California State University, Sacramento  

INSTRUCTOR / DEPARTMENT / CSUS

Catalog Description

This is an intermediate French course in French Conversation. The prerequisite is 2 college semesters of French (French 1A and French 1B) to have the basis of knowledge necessary in order to pursue conversation skills in French. Students will be able to respond to general questions requiring concrete information, such as personal background, interests and needs, family, work, travel and limited social conventions; to describe in simple terms visual situations; to participate in short face-to-face and telephone conversations; and to understand simple media announcements and reports.

Students must have a strong elementary knowledge of French (verbs in present tense, passé composé and imparfait tenses; gender of basic vocabulary and meaning/pronunciation of colors, sizes, clothing, household items, foods, and jobs; and a willingness to speak French. A screening conversational test will determine if students have the pre-requisite knowledge to participate in this course.

This course meets the Foreign Language Graduation Requirement at CSUS with a grade of C- or better.

Course Objectives

• To develop equally the two language skills: speaking and oral comprehension, and to familiarize the student with the Francophone world. The course objectives are to provide instruction and practice towards competence in French oral communication and an emphasis on pronunciation and articulation. Topics will repeat themes presented in French 1A and French 1B, as follows: to present oneself and other persons, to greet others and answer greetings, to request and thank, to give and receive instructions, to count to 100+, to tell the date and time, to describe people physically and their personalities, to talk about one's home and its furnishings, daily activities/hobbies and places to go, to express likes/dislikes and agreement/ disagreement, to construct negative sentences, to phrase simple questions, to extend invitations, to ask questions and make suggestions, to talk about the weather and your daily routine, home activities and leisure/hobbies, to describe meals and order food, to tell the time, to specify quantities, to be able to describe one's family members, to talk about clothing, color and sizes. Real-life themes will be followed such as travel, banking, and emergency needs.
• Students will develop skills to speak in various tenses of time: present, futur proche, passé composé, and imparfait; and to use the imperative (command) form.
• Students will develop skills to understand oral French, and to speak the language on their own. This course will provide basic information on French culture and civilization and open a window on the Francophone world, through text materials, music, videos and the Internet. In addition, students will develop valuable electronic communication skills and presentation skills in general.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

• Demonstrate that they are able to communicate in culturally appropriate ways using more complex structures while relying heavily on previously-acquired formulaic language.
• Demonstrate that they are able to understand and respond to simple statements and questions, and participate in informal conversation within the cultural context.
• Demonstrate weekly acquisition, knowledge and use of scenario vocabulary by topic and idiomatic expressions.
• Demonstrate that they are able to exchange personal information and fulfill routine speaking communication needs within the cultural context.
• Practice the language and vocabulary needed to survive in daily life situations in which French must be used.
• Demonstrate correct pronunciation of French consonants and vowels.
• Demonstrate a better understanding of the culture of the language they are studying through the cultural context of the language including internet searches in the language and exploration of the perspectives, products, and practices of the culture and at least one contemporary issue presented in a persuasive and debate format.

Textbook

• NO textbook is required for this course. Authentic materials and videos will be used, as well as language software in the Foreign Language lab. Additionally, the instructor's WebCT site will provide course materials on Web pages, some of which students must print for use in class.
• Students may wish to purchase a French/English-English/French dictionary.
• Students will need to purchase or have access to printer, printer paper and ink toner, to print, prior to daily class, the materials needed in the course.

Method

• This course will be taught in French, with very little English spoken.
• Active participation of the student in class is required. Oral practice of the French language is essential to become comfortable with it and the culture. Your grade will depend on your participation in class and pronunciation assignments. Oral participation will include: repeating, readings, conversations with partners, group skits/debates, games, songs, and required weekly oral homework. Creativity, humor and willingness to talk will also impact your grade. Every few weeks a group presentation will be made for a total of 5 presentations.
• Students are expected to attend class at every meeting, two days a week. Attendance will be taken. Excessive absences will result in a lowered grade since the semester grade will be the accumulation of daily participation points.
• Students are expected to be talkative and take the lead in initiating conversation !!! This is not a course for extremely shy students nor students who are weak in French grammar and vocabulary. Class partners will change weekly.
• Students will be penalized with minus points if they insist on speaking English in the classroom during this course.

