Fall Quarter: Second Year French:

201, 202, 203

 

 

Bienvenue à notre cours de français!

 

During Fall Quarter, French 201, 202, and 203 students will cover the material for French 201.  French 202 and 203 students will be required to submit four additional written assignments. French 201 students are not expected to perform at the level of the French 202 and 203 students: Individual personal progress is taken into account in grading the oral work and written compositions.

We encourage you to take the full series of Second Year French here, as it is difficult to gain entry into these particular classes at the University of Washington.

 

French 201:  Basic Second Year French

 

 

Instructor:

 

Carolyn P. Bilby

 

Office: A 245 E

 

FAX: 425-564-2690

Office hours:

11:30----12:30 AM

MWTH & by appointment

e-mail:

cbilby@bcc.ctc.edu

 

Course Materials:

 

En Bonne Forme text, 8th edition

En Bonne Forme: SAM (Student Activities Manual) 8th edition

Diversité, la nouvelle francophone, 2nd edition

A French/English bilingual dictionary

A stapler

Optional Activities:

Drop-in tutoring

French Conversation group: Tuesdays at 11:30 (tentatively)

Description:

 

 

 

This class covers seven chapters of grammar and readings from En Bonne Forme,as well as three readings ( with pre and post reading materials) from Diversité.  Class time will be devoted to practicing aural and oral (listening and speaking) French skills, reviewing grammar, examining and discussing cultural differences in the francophone (native speakers of French) world, working on improving one’s written French, and developing strategies to better comprehend both written and spoken French. We will view excerpts of French TV news with the goal of understanding the story and examining another point of view. You will present a mini report about current events, or of cultural interest. We will also view one French film in class.

 

 One and one half hours of homework are expected for every hour in class.

 

 

 

CDs:

 

 

CDs are used in conjunction with your workbook and textbook. Each CD contains 2 chapters. You need to get them from the media Center in L 219. They will duplicate these for you with 24-hour notice. Feel free to ask for all the CDs you’ll need for this quarter. You will need them to do your SAM homework, so get them early to avoid last minute stress.

It is essential to devote a lot of time and effort working with your CDs in order to improve your listening comprehension and pronunciation of spoken French, as well as to prepare yourself for your exams. Try to practice listening, as well as speaking French every day, even if you are talking to yourself or your pets. J

 

Please to go the Arts and Humanities Materials web site and familiarize yourself with the “Student Procedures and Expectations”.  This web site also will have materials you will need to print out for this particular class: review sheets and perhaps grammar hand-outs, as well as this syllabus. The web  address is:

 

http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/artshum/materials

Below you will see my amendments to the Arts and Humanities policies.

 

GRADING AND EXAMINATIONS:

 

ATTENDANCE:

 

 

 

1/6

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no excused absences. Two points are deducted per absence. After 10 absences three points are deducted per absence. Lateness also affects this grade. ( 50 late minutes equal one absence.) Since you are expected to be in class every day, it is up to you to find out from a classmate what you missed on a day you are absent.

 

DAILY PREPARATION/ORAL WORK

 

1/6

 

 

 

You will be graded on class participation. Your entire grade in this category will be based on my perception of your daily preparation, performance efforts in class, and your willingness to participate in small group activities. You will have some sort of an assignment just about every day. Many of these will be announced in class on a daily basis.

You will also make a short informal oral presentation based on a current event which interests you. The web will be a great resource for you when you prepare for this.

Seeing the tutor regularly and/or participating in a French conversation group on campus will also enhance your oral grade.

 

OTHER HOMEWORK

 

 

1/6

 

 

 

 

There will be three compositions, each after a reading in Diversité, worth a total of 15 possible points each, for a grand total of 45 points.

There are 7 SAM assignments worth a total of 8 possible points each for a grand total of 101 points. Late work, incomplete work, work with many errors, will result in a lower score or the opportunity to redo the assignment.

The SAM will be collected for grading generally on the fifth day we start working on the text En Bonne Forme. The exact calendar appears later in this syllabus. Students are expected to do all of the exercises including the listening portion (from which you will need to write a minimum of 10 complete sentences, so that I can verify you have completed this section) and to make all corrections. Some corrections will be given on the CD. The rest appear in the back of the SAM. Please use a different color ink for your corrections, and preferably not green, the color I use for corrections. Use your text and a dictionary as necessary. Assemble your pages in order and stapled (please!!!), and try to be on time.

We will talk in class about how to tackle a well-written composition, and I am hoping that all of you will make substantial progress in the way you write an organized composition in French. I will consider your personal progress as I grade these.  I will also be focusing on: organization, correct grammar and spelling, comprehensible text, the content ( do you justify your point of view with examples?), choice of vocabulary and even the length.  I will ask for 3/4 of a page.

