French 1 - Spring 1998

City College of San Francisco

[Instructor: Carol H. Reitan | Office/Mailbox: R205 | Phone:(415)452-5555 | E-mail: creitan@ccsf.cc.ca.us]

Syllabus

CRN#30921 |sect# 501 | TR 18:30-21:00 | ART 211

Required Textbooks:

Allons-y! Le français par étapes, 4th edition, Jeannette Bragger & Donald B. Rice
Allons-y! Le français par étapes, Cahier de laboratoire et de travaux pratiques, 4th edition, Jeannette Bragger & Donald B. Rice

Course Description:

French 1 is a five unit course designed for beginning students of French devoted to the acquisition of basic communicative structures, elementary vocabulary, correct pronunciation and spelling. The main objective of the course is to allow students to communicate both orally and in writing in the target language as soon as possible and to provide a strong foundation for future study of French. Students should expect to spend at least one hour daily outside of class on work for this course.

Attendance :

Because learning a language is a cumulative endeavor, that is, each day you will build on what you learned in the previous class period, it is very important to attend class on a regular basis. If you must miss class due to illness or another reason, you are still responsable for the material covered. Remember! 15 % of your final grade is based on your participation in class activities. If you are not in class, you will not be able to participate in those activities. It is always a good idea to get the phone number or E-mail address of another student in the class so that you can find out what happened in class on that rare occasion when you will not be there.

Homework:

Homework is assigned to reinforce material learned in class so it is important to complete the exercises as assigned. No late homework will be accepted. If you are sick or have other legitimate reasons for not being able to turn in your work on the due d ate, please contact me so that other arrangements can be made.

Tapes and other lab work

Students are required to spend 2 hours per week doing lab homework. The CCSF Language Lab is located on the second floor of the Rosenberg Library in room 205. It is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays - Thursdays, and from 8:00 a.m.- 4: 00 p.m. on Fridays. The Lab is closed on weekends.

Tapes are provided with your textbook in order to complete homework which relies on these audio cassettes. You may also listen to these cassettes in the CCSF Language Lab. Also available in the Language Lab are: a video which accompanies o ur text and several computer programs designed to help you learn French. Internet activities will also be an integral component of your lab work.

Assignments in this class will rely on:

Allons-y CD-ROM - This program is produced by Heinle and Heinle and follows our text. It includes many drill exercises on the grammar and vocabulary used in the course. (available in the CCSF Language Lab)
Allons-y Stacks - This HyperCard program is available on the Lab Macs and was produced by Warren Roby at Washington State University. It also follows our text chapter by chapter.(available in the CCSF Language Lab)
Web Exercises to accompany Allons-y - There will be at least one exercise per chapter of our text.
FRench Online Grammar Quiz (FROG Quiz)A short quiz on grammar points from each chapter will be available on the WWW.
discfranc! Discussion française - CCSF's own on-line French language discussion group.
Other computer programs for French are available in the Lab. Especially useful for the elementary French level are: Nouvelles Dimensions, and En Route. For a complete list, consult the list of French Materials in the Lab.
The CCSF Language Lab also provides a list of WWW French Links to get you started surfing the web of the francophone world.
You may access the Internet in the CCSF Language Lab, the Learning Assistance Center located across the hall from the Language Lab, or on the fourth floor of the Rosenberg Library or at the San Francisco Public Library.

Tests and Quizzes

There will be quizzes covering each chapter of the text as well as midterm and final exams. The final exam will be held on Thursday, May 28, 1998 from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. This date is fixed by the college and may not be changed!

Language Learning Tips

You will be amazed at how much French you will learn if you:

Come to class each and every time.
Complete all the written homework as assigned.
Complete all the lab homework as assigned.
Ask questions when you do not understand. Remember, this class is designed for people who have NO previous knowledge of French. There is no such thing as a dumb question!
Actively participate in class activities. Just as you can't learn to play a musical instrument by only listening, just as you can't learn to play a sport without actually trying it, you have to speak French to learn how to speak French!
Find study buddies with whom you can practice outside of class what you have learned in class.
Spend at least one hour daily on your work for this class (including written and oral assignments, lab work, etc.)

Grading:

Grading percentages are as follows:

25% Written exercises/labs
25% Compositions/Quizzes
15% Class activities/oral presentations
15% Midterm Exam
20% Final Exam