Course Syllabus 2008-2009 purpose    themes    weekly work plan    assignments    evaluation    back

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to prepare you to take the Advanced Placement French Language Exam. This preparation includes:

• extensive practice in both oral and written expression
• development of listening skills
• an examination of themes in French culture
• a complete review of French grammar
• practice in responding to the kinds of questions asked on the exam.

Themes

We will pursue this preparation in the context of fourteen themes in French culture and civilization. Since language is in many ways a reflection of culture, gaining insight into French culture will enrich your understanding of the French language. At the same time, these themes will expose you to the vocabulary necessary for communication across a broad spectrum of real life situations. Themes we will examine together are :

The French Family Youth in France Work in France The French Language Visiting the Francophone World The Edict of Nantes French Film: Jean de Florette

Literature: La Fontaine The French Revolution Visiting France World War I May 1968 Research Project Popular Literature: Asterix

Weekly Work Plan

Each theme will be developed over a two week period. Clicking on the orange itinéraire link in the sidebar of each lesson page will open a list of daily assignments to guide you in your study. Generally your work for each theme will be organized as follows:

You should do the assignments in order since certain learning tasks build on previous activities. You may, of course, progress at your own pace, doing more than the suggested work for a given day if you like.

Assignments

Again, clicking on the orange itinéraire link in the sidebar of each lesson page will open a list of daily assignments to guide you in your study.

You will find a summary of the assignments to complete for each two-week lesson theme by clicking on the pale orange devoirs à rendre link in the sidebar of each lesson page.

Daily Participation & Practice Assignments

Using your French every day is an important key to improving in the language and getting a satisfying score on the AP Exam at the end of the year.    Each Friday you will send the instructor a study report listing the daily assignments you completed that week.

You will post many of your assignments on the class discussion board the day they are assigned. This will give you a chance to share your ideas and responses with other class members throughout the week.

The 20 live-voice discussions are another essential part of the course.    In 2007-2008 these discussions will be on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 PM (EST)!    (Eastern Standard Time)

Weekly Graded Assignments

Graded assignments will be due by midnight Friday - your local time - each week!. You will submit these assignments to the instructor as email attachments. (You will also post some of these assignments on the class discussion board!)

Please Note: The subject line of assignments submitted by email should read as follows:

Subject: Your first name - theme of the week - assignment
Example: Elizabeth-la famille française-rédaction

An important note about 'absences': Please notify the teacher in advance if you will be traveling and unable to do your coursework as scheduled.

When you return after an absence you will resume working with the rest of the class. You should try to make up missed assignments as soon as possible, but in the event you are unable to do so by the end of the course, you will benefit from a one-week grace period, at the end of April, to complete and submit all outstanding work.

Evaluation

Grades

Your grade in AP French Online will be determined as follows:

Criteria on which you will be graded for essays, projects, and practice tests is outlined on the page notation of the class website (link in the left sidebar of each main lesson page).

Evaluations

You will receive two evaluations, or grade reports, of your work during the course: one in December and one at the end of the course.

The grading scale is as follows :

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