I want the composition to be your own work. Using the internet to help you write is not something I encourage. The translation websites are “interesting”, but you need to understand grammar and consider context in order to use them.  Please do your own work especially since plagiarism can adversely affect your life.J  

 

GRADING OF THESE ASSIGNMENTS

 

 

 

 

Workbook/lab manual

Compositions

Complete, organized, on time, well-done with few errors

7-8 points

13—15 points

1—2 days late/incomplete/ many errors when turned in on the due date*

6 points

11—12 points

3—5 days late

4 points

9 points

 

* Sometimes if a composition is incomprehensible, or in need of a major re-do, based on my perception that a student has tried but has considerable difficulty with writing, I will give the student up to a week to re-do the assignment, (probably with the help of a tutor) and will waive the late penalty, provided that the subsequent composition shows substantial improvement. This is not a regular practice in my 200 level classes, but it happens from time to time.

WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS

50 % of the final grade

 

There are four exams, the last one being the final exam. I will drop one exam grade, but not the grade of the final exam. There are no make up exams. If you know in advance you will be absent on a test day, arrange to take the exam ahead of time. Exams are not to be taken lightly. Do try to show up on time and do not leave the room until you have turned in your completed exam.  Leaving the room tells me that you have finished the class for the day.

 

Students with disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to meet with the Disability Support Services ( DSS) office, room B233-G (telephone 425.564.2498 or TTY 425.564.4110), to establish their eligibility for accommodation. The DSS office will provide each eligible student with an accommodation letter. Students who require accommodation in class must review the DSS accommodation letter with each instructor during the first week of the quarter.

Students with mobility challenges who may need assistance in case of an emergency situation or evacuation should register with Disability Support Services, or review those needs with the instructor as well.

 

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

CHEATING

DROP PROCEDURE

 

 

For all of these, please refer to the Arts and Humanities policies featured on the Materials website. If you are having trouble with your work, please come see me as soon as possible. Do not just disappear. Often potentially excellent students feel they can’t do the work to their or my satisfaction. After a conversation with me, they may be surprised to hear that I think they have the ability to succeed if not excel in French, so please do not give up without a little chat with me.

Our goal is to empower students and to foster an academic relationship wherein the student takes full responsibility for the learning and assessment process. It is inappropriate for an instructor to discuss a student’s issues with anyone other than the student. This includes parents, any family members or others.

Essential to a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression which might conflict with one’s personal values. By being exposed to such ideas or expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher education depends.

To this end, you may find that class requirements may include engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in whole or in part, offend you. These materials are equivalent to required texts and are essential to the course content. If you decline to engage the required material by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit. This may require responding to the content of the material, and you may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions, exams, or assignments.  Consult the syllabus and discuss such issues with the instructor.

 

A Word of encouragement: Mastering a Foreign Language is like mastering a musical instrument. It takes daily/consistent practice and several years before becoming competent. Do not be afraid of making mistakes, experiencing frustration, or appearing foolish in class because of an error. Celebrate those mistakes. They mean you have courage and are learning something. Success often comes after many failed attempts. But with enough effort, you usually have significant accomplishments of which you can be very proud.    Qui ne risque rien, n’a rien.

 

 

Tentative calendar for the written assignments and exams for fall 2006

 

SAM chapter 1

 

Friday, 9/22

SAM chapter 2

Friday, 9/29

Test chapters 1 & 2

Monday, 10/2

Composition after 1st reading Diversité

Thursday, 10/5

SAM chapter 3

Friday, 10/13

Composition after 2nd reading Diversité

Thursday 10/19

Test chapter 3 and 2 readings Diversité

Friday, 10/20

SAM chapter 4

Friday, 10/27

SAM chapter 5

Friday, 11/3

Test chapters 4 & 5

Monday, 11/6

Composition after 3rd reading Diversité

Monday, 11/13

SAM chapter 6

Wednesday, 11/22

SAM chapter 7

Friday, 12/1

 

 

Final Exam

Wednesday, 12/6 from 9:30—11:20 AM

 

 

We will try to stick with this schedule but unexpected circumstances could result in changes.

 

GRADING SYSTEM:

 

 

 

 

A:

94--100

 

A-:

90---93

 

 

B+ :

87---89

 

B:

84---86

 

 

B-:

80---83

 

C+:

77---79

 

 

C:

74---76

 

C-:

70---73

 

 

D+:

67---69

 

D:

60---66

 

 

 

F:

59 and below