Recommended:

Any good French/English – English/French dictionary with IPA entries after each word

A notebook for note-taking and quizzes

II. Description & General Course Information

French is the principal language of communication in FRENCH 2312, Intermediate French II, a three credit-hour course. It is the last of the four-semester beginning and intermediate (1411-1412, 2311-2312) sequence. The course transfers to universities as foreign language credit. 

In French 2312, we end the community college level of our journey in French and francophone language and culture. To do well in the course, it is very important that you keep up your part of the bargain! By this time, you’ve figured out that learning a foreign language takes attention and active participation: you know that it is not unreasonable for you to have to spend several hours a week studying for this special kind of class.

We will have lots of fun together, but let’s not forget that part of the academic experience of a cumulative course such as ours requires regular attendance and participation. If you don’t come to class or even just sit there when you do come, what you get out of this course will be far less than ideal. This is not a history class, where ‘getting the notes’ from someone else will get you by. There is no cramming in French. You HAVE TO BE THERE to get it. If you’re not ready to make the commitment that this course requires (it is suggested that for every hour you spend in class, you should plan for three hours of individual study), then it’s probably best that you drop and take it again when you are ready.

III. End of Semester Performance Level Descriptions

Listening Comprehension (Intermediate-High)

Follow longer stretches of discourse on a number of topics, with some awareness of different time frames. Will generally understand the main ideas and some details.

Speaking (Intermediate-Mid)

Speak using short sentences and strings of sentences. Speech may contain pauses, inaccuracies, reformulations, and self-correction. Can formulate questions to obtain information to satisfy basic needs, such as directions, prices and services. At the Advanced level, can provide information and create with the language but with some difficulty linking ideas, manipulating time and aspect, and using circumlocution. Can generally be understood by native speakers accustomed to dealing with non-natives.

Reading (Intermediate-High)

Read and comprehend longer passages dealing with topics of personal interest. Can get main ideas and information from more difficult authentic texts, but may not grasp some details. May need to reread materials and have help with very difficult passages to be able to understand.

Writing (Intermediate-Mid)

Can write short, simple communications, compositions, descriptions based on personal preferences, daily routines, and common events. Most writing is framed in the present time with inaccurate references to other time frames. Show evidence of control of syntax in non-complex sentences and in basic verb forms. Can be understood readily by native readers used to the writing of non-natives.

Cultural Awareness

Be able to identify regions of the world where French is spoken. Demonstrate knowledge of a few basic facts about several Francophone countries or regions. Show some understanding of French customs. Show soome understanding of issues in intercultural communication and cultural misunderstanding. Acquire and demonstrate cultural awareness and understanding of French and Francophone countries and people.

IV. Objectives

In French 2312 you will continue to listen to, speak, read and write French. We will review some first-year concepts, consider them in greater detail, and look at new ones as well. Vocabulary, language patterns and grammar are reviewed, introduced, and applied in the context of practical communication. The class includes dialogues, recordings, oral and written exercises, role-playing, rigorous grammatical analysis, partner or group work, and computer exercises. In this course, we emphasize reading, writing, listening, and speaking by putting into greater practice on a more advanced level what you've learned in 1411, 1412, and 2311.

V. Language Resource Center (FAC 305)

The LRC is located at the northeast corner of the 3^rd floor of the Fine Arts Center (the building in which our class is held). Visit the lab to practice grammar points and write your compositions. The people who work in the LRC are very helpful and friendly: ask them for help if you have any computer questions! If you don’t have Internet access at home, and you need a place to work, the LRC is where you can go for any work related to language learning. We are in the process of updating the software library, and there will soon be more materials for French courses.

VI. Tests

A written mid-term and final will test you on your knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and the literature we cover this semester.

VII. Oral Presentation

At the end of the semester, you will do an oral presentation in French in front of the class on a pre-approved topic. This exposé will count for 10 percent of your final grade.

VIII. Compositions

You will be assigned several compositions throughout the semester. These will range in length from one and a half to two pages. All compositions should be typed in a size 12 font, and double-spaced. You are encouraged to use spelling and grammar check on Microsoft Word: yes, later versions of Word can check spelling in French. All you have to do is adjust the language & dictionary in the program’s setup. Accents can be created by (1) changing the general Windows keyboard to International, (2) using the Windows character map, (3) using the control key and numeric codes, (4) or using the control key, apostrophe, comma, etc., plus the letter to be accented once in Word. Refer to your computer owner’s manual, online FAQs, or tutorials for further assistance. For more information about creating accents, click here.

IX. Final Grade

Class participation and attendance = 10%; Compositions and homework = 20%, Quizzes = 20%; Mid Term Exam = 15%, Exposé = 15%; Final exam = 20%

X. Make-ups

All test dates and assignment due dates are in the Vue d’ensemble below. No make-up quizzes or late turning in of assignments allowed. You may make up ONE written exam’s listening portions after having provided a reasonable explanation (death in the family, extreme illness, etc.) for having missed it. Whenever possible, notify your instructor of your beforehand via telephone or e-mail.

XI. Attendance and Participation

As these make up 10 percent of your grade, you are expected to come to every class prepared and ready take on the day’s lessons. More than two absences (the equivant of two weeks of class) will result in your final grade being lowered by one letter. Exchanging phone numbers with one or two other students for times when you miss a single class is a very good idea. It is not your instructor’s responsibility to ‘bring you up to date’ on what you missed during your absence, nor is it his job to tell you if you’ll be ‘doing anything important next time.’

