syllabus fren 130...130$syllabus$ $ fall$&spring$ $:’ ’’ ’ ’ ’

130 Syllabus

Fall & Spring

FRENCH 130: INTERMEDIATE FRENCH I Raconter Paris

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Section: Instructor: Classroom: MTWR Office Hours: & by appointment Office: WILL Email:

French 130 is the first half of a two-‐semester intermediate sequence designed to help you attain a level of proficiency that should allow you to function comfortably in a French-‐speaking environment. You are expected already to have learned the most basic grammatical structures in elementary French and will review these on your own with a grammar handbook, documents posted by your instructor on Canvas and online exercises. This course will build on your existing skills in French, increase your confidence and ability to read, write, speak, and understand French, and introduce you to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural material.

Contextualized around Paris and its art, literature, culture, restaurants, and housing, you will be asked to immerse yourselves in the life of one of Paris’ neighborhoods. Through this “global simulation” you will interact with your fellow classmates and write blog entries recounting your fictional life in Paris. You will co-‐develop a storyline with your classmates while exploring your own “arrondissement” of Paris and French culture, through interactive weekly writing and video assignments, and frequent in-‐class communicative activities such as role-‐plays, problem-‐solving tasks, discussions, and debates, often carried out in pairs or small groups. Therefore, while participating in this interactive and engaging global simulation context, you will have multiple opportunities to develop your communicative competence and your writing skills.

As in other French courses at Penn, class will be conducted entirely in French. Through the study of authentic materials such as articles, songs, films, videos, websites, and conversations between native speakers, you will deepen your knowledge of the French-‐speaking world. The course explores the customs and values prevailing in France, with a focus on living standards, traditions, history, cuisine, and leisure activities. Homework will require grammar readings and vocabulary exercises on documents posted on Canvas, weekly composition practice, frequent short writing activities, filmed speaking, and several reading assignments.

Course Coordinator: Sophie Degât-‐Willis, M.A., M.Sc.

448 Williams Hall [email protected]

215-‐573-‐2312

Language Program Director: Kathryn K. McMahon, Ph.D

532 Williams Hall [email protected]

215-‐898-‐7440

130 Syllabus Fall & Spring

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By the end of this course, you should be able to communicate well enough in French to discuss and write about yourself, your immediate surroundings, your personal life and interests (past, present, and future), and some of your opinions about the world at large. You will also have the tools to function in a variety of social or travel situations such as ordering a meal, finding an apartment, giving advice, and making plans. You will have the tools to tell stories using the past tenses and discuss and analyze films and literature. You will increase your confidence in understanding spoken French and can expect to be able to understand some of the main points of conversations by native speakers on familiar topics. With the aid of a dictionary, you will be able to understand the main ideas and some supporting detail in general interest articles from the French press and to appreciate excerpts from literary works.

Goals

Prerequisites and Placement:

Students who enroll in French 130 must meet one of the following prerequisites:

• Successful completion of French 120 or French 121 • A score between 450 and 540 on the SAT II or the departmental written exam; • A score between 369 and 405 on the online placement exam.

Students having completed a previous course in French at Penn are not allowed to skip a level. Students in the College with a placement score are allowed to move up one level without seeking special permission; students in other schools who wish to move up a level must speak with the course coordinator.

Since the placement scores are based on exams using a multiple-‐choice format and do not measure oral and listening skills, they provide a preliminary placement level. If necessary, students will be moved up or down one level if their ability to function in the language does not seem appropriate for the level of the course. You should consult your instructor or the course coordinator if you have concerns about your placement.

All students must confirm their placement by filling out the departmental credit regulation form: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/roml/credit/french.html

Required Text:

ü Stacey Katz Bourns: Contextualized French Grammar: A Handbook, Cengage

It is strongly advised that you use both a French to English dictionary and a French dictionary. These dictionaries can be used in class activities and will be a valuable resource for your writing assignments.

ü French Concise Dictionary, 5th Edition by Harper Collins ü Le Robert Micro: Dictionnaire de la Langue Française Edition Poche

Note that these books are also recommended in French 140, which is the continuation of this course.


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Assignments

Participation & Attendance:

Active practice in class is vital toward your progress in learning French and your participation will be assessed daily. The grade will be based on your ability and willingness to demonstrate that you have studied and learned the vocabulary and grammar assigned and that you have read and reflected upon the readings. Equally important is your active engagement in class activities and discussions. See the participation handout for more information.

