California State University, Sacramento
Catalog Description
First semester of college French, corresponding roughly to 1-2
semesters of high school French. This is a beginning French course. The
course focuses on the development of elementary linguistic skills, with
emphasis on the spoken language. The relationship of the language to
francophone civilization and culture is given special attention.
Note: FALL 2006 -- The format for this course is 25% online with three required one-hour class meetings on campus per week for CSUS students. Online homework and lab activities are done online are due Thursdays (section 3) or Fridays (section 2) at 4pm. Class meets MTW with Section 3 students not meeting in person on Thursdays, and Section 2 students not meeting in person on Fridays.
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, primarily with formulaic speech to list, enumerate, identify, express courtesies, agreement and disagreement, focusing mainly on the present tense and the near future tense.
- Demonstrate that they are able to begin to communicate by understanding and responding to simple statements and questions, and participate in informal conversation within the cultural context.
- Demonstrate that they are able to think critically and exchange personal information, fulfill routine communication needs in the four language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) within the cultural context.
- Demonstrate a better understanding of the culture of the language they are studying through the cultural context of the language that forms the basis of their study, internet searches in the language and exploration of the perspectives, products, and practices of the culture.
Course Objectives
- To develop equally the four language skills: reading, writing, 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 and written communication, 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 be fluent in regular and irregular present tense verbs, to use the near-future construction, and to develop the appropriate French language pronunciation, rhythm and articulation.
- Students will develop skills to understand concepts in written and oral French, as well as the learned ability to write and 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.
Textbook and Audio CD
- Motifs, by Jansma and Kassen, 3rd edition, 2004, is available for purchse from the CSUS Bookstore. This textbook comes with an audio CD in the center pocket of the book. This textbook is used for 2 semesters of beginning French at CSUS: French 1A and French 1B, and possibly French 2A (third semester). Students should purchase the textbook only.
- Homework will consist of written, speaking, reading and listening components. Listening comprehension homework will be assigned using a variety of Web sites. Regular language-learning homework (grammar and writing exercises) will be done on the Web; they will be graded automatically, and can be repeated for a higher homework grade. There is no cost for the Web-based activities.
- Students may wish to purchase a French/English-English/French dictionary as well.
- NOTE: if a used Textbook is purchased, please note that the Audio CD might not be in the used textbook at the
Bookstore. A copy may be made in the Practice Lab in MRP 2002 onto a
standard cassette or CD which students provide.
Method
- The online nature of this course (25%) will require that students be highly motivated to learn, and that they spend a good amount of time at a computer to do homework and lab work. Most (75%) of the course will be in a traditional classroom environment, with speaking, listening, writing and reading practice.
- Active participation of the student in class is required. Oral practice of the French language is essential to become comfortable with all aspects of the language and the culture. Your grade will depend on your participation in LIVE class meetings, and on oral assignments (listening comprehension and pronunciation). Oral participation will include: repeating, readings, conversations with partners, group skits/debates, games, songs, and required weekly oral homework. Students will also collaborate on portions of grammar lessons in group study. The Motifs text presents materials in a gradual way, so this beginning course will start out with English explanations and exercises, moving on to assignments and readings only in French. Master pronunciation files will be online and must be used repetitively to gain mastery in pronunciation and fluency.
- Students are expected to do homework electronically, and will be monitored for electronic participation. Participation will be tallied with weekly point totals for electronic homework and activities; this total must be met, and students must attend the LIVE class meetings. This course is not considered self-paced; there is a strict weekly goal for learning acquisition, which will be maintained for the duration of the course.
- Written module exams (midterms) will be given the week after the Module has been completed, approximately every 3 weeks. Written exams will be in-person, with paper/pen-pencil.
Homework
- Students must have a Saclink account for campus WebCT access by the 1st week of the semester. This is how assignments and communication with the instructor will occur. Weekly assignments will be listed in WebCT - students must do every item or activity listed.
- Within the FIRST TWO DAYS OF THIS COURSE, students must follow very specific technical set-up to make sure their home/work computers have Real Player, in order to do some elements of the online homework.
- Exercises are automatically corrected online and are due Thursday at 4pm (section 3 students) or Friday at 4pm (section 2 students); written compositions are corrected by the instructor and are due every Monday in class.
- Homework is valued at 50%. Failure to do homework will most likely result in a failing grade for the course. Late homework IS NOT accepted.
- Grades will be posted on WebCT 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.
Culture
- Basic orientation to French culture will be presented with the Motifs Perspectives Culturelles magazine in the textbook, music, songs, discussions, and videos. Cultural knowledge will be assessed within the Module exams.
Learning elements
- We will cover five (5) Modules (lessons or chapters) in your textbook. There will be random and scheduled short quizzes in class in the form of dictations, question/answers, vocabulary translations, and verb conjugations. There will be a required audio components of the weekly homework. Students will collaborate in class as partners for their Final Oral Presentation. Students must have a Saclink account at CSUS for access to the instructor's WebCT site. There will be 12 weekly mid-chapter quizzes, 5 Module Exams, and a final Oral Presentation. Tests will have listening and written components.
Grades
Grades are determined as follows (final point totals are subject to change):
ASSESSMENT: 5 Chapter tests
500 25% 13 Quizzes
260 13% 1 Oral Presentation 100 5% PREPARATION & HOMEWORK / LAB ACTIVITIES 14 Compositions
140 7% 15 Weekly homework assignments 888 44 % Attendance / Participation (included in final grade) 112 6% Total Points
2000 100% All homework is due every Thursday or Friday, according to the section in which they are enrolled.
Attendance and participation in all aspects of the course are required, in class and online. Two unexcused absences will result in a one letter grade drop in your final grade. Eight unexcused absences will result in an F in the course.
There are NO make-ups for Exams. Exams are paper/pencil, on campus, in person.
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%
F Students who miss eight (8) classes will receive an F in the class. Students who do not have the appropriate numbers of homework points and passing test scores will receive an F in the class. I
Incompletes: Students who do not attend class, do not turn in assignments and do not take tests 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 assignments, who do not maintain their weekly online homework points, and do not take tests will receive an Unofficial drop. These will later turn into an "F" grade.
Students are expected to check the WebCT Gradebook weekly to check homework submission grading.
Students must do ALL assigned homework exercises every week and maintain an 80% weekly grade. Failure to do so will put the student at risk of being dropped administratively from the course. Students who do not participate electronically will also be dropped, especially in the first four weeks.
There will be a weekly online homework and lab activities, a weekly Composition, and a weekly Grammar Quiz.
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. 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://online6.csus.edu/. At this page, click on WebCT Login, then use your Saclink account name and password. Click on French 1A (section 2, section 3).
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
Annik Gunter: Office in Mariposa Hall 2065, campus e-mail agunter@saclink.csus.edu
Office Hours
Annik Gunter: Office in Mariposa Hall 2065:
Monday and Wednesday 2:30-3:00pm
Tuesday 10-10:30am
and by appointmentCourse WebCT (version 6) site: http://online6.csus.edu/
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Page updated: le 6 juin, 2006