Class will begin at the scheduled time.  Please be on time, as coming and going disrupt the class.  Attendance is essential and daily records will be kept.  In accordance with HCCS official policy, a student may be dropped for excessive absences. Consult with the instructor in case of serious illness or business reasons for absence.  Students will also lose points on the participation grade for every class missed over the allotted time. Absences will be counted from the first class day of the semester, no matter when the student registers or first attends.

The student who earns an ‘A’ in attendance & participation has come to every class on time, always done his/her assigned work (computer work, compositions, workbook exercises, etc.), participates actively, and interacts with other students in a positive, encouraging manner. Participation goes far beyond answering when called upon: it also includes an upbeat attitude and a genuine willingness to actually speak some French and help neighbors do the same during group work. If you got by in your previous French classes by relying on your classmates to do all of the participation, make a change in your life by ending this bad habit or drop the class and take a mindless one.

You will be expected to ask at least one question per course. You may wish to formulate these ahead of time in order that they be better understood.

XII. Recordings of Some Readings

Some of the literature we'll discuss is on the audio CD that came with your text. Listen to these as attentively and as frequently as possible. They're also available here.

XIII. Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office, SJAC 102, 713-718-6164, at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office.

XIV. HCCS Grading System

90-100 % A

80-89  % B

70-79 % C

60-69 % D

59 & below F

XV. Cell Phones, Beepers, and Other Intrusive Noise-Making Devices

Please have the common courtesy to turn off all cell phones and beepers before class. Their use disrupts the class and is QUITE RUDE.

XVI. Policy on Academic Dishonesty

Students are expected to do their own work, unless an assignment is made specifically as a group assignment. Plagiarism (handing in another person's work while purporting it to be your own), or cheating of any other kind will result in a grade of F for the assignment, quiz, or test in question. For a second offense, the student may receive a grade of F for the course.

XVII. Internet Links

You may wish to go to these sites as soon as possible and bookmark them all in your browser!

http://www.francophonie.hachette-livre.fr/

This site is an excellent online French – French dictionary. It’s a wonderful alternative to buying a printed one! When learning French, if you REALLY need to look up a word, try reading the definition in French, looking at it in a sentence, imagining a cognate, etc., instead of resorting to a dual-language dictionary! This might sound strange, but, trust me, it’ll do you good! English, bad… French, good! The quicker you become comfortable with and brave about dealing with French in an all-target-language environment, the better off you are.

http://www.frenchlesson.org/index.htm

This is a great site for grammar, and it includes online exercises. Cliquez-y!

http://www.afdehou.org/

The Alliance Française de Houston (427 Lovett Blvd.) is France’s official local outpost of francophone culture. They have a calendar of events (like exhibits, wine tastings, readings, presentations, etc.), and they also have a nice video and print materials library for members. Student membership is very affordable, and it grants you access to their great materials!

http://french.about.com/mbody.htm

This is an excellent site for students of French with volumes of information on more topics than I can describe. Please visit it when you have questions about grammar.

XVIII. Tips on Language Learning

“I guess I’m just not good at languages.” What a bunch of bunk! While any psycholinguist will tell you that it is certainly easier for a child to acquire language(s), there is no such thing, in my learned, professional opinion, as being ‘worse at languages’ than others unless parts of your linguistic apparatus (mouth, brain, ears, etc.) are somehow genuinely and severely malformed or injured. Even then, determination takes people a long, long way. Ask anyone who has learned another language after childhood, and you’ll see that there are no smoke and mirrors involved – just dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them. There is no voodoo, magic spell, or incantation to offer you.

The rewards of language learning, like any other important undertaking, are numerous. Learning French is your chance to go places! Whether you’re just fulfilling a language requirement this semester or quite interested in long-term continuation of the language experience you continue with us here, I don’t expect you to be a Navajo code-breaker: I only expect you to keep trying and to do so with an open mind. Please participate actively in this course: what you get out of it is in direct relation to what you put in! Learning a language is a serious commitment. Take the opportunity before you to surround yourself with French!

Explore other ways to supplement what you do in class, especially by making French as present in your everyday life as possible. Rent a French movie once a week, and put paper on the screen to cover the subtitles. If you own a DVD player, change the language of your favorite movie to French. Check out your local Alliance Française and/or French consulate to see what kinds of other outlets are available to you. Label everything in your house in French with post-it notes! Change your web search engine to the French version, or use a French web-search service. Even better still, use the French language versions of programs you use often. Buy (or download!) some French language music, and listen to it in the car, at the gym, etc. Eat at a French restaurant like Bistro Provence, Café Rabelais, or Chez Nous and order in French!

Use your audio materials in the car. Pause the CD periodically to repeat passages of French outloud, either by reading along with your text, or from memory. Practice vocabulary and pronunciation in front of a mirror and watch what your mouth does when making those strange sounds! Make flash cards with vocabulary words on one side and a picture of the meaning (as opposed to a translation) on the other. Although you shouldn’t always run to the dictionary, keep a log of every word you end up wanting to look up (especially those you encounter repeatedly), and review it periodically: this will increase your vocabulary tremendously. Try guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words & phrases through context: your mind is capable of some very fancy detective work if you just let it.

XIX. Reserve Materials

Yes, HCC-Central does have a library (!!!) on the second floor of the SJAC building (that’s the old San Jacinto High School building with the columns in the center of campus). If you don’t have an HCC student ID, you should get one and make use of the library materials your tuition and taxes pay for. Aside from numerous circulating titles you can check out to help you in your studies of French, I have placed many items on reserve, such as a copy of the text, workbook, and J. Morton’s English Grammar for Students of French. To access these and other materials, give my name and the course number to someone at the circulation desk. You can also see a list of the materials I have placed on reserve for you by searching online.