Text and Methodology for FR126:

Motifs, enhanced 6th edition required. This is the name of the text, which "immerses students in the study of French and encourages them to become active participants in learning about the language and the culture." Motifs is based on the premise that "students' primary motivation to learn French is to acquire the ability to communicate in the language." Thus, Motifs has "carefully selected contexts in which [...] students might reasonably expect to communicate. [...] In the process of discovering the language, students are introduced to the French-speaking world in a way that challenges them to look at their own cultural practices more objectively."

Initially, you will be asked to say things before you fully understand how they work. You will be asked to glean meaning from all kinds of clues to understand the gist of something, even if you don’t understand every word. You will be communicating from the first day of class.

A few other things you should know about learning French at Colby:
--A strong emphasis is placed on oral French, both on speaking and listening skills.
--We will speak only French in class. If you want to ask questions in English, please ask them outside of class. My office hours are listed at the top of the page.
--Motifs presumes knowledge of the world beyond the borders of the United States.
--Motifs makes demands on your intelligence and not just your language skills.
--Motifs asks you to imagine yourself in many different roles outside of yourself.
--Creativity, imagination, playfulness, and humor are strongly encouraged!!

In this class, you will make progress in the following areas:

1. Oral skills. These include pronunciation and accent as well as your mastery of the structures and vocabulary learned in class. The goal is not necessarily to sound like a French person, but to be understood by a French speaker. Class will be conducted entirely in French to maximize your practice time.

2. Written French. Although Motifs emphasizes oral French, you will improve your writing skills, including spelling, through short writing assignments and dictation practice throughout the semester.

3. Oral and written comprehension. Your ability to comprehend both written texts and spoken language will far exceed your ability to produce them. This is normal and should be expected. You will be amazed at how much you will understand in a very short time.

Materials:

• You are required to purchase 1 text at the bookstore along with the book key to access iLrn:

Jansma, Kimberly and Margaret Ann Kassen. Motifs: An Introduction to French (enhanced 6th edition.)

Your online Workbook/Lab Manual is powered by iLrn. Registrations instructions are handed out in class.

• For this class, a compact or concise dictionary is fine, but if you plan to continue French, you probably want to invest in a larger dictionary right away. It’s much easier to select the right word from a large dictionary. You also get much more information on how to use words in context.

You are required to purchase either 1 large binder for your book and class material or 2 binders, 1 for your book, the other for notes, handouts, etc.

Bring both your printed book (in a small 3-ring binder) and your second 3-ring binder to class each day.

Divide your three-ring binder for the class into five sections and label section dividers as follows:

1-Grammar (hand-written exercises from the "Structures utiles" section of Motifs, handouts on Grammatical Structures along with your own study guides)

2-Verbs (notes from class, related handouts, and your own lists or study guide)

3-Vocabulary (notes from class, related handouts, and your own lists or study guide)

4-Quizzes (including dictations) & Tests

5-Other handouts (on pronunciation, etc.)

Your 3-ring binder should also have loose leaf paper in it.

Grade breakdown at a glance

• Participation and preparation:  15%
  
• Homework / iLrn:  10%
  
• Oral performance: 20%
• Written performance: 55%

Participation and preparation

Regular class attendance, preparation, and participation:
Much of the learning you will do in this course occurs in class and cannot be made up outside of class. It is essential that you keep up with the assignments and attend class because there is no way to make up the work or to “cram” for a test.

Since the development of effective listening and speaking skills is emphasized in French 126, it is essential that students be in class daily to participate in communicative activities of all types. Moreover, daily attendance and class participation will foster progress in French since language learning is a cumulative process best developed through steady, regular study and practice. 

Attendance policy: "Students are expected to attend all of their classes and scheduled course events in any semester or January and are responsible for any work missed. Failure to attend can lead to a warning, grading penalties, and/or dismissal from the course with a failing grade" (Colby College Catalogue). Sports-related absences are to be discussed well in advance with your instructor, and may not be excused.

Academic Honesty & Consequences for Academic Dishonesty:

Honesty, integrity, and personal responsibility are cornerstones of a Colby education and provide the foundation for scholarly inquiry, intellectual discourse, and an open and welcoming campus community. These values are articulated in the Colby Affirmation and are central to this course. You are expected to demonstrate academic honesty in all aspects of this course. If you are clear about course expectations, give credit to those whose work you rely on, and submit your best work, you are highly unlikely to commit an act of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: violating clearly stated rules for taking an exam or completing homework; plagiarism (including material from sources without a citation and quotation marks around any borrowed words); claiming another’s work or a modification of another’s work as one’s own; buying or attempting to buy papers or projects for a course; fabricating information or citations; knowingly assisting others in acts of academic dishonesty; misrepresentations to faculty within the context of a course; and submitting the same work, including an essay that you wrote, in more than one course without the permission of the instructors. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense against the college. Sanctions for academic dishonesty are assigned by an academic review board and may include failure on the assignment, failure in the course, or suspension or expulsion from the College. For more on recognizing and avoiding plagiarism, see the library guide: libguides.colby.edu/avoidingplagiarism.