Regular attendance in class is also required and roll will be taken on a daily basis. You may not miss more than the equivalent of one week of class during the semester (i.e. 4 classes). Please note that there are no “excused” absences. Illnesses, emergencies, travel, participation in sports events or other university-‐sponsored events all count as absences. Your instructor will talk to you after three absences and submit a Courses-‐in-‐Touch warning notice to your school office. After four absences, your final grade for the course will be lowered by one sign (e.g., a final grade of B+ will be lowered to a B). For each subsequent absence, your final grade will be lowered an additional sign. Students are expected to arrive on time. Excessive tardiness will be counted toward an absence.

You must report absences through the Course Absence Reports system. It is your responsibility to find out what the homework was and come prepared for the next class (consult our Canvas site or a fellow student).

For further information regarding attendance, consult the College webpage on Policies Governing Class Attendance: http://www.college.upenn.edu/policies/attendance.php

PLEASE NOTE: Cell phones, iPods and tablets are not conducive to a good learning environment in the foreign language classroom. The use of these devices will not be permitted and will result in a daily participation grade of 0.

Homework:

Your instructor will post all homework assignments in a weekly program via Canvas. Every weekend, you will have to read about a new grammatical item in Contextualized French Grammar and learn a list of vocabulary items on Quizlet to prepare for the new week. Additionally every week, you will have Canvas quizzes to complete as grammar or listening practice and discussions. Some quizzes will be optional and some will be mandatory. Discussions will always be mandatory and often require that you carry out research in order to write and post a paragraph in French. Once a week, one Canvas post will be graded. Your lowest homework grade will be dropped.

Quizzes:

You will have 6 in-‐class quizzes, which will evaluate your understanding of the vocabulary and grammatical structures covered in class. These quizzes will also provide feedback to the teacher on the quality of your daily class preparation. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

There are no make-‐up quizzes; if you miss one you will receive a 0. Quizzes are administered at the beginning of class. If you are late to class, you will not be given additional time for the quiz.

At-‐home Compositions:

You will have two compositions of 1½ pages in length that will focus on the development of your writing skills.

Step 1: You will turn in a first draft. Compositions are to be typed (12 point, Times New Roman), double-‐spaced, one inch margins, and stapled. All sources used need to be cited. Points will be deducted for failure to meet any of these requirements.

Step 2: Your instructor will provide feedback on the composition alerting you to the necessary revisions (content, grammar, etc.). You will then revise the composition and submit a second draft (along with the first draft and rubric). Your composition grade will be as follows: the first draft will be worth 60% and the second draft 40%.

Step 3: After receiving feedback on your second draft from your instructor, you will post your composition on your Canvas page. It will part of your “Raconter Paris” journal. At the end of the semester, your last homework grade will be for the overall content and form of your Canvas page.

Image: Paris au pied de la lettre, Un guide littéraire, Mathilde Helleu, illustrations Pierre

Legendre, Editions Inculte 2011


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In-‐class compositions:

You will have two in-‐class compositions that will test your mastery of French grammatical/syntactic structures and your knowledge of the cultural material covered in class. Your instructor will announce the theme of the composition in advance, and you will be permitted to use a dictionary. There will be no rewrite for these compositions.

Final Project:

At the end of the term, you will work with a group on a creative written assignment; incorporating everything you have learned throughout the semester. You will work on this final composition with your group in class for four days and it will be due the final day of classes.

Video Blog:

As part of the “Raconter Paris” project, you will create 3 short videos (1-‐3 minutes), which you will upload on your Canvas page. You may be given the option to collaborate with a classmate.

Group Presentation:

Week 7: you will present on an art piece related to Paris.

Oral Exam:

As the semester wraps up, you will have an individual interview with your instructor (week 15) to talk about your Parisian experience. It will be a time for you to self-‐reflect on your performance as a whole and on what you are taking away from this course. You will revisit your original vision of Paris, present what you have learned and to what extent your vision has evolved.

Films:

You will also be required to view 2 feature-‐length French film outside of class. When possible, copies will be on reserve in the Rosengarten Reserves Centre of Van Pelt Library. Films and screenings will be announced by your instructor.

Final Grade: Compositions (incl. the final project) 30% Quizzes 20% Participation & preparation 15% Video blog 10% Oral exam 10% Canvas posts 10% Group presentation 5% Grading Scale: 99 -‐ 100 = A+ 79 -‐ 80 = C+

94 -‐ 98 = A 76 -‐ 78 = C 90 -‐ 93 = A-‐ 74 -‐ 75 = C-‐ 88 -‐ 89 = B+ 72 -‐ 73 = D+ 83 -‐ 87 = B 70 -‐ 71 = D 81 -‐ 82 = B-‐ Below 70 = F

Please note that grades are not negotiable and that departmental policy prohibits from giving extra credit assignments.


