SEATTLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Department of Languages and Cultures

French 203, 5 credits, Spring 2008

Instructor: Laurie Kempen, Ph.D.	Office Location: BE4161
Office Phone: 587-6909	Email: lkempe@sccd.ctc.edu
Website: http://seattlecentral.org/faculty/lkempe

Meeting Time and Place: daily 10:00 - 10:50, BE 3196

Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:30-10:00, 1:00-1:30, and by appointment

Prerequisite: French 202 or equivalent

Required Materials:

1. Personnages (Oates/Dubois, Houghton-Mifflin)

2. Personnages, Workbook/Lab Manual

3. Antoine de St-Exupéry, Le petit prince

4. Blank CDs

5. French/English dictionary (Robert, Larousse or Langenscheidt)

Suggested Materials:

1. Bescherelle’s Conjugaisons:12.000 Verbes

2. English Grammar for Students of French

3. Packet with key to Cahier, available in the copy center

Course Description: This course is intended for those who have previously had five quarters of French and focuses equally on the four skills of language learning --speaking, comprehension, writing, and reading—through a variety of means, such as the textbook, games, role plays, videos, literature and written and spoken assignments. Class time will be devoted primarily to oral practice, discussion of literary texts and grammar explanation and practice. Students will do regular reading, writing and grammar assignments. In addition to quizzes and tests, students will be evaluated based on participation, a brief self-presentation, skits, one exposé (or equivalent, with approval of instructor), and one scene from Le petit prince, acted out with a partner.

Evaluation Criteria:

Literature and Writing (36%)

Compositions (rédactions)	14%
Workbook/Lab Manual (Cahier) and PowerPoint Responses	11%
Literature Response Papers (Avez-vous compris?)	10%

Oral Evaluation (30%)

Participation (includes homework preparation)	12%
Recitations (poems, Petit Prince scene and/or songs)	8%
Exposé	5%
Conversation Practice	2.5%
Survival Skills Skits	2.5%

Exams and Quizzes (34%)

Chapter Tests (Examens)	21%
Quizzes (Interrogations)	14%

Teaching Philosophy and Student Outcomes:

I. General Teaching Philosophy.

• Genius of all human beings

• Schools' purpose is to teach students how to learn and how to think critically

• Hands-on learning; practice makes perfect

II. Language Learning Philosophy.

• Hands-on = ALWAYS speaking French in class (except last five minutes and RARE other occasions)

• Communicative practice; exchange of real information motivates you to find a way express yourself

• Oral emphasis in class (most likely this is your only chance to SPEAK; you can do drills at home)

III. Outcomes.

• Understanding of Basic Literary Concepts.

• Survival Skills. Every other Friday we will focus on survival skills and students will create skits based on models provided to them.

• Upper-Intermediate French Language Acquisition. Successful students will master several new grammatical concepts, as well as expanding knowledge of familiar ones. Grammatical concepts include geographical prepositions, the causative use of “faire,” the future perfect, past perfect, past conditional, more negative expressions, subjunctive mood, passive voice, and literary tenses.

• Cultural Familiarity with Francophone areas. After having studied several French-speaking areas outside of Europe in 201 and 202, students in 203 will focus on francophone cultures in Europe: Geneva, Switzerland; Strasbourg, France (especially politics and women’s involvement in politics there); and Brussels, Belgium. Through videos, listening comprehension activities, readings and PowerPoint Presentations, students will “meet” French speakers from these areas and learn about their lives and cultures, while increasing their knowledge of historical, geographical, and tourist matters.

• Public Speaking Skills. Each student will give three different types of presentations, in addition to doing regular skits. Students will also facilitate literary discussions on a text of their choice and recite memorized poetry or songs. These activities will improve their public speaking skills.

• Interpersonal Skills. Students will improve people skills working collaboratively with a diverse group, your classmates and instructors.

• Cultural Relativism. Learning languages best way to learn about foreign cultures because thought, ideas and language are closely linked.

• Increased Understanding of Own Language. Learning foreign language leads to broader understanding of your own language and your culture(s)' perspectives.

• Critical Thinking. Learning to look critically at your language and cultural environment through cultural discussions will sharpen your critical thinking skills.

Tips for Success and Class Policies:

• Come to class regularly. Much of what we do in class counts towards your grade. If you are ill and unable to attend, it is YOUR responsibility to find out what was covered in that class and what homework was given. Tests can only be made up in cases of serious illness or emergency. Extra credit is available to substitute for one quiz if necessary.

• Always speak French in class. In order to make the most of our limited class time, you must commit yourself to speak only French from day one.

• Participate. Everyone who attends for the entire class will be called on to participate. Have the courage and patience to speak out in class. It is very important at this level, since we’ll be discussing a good deal of literary texts, to be very well prepared for discussion and to volunteer answers to questions. Also, when preparing texts as a “discussion partner,” remember that your classmates are relying on your thoroughness and creativity. The more we all put into the course, the more rewarding it will be for everyone. Remember, if you come to class 10 minutes late, you're participating only 80% of the time, even if you attend daily. To give you an incentive to be right on time, extra credit cultural information will be given out at the beginning of classes. Please recognize that if you share it with those who are late, you're only encouraging their disruptive behavior.

• Be prepared for your exposés and discussions. Absences on the days of your presentations will result in a zero for that part of your grade, unless you let me know at least 24 hours in advance that you cannot make it (except in cases of emergency and illness serious enough that you cannot call me).

• Review and practice regularly outside of class. I cannot stress this enough. Much of what is expected of you needs to be done outside of class. Remember one hour of class time officially supposes two hours of outside study. The more you practice at home, the easier and more successful class time will be for everyone.