a. “Structures utiles" (grammar exercises):
The grammar exercises assigned from Motifs (green pages) are to be completed online via iLrn. As stated above, you are to reinforce your learning by also writing the answers out. If you do not understand the correct answer, be sure to ask in class or during office hours.

b. "Exercices sur iLrn"

You are to complete all the exercices assigned for each "module" on the iLrn site. Click on the link to the site from the course syllabus: iLrn; once you login, go to the calendar and click on the appropriate date to see the list of exercises assigned for that particular class.

These exercises test your mastery of grammar, listening comprehension, and oral expression, all of which will support your learning and may appear on quizzes and tests!

You will also find many other materials to supplement your learning (such as flashcards, puzzles, and quizzes, etc.) by navigating to the Practice Tab and the Self-Tests Tab on iLrn.

c. “Voix en direct” and other audio recordings on iLrn: You will find these by navigating to the Media Library Tab, where you will find both the Audio Library and the Video Library.

THIS ORAL PRACTICE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. It will enhance your performance on phonetics tests and oral exams and is essential to help you to produce the language “automatically.” Expect periodic unannounced quizzes on these exercises, which will also appear on written exams.

Oral performance

Four oral pronunciation tests (10%):
These tests evaluate your oral production skills. Each student will record a selection of sentences that include grammar and vocabulary recently acquired. The emphasis will be on correct pronunciation and fluency. You will record these tests in the language lab (LRC) and submit them to your professor via e-mail.

Final oral communication exam (10%):
These "skits" (which you will write) test your oral production skills. You will perform in class, and the exams will be videotaped so that I can grade you individually. No make-ups.

Written performance

Verb and vocabulary quizzes, and dictations (10%):
You will often have either a short verb conjugation quiz or a brief dictée in class (sometimes as part of a scheduled contrôle).

Announced and unannounced quizzes will be given regularly. These quizzes can test any of the skills: reading, writing (grammar/vocabulary/culture), pronunciation or listening. The objective is to verify progress and comprehension in class.

Six writing assignments “écrits” (10%):
These must be typed, with accents, double spaced, spell checked, and handed in at the start of class on the date they appear on the syllabus.

Academic honesty:

All written work must be original; that is, imagined and written entirely on your own, without assistance. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and, as stated above, will lead to sanctions. You may consult a French tutor or the French Language Assistant only after having corrected your mistakes yourself. The tutor/assistant cannot correct your mistakes; s/he can only guide you.

Six "contrôles" (20%):
These are unit-based tests on your oral comprehension skills, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural knowledge. Each of them is designed to evaluate your understanding of the grammar and vocabulary covered in each unit. You may also be asked to write a short composition.

Final exam (15%):
There will be a three-hour written exam on the date specified by the college. For the oral section of the exam, you will sign up with one or more of your peers to do a 5-minute skit during the last week of class. It will be a time for you to display the linguistic skills and cultural knowledge acquired during the semester, as well as to show off your enthusiasm, humor, and creativity!

This class can be a lot of fun if everyone enters into it with enthusiasm, good humor, and the commitment to speak French at all times--good French, bad French, funny French, fractured French--as long as you are trying, you will get something out of it.

Consider the following principles and habits of successful language learners:

1) You must keep up with the work and not fall behind, because there is no way you can "cram" the work in this class. I expect you to spend between 60 and 90 minutes to prepare for each class, four days per week; up to two or more hours may be necessary when preparing special assignments and reviewing for tests.

2) You must attend all classes. If you miss a class, you miss the work. You cannot make it up by asking a classmate for notes because the work involves communicative activities.

3) You must, above all, enter into the class with enthusiasm and commitment. You must speak French in class, and participate in all class activities. This is how you will make progress.

4) Make the process of learning a foreign language active by reading your lessons aloud and by writing what you wish to commit to memory (i.e., new vocabulary words and conjugations of verbs)

5) Keep a notebook of grammar rules with examples to illustrate them.

6) Multiple repetitions enable you to retain patterns and to gain confidence in speaking and writing a foreign language.

7) Listen and imitate.

8) Always speak French in class.

9) Do not translate from English to learn French.

10) Divide material into small units for memorization, then put them together.

11) Make sense of a word's meaning in the context in which it occurs. Make sparing use of a dictionary.

12) Rereading is often necessary for comprehension.