Homework

• Students must have a Saclink account for campus WebCT access by the 2nd week of the semester. This is how assignments and communication with the instructor will occur.
• Students must access WebCT and send both a Group Discussion message and a Private Mail message to the instructor, by the 2nd week of the semester. Students will be shown how to use the WebCT program in a computer lab environment in the first week.
• Oral pronunciation readings (students recording their voice for pronunciation assessment) will be assigned weekly and due every week on the lab day (MRP 2000), recorded in this lab environment as a digital file.
• Students will have weekly written assignments, and will be expected to memorize and practice vocabulary assignments every week, to build up their vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
• Students will prepare 5 group skits throughout the semester. They should be fun, humorous, and fluent.
• Students will prepare one oral presentation on a francophone cultural topic. It should have visuals, be fluent, and be interesting / fun ! The presentation should be memorized, but note cards will be allowed.
• Student participation points, online exercises, group Discussion mail messages, private mail and grades will be posted on WebCT. Online grades are private for each individual student. You will need a Saclink account to use as login and password for access to the course, only for enrolled students.
• The cultural exam will be made up from the presentations done by students, and from class discussions and videos.
• The final exam will consist of an oral interview with the instructor. Successful passing of the final must show an improvement in conversational ease from the start of the semester, and an increased vocabulary and use of idiomatic expressions.
• All assignments are subject to change based on class progress. Students will receive advance notice of such changes.

Culture

• Basic orientation to French culture will be presented with music, songs, food, videos, and student presentations and discussions on Francophone culture.

Important Dates

Class meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30-11:45am, from Jan 28-May15, 2008. Presentations/skits will be scheduled approximately every 2 weeks as part of the class activities and participation. The Cultural Exam will be in class on Thursday May 8, 2008. The Final Exam will be in the form of a one-on-one speaking interview with the instructor, scheduled for 15 minutes during class hour on either Tuesday May 13 or Thursday May 15. Spring break is March 31-April 4, 2008

Grades

Grades are determined as follows (final point totals are subject to change):

1 Final Oral Interview	100	8 %
Daily classroom participation (14 weeks x 2 mtgs x 15 pts)	420	31 %
4 graded Classroom Group Skits	400	25 %
13 weekly written homework	130	10 %
1 Cultural Presentation	100	8 %
13 pronunciation recordings	130	10 %
1 Cultural Exam	100	8 %
Total Points	1480	100 %

Your final grade will be based on the following:

A	This reflects a good understanding and knowledge of vocabulary, grammar , syntax and oral comprehension.	90-100%
B	This reflects a good understanding and knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, syntax and oral comprehension, but some mistakes occur throughout homework and testing.	80-89%
C	Knowledge at this level reflects some understanding and knowledge of most materials presented, but confusion exists in the overall understanding of mosts concepts presented.	70-79%
D	There is very little understanding and knowledge of vocabulary, grammar , syntax and oral comprehension.	60-69%
I	Incompletes: Students who do not attend class, do not turn do pronunciation assignments and do not do class presentations will receive an Incomplete, only if a written completion contract is signed by both student and instructor.
U	Unofficial drops: Students who do not attend class or no longer attend class regularly, do not turn in oral assignments and do not participate nor do class presentations will receive an Unofficial drop. These will later turn into an "F" grade.

Students are expected to check the online WebCT Gradebook weekly to check participation and pronunciation grading. Mid-semester progress grades will be posted to keep students aware of their progress.

Technology Requirements

A significant amount of work is done on the Internet and using technology like e-mail, digital voice files, the foreign language computer lab, and using the Web to access homework assignments and WebCT site. Click here to see technology requirements to make sure your home or work computer is powerful enough to meet your needs for this course. Campus labs are well-equipped and are available to all students, some on a 24-hour basis.

Students will use the WebCT (CSUS) site for this course at:
http://online.csus.edu/. At this page, click on Logon My WebCT: after logon ID and password, then click on French 5.

Special Needs

Every effort will be made by this instructor to accomodate students who have special needs. Please speak to the instructor in person.  

Contact Information

Laurette Suter: Office in Mariposa Hall 2058, Telephone is (916) 278-7417, campus e-mail suterla@csus.edu. Office hours for Spring 2008 are Tuesday 9-10am and 12-1pm, Thursday 5-6pm, and by appointment.

Course WebCT site: http://online.csus.edu/ 

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