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The Department Home Page: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/french/ Consult the French Department Home Page for complete information about the Undergraduate Program in French, including a list of tutors who are available for a fee. Language Direct: http://www.plc.sas.upenn.edu/language_direct/ Organized by the Penn Language Center, this is “a unique peer tutoring program for foreign language learners at Penn. Language Direct [which] consists of a network of peer tutors, supervised by graduate students, who assist foreign language learners through drop-‐in tutoring and online help. Tutoring is available on campus and online.” Their services are free. Request a tutor through their site.

The Penn Tutoring Center: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/aap/tutoring/index.php Students who would like additional help with their language studies can also contact the Penn Tutoring and Learning Resource Center at 220 South 40th Street, Suite 260 (215-‐898-‐8596). The Center organizes regular sessions for walk-‐in help in a number of residences in addition to providing one-‐on-‐one tutoring. The Maison française: http://gregory.house.upenn.edu/la_maison_francaise The Maison française, part of the Modern Languages Residential Program of Gregory House, is located in the Class of 1925 building, 3940 Locust Walk. It sponsors French conversation hours and francophone film screenings, that are open to the whole campus. See further details on their website.

The Weingarten Learning Resources Center: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc The learning center provides free professional guidance in academic skills such as academic reading, writing and study strategies. The David B. Weigle Information Commons http://wic.library.upenn.edu/ The Information Commons located on the first floor west of Van Pelt Library supports collaborative learning and group activities using the latest technologies, provides students with group study rooms, seminar rooms, and training and equipment in the Vitale Digital Media Lab for digital media projects, including video, audio, imaging, and web publishing. Van Pelt Library Numerous French movies and bilingual/French books are available at the library. Consult the catalogue at http://www.library.upenn.edu/vanpelt/ Study Abroad: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/summer/locations/abroad/tours

The University of Pennsylvania strongly encourages students to take advantage of the variety of opportunities for study abroad. Summer, semester, and year-‐long programs in France are sponsored by Penn-‐Summer-‐Abroad (3440 Market, Suite 100) and the Office of International Programs (3701 Chestnut Street, suite 1W). The Penn-‐in-‐Tours program offers a variety of courses in language, civilization, and history at the advanced level, in addition to an intensive intermediate course sequence (French 134). Contact the program director, Kathryn K. McMahon, or visit the website.

Learning resources

130 Syllabus

Fall & Spring

Code of Academic Integrity:

The Department of Romance Languages fully supports and adheres to all university policies and procedures regarding academic integrity (cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, etc). The work you submit in this class is expected to be your own. If any part of your submitted work has been copied without attribution from some published or unpublished source including the internet, or that has been prepared by someone other than you, or in any way misrepresents someone else's work as your own, you will face severe discipline by the university and will receive a zero for the assignment. For more information consult the Code of Academic Integrity (http://www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity/) and the Office of Student Conduct (http://www.upenn.edu/osc).

You may only use Internet sources (namely www.wordreference.com) as you would a dictionary, i.e, you may only look up a word or phrase (in the limited, grammatical sense of “phrase”, e.g., a noun and its accompanying adjective). The use of an online translator or asking someone else for help with a translation (including posting in online forums or asking a native speaker or more advanced student) constitutes plagiarism. If you are having particular difficulty phrasing something in French, you may ask your instructor for help.

You are welcome and encouraged to work with classmates on regular homework and to study for quizzes and oral exams; however compositions are to be completed on your own.

If you feel that you need extra help for this course, you are encouraged to work with a tutor (see below). If you decide to do so, you must notify your instructor ahead of time as there are specific procedures you and the tutor must follow.

More detailed information will be discussed with your instructor and available in the Course policies document

Course Problem Notices: In keeping with the College of Arts and Sciences Policy, students may receive a Course Problem Notice for any of the following reasons: (1) excessive absences; (2) frequent tardiness; (3) late or missing assignments; (4) poor performance on tests, quizzes or compositions; (5) weak participation in class. A copy of this notice will be sent to your academic adviser. Students not performing up to course standards should take advantage of some of the following resources available on campus.

Et maintenant, quittons Philadelphie et partons ensemble à la découverte de Paris et de ses mille visages…

syllabus fren 130...130$syllabus$ $ fall$&spring$ $:’ ’’ ’ ’ ’

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