Department of Foreign Languages : French 1110 (TWRF) Fall 2006

You are enrolled in section: __________
Office Address: _______________
Instructor: ________________________
Office hours: _________________
E-mail: _________________________
Office Phone: _____________________
Date of Final: _________________
 

Required Texts: Contacts, Valette (Houghton-Mifflin, 2001) ISBN 0-618-00748-2
Contacts, Workbook, Contacts,

Recommended: Contacts CD audio program; English Grammar for Students of French. 4th edition. Jacqueline Morton. (Olivia and Hill Press, 1997) ISBN 0-934034-29-x
Please note that while the purchase of the audio materials is recommended, the lab program itself is not optional. All sections include the lab program in class activities and grading.

A CD-ROM version and cassette version of the lab audio exercises are available in the language lab UH 5150G), if you choose not to buy the cd's or cassettes. In addition, you will be able to access the lab exercises on any UT campus lab computer through audio streaming at the following address: http://flserver.uhe.utoledo.edu. Your instructor will provide you with a username and password.

Number of Class Periods: French 1110 (TWRF) consists of four class meetings per week in 50 minute periods for a total of 60 meetings over the semester.

Text Material Covered: Contacts, Leçons 1-17. As a general rule, you should spend about 2 hours of preparation/homework time for each hour of class. If you are having difficulty in this course, please see your instructor. The Learning Enhancement Center in Carlson Library offers free foreign language tutoring on a walk-in basis. Their schedule will be posted shortly.

Web materials: Please consult the web site which accompanies the text at:
http://college.hmco.com/languages/french/valette/contacts/7e/students/index.html
At this site, you will find some self-correcting quizzes and the sound files for "Notes culturelles" read in French, beginning with leçon 7, along with other useful links.

The best way to learn a language is to immerse oneself in it. Therefore, after the first day, classes will be conducted entirely in French. You are expected to make every effort to use the language skills you are learning to communicate in the French classroom. While you may not know every word your instructor uses in an immersion classroom, you will develop the skills to deduce meaning from the context. Your instructor will also teach you some expressions for the classroom. (See pp. 32 & 33 and the appendix in your textbook, page R1.)

Course Description and goals: Fench 1110 is the first component in a 4-semester sequence of language instruction at the elementary and intermediate levels. Our course goals are aligned with national standards:

Communication: students learn to communicate in the target language in various modes (interpersonal and presentational) and to recognize different linguistic registers appropriate to formal and informal settings.

Cultures: students study customs, practices, products, language variants, etc. of different francophone cultures.

Connections: students make connections between French and other areas of study; they use French in other academic disciplines to learn more about their content area.

Comparisons: students use their knowledge of French to understand better their native language and use their knowledge of francophone cultures to understand more about cultural and national identities in general.

Communities: students become members of larger French-speaking communities, for instance, through extracurricular activities.

Extracurricular activities: In order to give our students greater opportunity to use the French language in more informal settings outside the classroom, we offer several types of extracurricular activities which carry extra credit.
1) A weekly French conversation table . Time and place to be announced.
2) A monthly French film series, shown on the Bancroft campus. Program to be announced.
3) A monthly French film series offered in conjunction with the Toledo Alliance Française. This series takes place in the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art, Room 009 on the last Friday of the month, 7pm. Free admission. Contact Dr. Ruth Hottell(530-4651 UH5210 D; ruth.hottell@utoledo.edu) for further information.

Course Objectives--
1. Speaking: You will learn the difference between formal and informal language and expressions. You will learn how to ask informational questions and how to ask for assistance, should you not understand answers or written language. You will be able to convey basic information about yourself (preferences, opinions, studies, hobbies, etc.) accurately in the present tense and will begin to do so in the past tense by the end of this course.

2. Listening Comprehension: You will learn classroom directions, brief, basic public announcements, weather reports and travel information.

3. Reading Comprehension: You read short, authentic materials based on the vocabulary emphasized in class. In addition, you will develop contextualized guessing skills which will help you infer meaning when dealing with less familiar vocabulary. You will learn to skim and read for specific information as well as read authentic materials for enjoyment.

4. Writing: You will be able to write shopping lists, addresses, memos, messages and brief notes as well as fill out short forms. In addition, you will write short descriptions, postcards, lists of requests or questions and answers. In-class activities will include writing dialogues and paragraphs with partners. Writing activities will also be assigned as homework.
Classroom activities: These activities are designed to make this course communicative, interpersonal, functional, and purposeful. In this setting, you will use French to discover and relay information by interacting with your classmates in real-life situations or role-plays that will develop your ability to function in the French language.This course will offer a wide range of different activities (dialogues, role-play, signature activities, information gap activities) as well as exercises (drills, pair work, group work, readings, video, and internet activities) to achieve the course objectives.

Assessment: You will have the opportunity to show what you have learned in a variety of formats- oral and written exams, quizzes, workbook exercises, lab exercises, and short written assignments.

Course components

The 3 P's: Students are allowed up to 4 unexcused absences during the semester. After that, your instructor will deduct three points for each subsequent, unexcused absence. However, no make-up work will be accepted for any unexcused absence, including the first 4. Because this course is communicative and interactive, you must come to class prepared and ready to participate in the conversational activities. Not only does your progress depend on it, but the progress of your classmates depends on it as well. The more you study, the more benefit you will derive from speaking opportunities in class.

