culture, all of which
are keyed to the chapter divisions in your textbook. For each chapter, you need to complete the
exercises listed in the schedule at the end of this syllabus and submit them in
class on the days indicated on the syllabus.
(NOTE: no calendar or schedule has been included on this syllabus; dates
will vary from semester to semester.)
(Please note that the audio files for the listening exercises are
located on line at the Débuts website – www.mhhe.com/debuts2. Simply
click on “Audio Program” for a given chapter.
You can also hear the vocabulary words for each chapter read aloud if
you click on “Vocabulary Audio.”) After completing the exercises, you need to
correct them yourself using the answer key at the back of the workbook. You should use a different color ink to
correct the exercises so that your teacher can clearly see your work. (Your teacher will correct the exercises that
require free responses and therefore do not have answers printed in the
workbook. In addition, certain listening
exercises require no writing.) You are welcome to do additional exercises that
are not assigned on the schedule at the end of this syllabus and submit them
for feedback or discuss them with your teacher.
Of course, other exercises that are not assigned in the schedule may be
assigned by your teacher for in-class work or homework. No late homework will be accepted. Note
that while there are workbook exercises due just about every week, you never
have very many written exercises to turn in at one time. The workbook assignment schedule has been
designed in this way to help you achieve your goal (or rather, what we hope is
your goal!) to work on your French in a regular manner. Don’t do the exercises assigned the night
before (or the morning!) they are due.
That vastly diminishes your chances of learning something from
them. Instead, do two or three exercises
each night. This is an easy way to check
yourself and to make sure you have a good handle on the vocabulary, culture,
and grammar being presented and discussed in class. Essays: You will write six essays during the course
of the semester. These essays are due in
class on the days indicated on the syllabus.
(NOTE: no calendar or schedule has been included on this syllabus; dates
will vary from semester to semester.) As
you may know by now, the best way to improve your writing skills in any
language is to take a process approach to writing, which is what we will do in
this class. When you turn in an essay,
your teacher will read it and signal the errors; however, he or she will not
provide you with the correct forms you need.
When you get your essay back, you will then need to look over your
teacher’s comments and rewrite the essay, correcting the errors your teacher
indicated and incorporating all the changes your teacher suggested. Your final grade for an essay will be the
average of your first grade and the grade for your rewrite. Not rewriting your essay will result in a 0
(zero) as the rewrite grade. The
essay assignments are a chance for you to find out just what you can really do
in written French. The essays you submit
should be entirely your own work so that you can know for sure where your
strengths and weaknesses lie. You may
not ask a French-speaking friend, family member, or acquaintance to read over
and correct your essay before you turn it in – not only will you lose out on
the chance to show yourself and your teacher what you can do, but this is at
best a form of cheating, at worst plagiarism.
In addition, you may not use Internet translation programs such as
Babblefish when writing your essay.
This, too, is plagiarism. If you
do decide to use a friend or family member’s help or an Internet translation
program, even if it is for only part of your essay, you will receive a 0 (zero)
for your essay. Make everyone happy and
get the most out of your work by doing it all yourself! You
are encouraged to use good, large dictionaries (both French-English and
French-French) while composing your essays.
Small paperback dictionaries, while often very handy in class, are
unreliable sources for this kind of written assignment. Don’t forget that through the Bobst homepage
you have free access to the on-line Oxford-Hachette bilingual French-English
dictionary. Participation: As you can imagine, participation is of the
utmost importance in a language class.
Your participation grade does not depend simply on your being physically
present in class. A good participation
grade depends on having all your assignments completed before class,
participating (in French!) to the best of your ability, and making a real
effort to improve. Since
participation, or “time-on-task” as it is sometimes called, is so important to
your regular progress, it counts as part of your grade. It’s very simple: there are no excused or unexcused absences,
there are just absences. Once you miss
five classes, you will receive a warning letter, a copy of which will also be
sent to the Director of Language Programs.
For every absence over six, one percentage point will be deducted from
your final grade. If you find that a serious illness or family emergency will cause you to miss many more classes than are allowed, you should speak with your instructor or academic counselor about the possibility of arranging for a withdrawal from the class. |
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