• Come see me if you ever have questions or problems regarding the class. If you ever feel overwhelmed or confused, come see me immediately and we'll clear things up. DO NOT put off questions or problems because everything in this class builds on previous material. YOU make a huge difference in your experience, learning and grade, so you must take the initiative to confront whatever difficulties you might encounter as soon as possible.

• Turn in assignments on time. I accept up to three late assignments per quarter. Other assignments turned in late will be marked down significantly and no make-up tests will be given (except in cases of serious illness or emergencies). ). I will not accept any assignments that are more than a week late, unless lateness is due to extenuating circumstances, approved by instructor in advance. This applies especially to writing assignments. Any assignments turned in late, or under my door risk being lost, and will be graded at my convenience. Writing assignments are considered late unless submitted at the beginning of class.

NOTE: If you need reasonable accommodations based on a documented disability, have emergency information to share or require special arrangements in case of emergency evacuation, please make a confidential appointment with me within the first two weeks.

lundi

mardi

mercredi

jeudi

vendredi

Le 31 mars

intro.,

chapitre 8.1

8.1

ex 1, 2,

p. 248

8.1

ex 1, 2, p. 255

3 p. 257

conversation

ex. 4-6 p. 259

présentations personnelles;

choix de chapitre

pour le Petit prince

Le 7 avril

interro,

chapitre 8.1

Petit prince

(PP) I F

[see note

below]

8.2

ex 9, 10, p. 261

Sketchs;

PowerPoint, Genève

Petit prince (PP)

II F

Le 14 avril

8.2

ex. 11, 12,

p. 263

Petit prince

(PP) III F

film: Ma vie

en rose

réponse, PPI

My vie en rose

film discussion;

Petit prince (PP)

IV F

Le 21 avril

8.2

ex. 13, 14,

p. 265-66

révisions

Examen,

chapitre 8*

sketchs

Petit prince (PP)

V F

Le 28 avril

9.1

ex. 1, p. 291

Petit prince

(PP) VI F

PowerPoint,

Strasbourg

Rédaction IA

conversation

ex. 3, 4, 6,

p. 295

Le 5 mai

Exposés

ex. 9, 10,

p. 297

Lecture I;

récitations

interrogation,

chapitre 9.1

Rédaction IB

sketchs

Lecture II;

récitations

Le 12 mai

9.2

ex. 11-12

p. 298

Lecture III;

récitations

9.2

ex. 13-15,

p. 299-300

Conversation

réponse PPII

Exposés

Le 19 mai

révisions

Examen,

chapitre 9*

Présentation PowerPoint/

Vidéo:

Bruxelles§

Lecture IV;

récitations

10.1

ex. 1-3,

p. 323-325

Le 26 mai

congé

chapitre 10.1

Lecture V;

récitations;

Début du film

Rédaction IIA

Film

Le 2 juin

Lecture VII;

Récitations

interro,

chapitre 10.1

10.2

ex. 5, 6,

p. 328

Sketchs,

PowerPoint, Belgique

Rédaction IIB

10.2

ex. 7-11,

p. 330-332

Le 9 juin

Réponse,

PPIII

Révisions,

chapitre 10

Examen 10*

* Your workbooks must be turned in on these exam days, including the lab sections WITH NOTES showing you understood what was being said.

§ Your notes on the PowerPoint presentations may be turned in the day of the presentation (if they are legible and grammatically correct) or the following day.

F We will be reading approximately 20 pages of Le petit prince each time. The sections will be divided as follows:

I. Chapters 1-4, pages 1-19

II. Chapters 5-8, pages 20-38

III. Chapters 9-13, pages 39-57

IV. Chapters 14-19, pages 58-76

V. Chapters 20-24, pages 77-94

VI. Chapters 25-27, pages 95-113

Each person will act out one chapter of the Petit prince. You must make your selection of chapters by the Friday of the first week. Some chapters are better for three people (ch. 5 or 25), but most work best for two (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 26 [from p. 100 "Je suis content" until p. 107]). Chapter 21, the famous one about the fox and the little prince, is quite long, and can be divided into two sections or performed in its entirety by one group for extra credit. Chapters 12, 18, 22, and 23 are all very short and must be doubled up to count.

Requirements for acting out the scene:

1) Take out small expressions, such as "il dit/il fit"--you're playing the role, so you do not need to say who said each thing.

2) If you're presenting a chapter with three people, decide which parts of the narration (narrator will be one role) are the most important. Try to equalize the roles as much as possible, so everyone is speaking about the same amount.

3) You will be practicing for part of the class on the second Friday, so have your chapter transformed, so you can take advantage of that class time. Unless you choose one of the first four chapters, you will act out your scene the day we discuss your chapter.

4) Write out your lines on another piece of paper, or highlight them in the book.

5) Practice your parts enough so that you're comprehensible and you know the part well. You should know your parts nearly by heart. You can hold your script to refer to it if necessary.

6) You may present your scene seated or in front of the class. You are encouraged to have small props and act out your role with expression. You will receive 30 points extra credit if it is completely memorized.

7) Have fun! The goal is to learn structures nearly by heart, so you will remember them for years to come. It is also a chance to perfect your pronunciation. If pronunciation is a challenge for you, you must meet with me or the tutor, to practice before presenting.

This assignment will be graded as + (great pronunciation, smooth, well-prepared), Ö (good pron., fairly smooth, quite well-prepared), - (ok pron., a little choppy) or 0 (not understandable and/or not at all memorized; virtually no preparation). Those who choose earlier chapters will be graded a little more easily.

Other resources:

• Books on reserve in library

• French books at downtown public library—they have quite a good collection, also of children’s and young adult’s books, as well as videos in French

• CD-ROMS in Computer lab (three excellent ones are Paroles, Parallèles, Vis-à-Vis)

• Official tutors of SCCC at Tutoring Center