Exams: There will be 4 hour exams and 3 oral exams, as well as a final (cumulative) exam. Dates are listed on the syllabus and you must take the exam on that date. Please check the final exam schedule in the published "Combined Schedule of Classes" (http://registrar.utoledo.edu/schedule/exams/) to determine the date of the final for your section.
Your instructor will return your corrected exams in class within a week and will go over any problematic areas. However, you may not keep your exams and must return them to the instructor. If you need extra time to review your exam, you may do so in your instructor's office.

No make-ups for exams will be given, even if you are within your first 4 absences, unless you present formal, written documentation accepted by your instructor. For example: a written note from a dean or a doctor indicating injury, sickness, or death in the family. You must be ready to take the exam no later than the day after your return.

Quizzes: There will be at least 7 ten or fifteen-minute quizzes to be announced at least one class period ahead of time. Your instructor will count the five best quizzes. No makeups. An absence on the day of a quiz will result in a "0" on that quiz. The first two quizzes are indicated on the syllabus.

Workbook: You must complete the written and listening portions of the workbook exercises and correct them using your answer key. Please correct your work using a different color pen so your instructor can quickly review your level of comprehension and you can review problem areas. Some of these exercises may re-appear in quizzes. Regularly completing the workbook and lab program will help you to be more prepared to participate in class, and thus will affect your 3-P's grade, in addition to affecting your homework grade. Be prepared!

Homework: Your instructor will assign exercises and short compositions over the course of the semester. Paragraphs, dialogues and compositions must be typed and double-spaced and must include the accent marks. (Attached, you will find charts indicating key strokes to obtain accents on PC's and Mac's. A useful website is: http://french.about.com.) The homework topics will relate to classroom activities and lexicon. Pay close attention to your instructor's corrections and comments on homework.

Language Lab (5150G UH): Lab activities are an important and mandatory feature of this class. These include: listening to the audio program on CD-ROM (available in the lab or on the department website at: http://flserver.uhe.utoledo.edu) or on cassette (you may ask the lab attendant to make copies for you; there is a small fee for this service). Some audio exercises are featured in the quizzes. Your instructor will also collect some of the lab exercises for homework. Be prepared! Your instructor may assign films, e-mail and internet activities. If you need help, please speak to the lab attendant. A useful web-site for this course is: http://college.hmco.com/languages/french/valette/contacts/7e/students/index.html
On this site, you will find sound files of the "Notes culturelles," as well as self-correcting practice tests.

Syllabus: Work indicated on any given day assumes the students have prepared that material before coming to class. Read over dialogues, translations, grammar descriptions, vocabulary, culture. Do any assigned exercises. Your instructor will also make writing assignments and workbook assignments in class.

Lundi Mardi Mercredi Jeudi Vendredi Notes

Dec. 11-15: Final exam week. The final exam schedules are listed at: http://registrar.utoledo.edu/schedule/exams/

Placement Testing: If you have had one or more years of high school French within the last two years, we encourage you to take the placement test to evaluate your level. While this is not mandatory, it is to your advantage to be placed at the most appropriate learning level. Please speak with your instructor if you have any questions about placement. Since Arts and Sciences students have a language requirement of study at least through the 2nd semester intermediate level, you will benefit from higher placement. However, you will not receive credit for any courses you might skip over. Don't spend time and money learning what you already know! It is up to the student to make arrangements to take the placement test which is given in 1569 Rocket Hall (419-530-1269).

A Reminder about academic dishonesty: We will not tolerate academic dishonesty. The catalogue of The University of Toledo gives the following examples of such behavior with regards to academic work (homework, essays, reports, papers, quizzes, exams, etc.) : "Plagiarizing or representing the words, ideas or information of another person as one's own and not offering proper documentation; giving or receiving, prior to an examination, any unauthorized information concerning the content of that examination; referring to or displaying any unauthorized materials inside or outside of the examination room during the course of an examination; communicating during an examination in any manner with any unauthorized person concerning the examination or any part of it; giving or receiving substantive aid during the course of an examination." Please consult the catalogue for futher examples as well as sanctions for such behavior.

Grading Scale:
Important Dates Fall 2006
A 100-93 Aug. 25: 90% refund ends
A- 92.9-90 Sept. 4: Labor Day
B+ 89.9-87.3 Sept. 5: 60% refund ends; last day to add/drop
B 87.2-82.7 Oct. 27: Last day to withdraw
B- 82.6-80 Nov. 10: Veterans' Day
C+ 79.9-77.3 Nov. 22-24: Thanksgiving Break
C 77.2-72.7 Dec. 8: Last day of classes
C- 72.6-70
D+ 69.9-67.3
D 67.2-62.7
D- 62.6-60
F 59.9-0

Grades:
Quiz: 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. ______ 4. ______ 5. ______ 6. ______ 7. _______ 8. _____

Exams 1. ____ 2. ______3. ______ 4. ______

Orals 1. _____ 2. _____3. ______

Homework: 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. ______ 4. ______ 5. ______ 6. ______ 7. _______

8. _____ 9: _______ 10. ______ 11. ________ 12. _________ 13. _________

14. ________ 15. ________

Typing accents with a Mac

Typing accents with Windows