COURSE SYLLABUS
Camden
County College, NJ
Course
Title: Elementary French I
Course
No.: FRE-101
Date: May
2003
Department/Program
Affiliation: Language & Culture
Credit: 3
Contact
Hours: Lecture – 3
Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Course Description/ Goals:
This
course introduces the student to the language and culture of the
French-speaking world. It provides the student with basic working information
of the language (listening, speaking, reading, writing) in order to interact
and communicate with others while gaining a greater understanding of and
respect for the cultural perspectives, practices, and products of different
cultures.
Course Objectives/
Students Learning outcomes:
Upon
completion of this course students will be able to:
Course outline:
Preliminary
and lessons 1-4
Vocabulary:
·
Meet and greet French-speaking
people, express courtesy
·
Count from 0-
1,000,000,000
·
Identify classroom
objects and people in classroom
·
Identify people and
places
·
Talk about yourselves
and others
·
Describe people and
things
·
Talk about your studies
·
Express negative ideas,
express agreement and disagreement
·
Talk about TV
production
·
Talk about everyday
actions
·
State where s/he is
from and learn the origins of others, nationalities
·
Places to go
·
Ask and respond to
questions
·
Indicate the days of
the week, months, seasons, give the date
·
Talk about family,
marriage and age
·
Express feelings and
sensations
·
Talk about the family
·
Indicate possession,
location
Grammar:
·
Personal pronouns
·
Verb to be
·
gender of nouns and the
form of the plural
·
Affirmative and
negative questions and answers
·
Negation: ne…pas
·
Definite and indefinite
articles
·
Descriptive adjectives
and its place
·
Regular -er verbs
·
Verbs + infinitive
·
Present tense of the
verb “to go” + near future
·
Present tense of the
verb to come (venir)
·
Present tense of the
verb “to have”
·
Possessive adjectives,
plus possession with de
·
Interrogative words
Students will focus on the following cultural aspects:
·
French in the world
·
The French school
system
·
Education in the
French-speaking world
·
French customs and
traditions
·
How the French define
their culture
·
The importance of
television in France
·
Nonverbal communication
·
Communication customs
in different cultures
·
The family
·
Diversity in France
Instructor:
Text and workbook : Debuts, by H. Jay Siskin , McGraw Hill., New York, 2003,
first edition.
Office:
Office Hours:
Telephone:
Course Activities:
An eclectic method is used. The emphasis however is on the communicative approach. A wide range of learning activities is
employed. The objectives of the course
are attained through extensive and varied pattern drills, written and oral
assignments and conversations. Audio-visual materials are employed. Other
activities include use of the world wide web (WWW), questions and answers,
recordings, suitable games, pronunciation drills, songs, lecture, movies, etc.
Student evaluation:
Grade: Your grade in this class will be based on the
following criteria:
Participation _____%
Oral
assessment _____%
Homework _____%
Chapter
Exams _____%
Chapter
Quizzes _____%
Final
Exam _____%
100%
90
- 100% &nnbsp; A
80 - 89% B
70 - 79% C
60 - 69% D
59%
and below F
level skills in reading, writing, listening, and note
taking.
Attendance is mandatory. If
you do not need to attend this class to pass the chapter exams, you belong in a
more advanced French class. In
conforming to the Department of Language and Culture:
·
3 late arrivals equal
one absence. Early departure counts as lateness. It is your responsibility to inform me after class that you
came in late. Failure to do so
might result in you being marked absent.
·
More than 4 absences
for T/TH classes and 6 absences for M/W/F classes will result in a lowered
final grade by 3% for each additional absence up to 6 for T/TH, and 9 for
M/W/F. After that the grade F will
be given.
·
More than 2 absences
for classes that meet 1 time a week or 6-week mini sessions will result in a
lowered final grade by 3% for each additional absence up to 4. After that the grade F will be given.
·
There are no excused
absences. A religious holiday, a
funeral, marriage, sickness counts as an absence given without a penalty, they
are included in the 4 on T/TH or 6 on M/W/F, etc. I do not collect doctor’s notes. When you return to class you are expected to be prepared.
Class
participation is a vital part of your language-learning experience and it
counts as _____% of your grade in this course. Participation grades are given in 5-point increments: 100
percent, 95 percent, 90 percent, 85 percent, etc.
You can improve your participation grade by: (1)
coming to class prepared and ready to participate on a regular basis; (2)
consistently interacting in French with your professor and classmates.
There will be tests after each chapter in this
course, Each test will have spelling, listening comprehension, reading,
culture, vocabulary and writing components.
The Final Exam will test all chapters studied in the
semester. You must take the
Final Exam during the regularly scheduled exam time.
All tests
will be returned for review within two weeks and then kept by the instructor.
Cheating
is NOT tolerated on either Test/Quizzes or homework. Anyone caught copying from others or allowing others to copy
their work is subject to receiving and “F” in this class. This includes
computer translators. These are not permitted for work that needs to be turned
in as an assignment.
Turn off all cellular phones while in the classroom.
Working
with other students in study groups is an extremely effective means of
studying. Not everyone in the
study group needs to be at the same proficiency level: teaching others is a very powerful way
to learn material for yourself.
Make sure, however, that you do not simply copy another’s homework and
turn it in as your own. When
working in groups all participants must vary their work so that each assignment
reflects individual work.
The
primary focus of this semester of French is to develop your ability to
understand native spoken and written French, and to increase your skill at
expressing yourself in basic situations.
Listening comprehension and reading are the bases for sound acquisition
of a foreign language. Remember
that when you were learning your first language as a child, you had a lot of
time to listen before you attempted to speak. Don’t be impatient with yourself when you find that you can
understand far more than you can produce, that is natural; your speaking and
writing abilities will always lag slightly behind your ability to understand.
You cannot expect to acquire native-like competence
in a foreign language in one of two years. You can expect to be able to communicate with native
speakers of French even though you make mistakes. The goal in this course is communicative competence, not grammatical
perfection. This class will use
reading and writing activities to enhance your grasp of vocabulary and to
provide you with opportunities to express yourself in French.
Classroom time will be devoted almost solely to
activities that allow you to practice your skills of understanding and
interacting in French.
All
humans under normal conditions acquire one of more languages, but it is not
possible to acquire French in one or two semesters of in-class
instruction. You must take
responsibility for your out-of-class learning. In addition to completing all assignments on time, I recommend
that you read French-language magazines or stories (the WWW has plenty to
read!), watch TV, or converse with native speakers one to three times per
week. Take every opportunity to
use your new skills in French:
read bilingual product labels, start a journal in French, write notes
and lists to yourself in French, spend time with other students of French
(speaking only in French, of course!)
Above all, make your extra activities fun and incorporate them into your
daily life. Your instructor can
open the door to the Francophone language and culture, but only you can enter.
Bonne chance!