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French I Course Outline
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3211/3212 HONORS FRENCH I/FRENCH I
Course Description
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This course introduces students to the sounds, structures, basic vocabularies, gestures, and cultural notions involved in communicating in the French language. It connects those concepts to France and to many francophone regions worldwide. The course aims, objectives, and assessment criteria are consistent with the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning* and the International Baccalaureate Program’s Ab Initio Syllabus. All students will complete 6 units of work, with honors candidates receiving monthly supplementary activities and extra questions on many evaluations. |
Course Goals/Objectives
At the end of Level I, a student should be able to
- Understand spoken French from various sources.
- Comprehend short written texts, letters, and advertisements.
- Show good pronunciation and intonation.
- Communicate effectively on a variety of topics.
- Use appropriate present tense forms with reasonable ease and accuracy.
- Respond in writing to stimuli and write simple messages with an acceptable degree of accuracy in grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, and accentuation.
- Use Microsoft Word to accent documents correctly.
- Recognize a number of symbols and icons of French culture.
- Describe some aspects of France and worldwide francophonie.
- Enter with ease a number of French language-related websites.
- Show elementary knowledge in these eight pre-IB/ab initio areas:
the individual, education, transportation and communication, shopping, foods and
drinks, leisure, environment (weather, city/countryside, physical geography, health). |
National Standards for the Learning of French
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Goal One: Communication
1. Interpersonal Communication Students engage in conversations or correspondence in French to provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
2. Interpretive Communication Students understand and interpret spoken and written French on a variety of topics.
3. Presentational Communication Students present information, concepts, and ideas in French to an audience of listeners or readers.
Goal Two: Cultures – Gaining a Knowledge and Understanding of the Francophone World
1. Practices of Culture Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures of the francophone world.
2. Products of Culture Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures of the francophone world.
Goal Three: Connections
1. Making Connections Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through French.
2. Acquiring Information Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through francophone countries.
Goal Four: Comparisons
1. Language Comparisons Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of French and their native language.
2. Cultural Comparisons Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of francophone cultures and their own.
Goal Five: Communities
1. School and Community Students use French both within and beyond the school setting.
2. Lifelong Learning Students show evidence of becoming lifelong learners by using French for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
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Instructional Methods
Teacher presentations; small groups; film; textbook videos and audio CDs |
Texts/Materials
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Discovering French Nouveau – Bleu 1 (McDougal Littell, 2004)
Discovering French Bleu Workbook
www.classzone.com |
Evaluation
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70%: Tests and quizzes on vocabulary and structures; projects; graded writing assignments; class orals
30%: Homework and classwork; notebook
At the end of each semester, Good Counsel’s Language Department administers a multipart exam over a number of days. Equal emphasis is put on evaluating oral skills in an interview, listening comprehension, vocabulary and reading comprehension, and grammar/structures. |
Classroom Procedures
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Absences. With the Block schedule, students only meet 2-3 times each week for approximately 80 minutes each class session. When a student is ill for one day , it is imperative that the teacher be seen on the off-day; otherwise, another day is lost in the learning process. Since tests and projects are normally scheduled many days in advance, a one-day absence should not be an excuse for getting off-schedule in class. When a student is absent several days, the most responsible action is an email (gwood@olgchs.org), having the guidance counselor collect assignments for parent pickup, or consulting the school web page.
Late work. Any assignment or project that is not turned in on time and is not due to illness will result in a lower grade upon completion (1/2 credit for homework; one grade lower for projects and compositions).
Homework is a learning experience and cannot be expected to be done perfectly. Only if a significant amount is not completed will full credit not be given.
Tardiness to class is a serious issue. A one-minute grace period is given. An excused tardy requires a note from a teacher, nurse, counselor, or administrator.
All other classroom procedures, as well as the general school discipline policy, will be discussed at the opening of the school year.
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TOPICAL OUTLINE
QUARTER 1
September/October
*A more detailed syllabus is available in the Language Resource Room.
Unit 1: Faisons connaissance - Leçon 1 A, B, C; Leçon 2 A, B, C
Communication
q Greetings and introductions
q Origin and basic nationalities
q Numbers to 100
q Age statements
q Basic pronunciation: alphabet, nasal vowels, liaison
q Formal and informal language
Culture
q Names
q France and Francophonie
q Québec and Martinique
q French family
Unit 2: La Vie courante – Leçon 3 A, B, C; Leçon 4 A, B, C
Communication
q Ordering foods and snacks
q Prices
q Telling time, date, day
q Weather
Pronunciation
q Intonation
q Final Accents
q Consonants
Culture
q Importance of the café and fast-food
q The euro |
QUARTER 2
November/December
Unit 3: Qu’est-ce qu’on fait? – Leçons 5, 6, 7, 8
Communication
q Daily activities
q Preferences
q Asking questions
q Invitations
Grammar/Structures
q Pronoun subjects
q The verb être
q Forming the negative
q -Er verbs
q Infinitive constructions
q The verb faire
q Questions with inversion and est-ce que
Culture
q Telephoning in France
q Student schedules
q Leisure
q Sénégal
q Vietnamese in France
q Internet
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QUARTER 3
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Mid-January, February, March
Unit 4: Le Monde Personnel et Familier
Communication
q Talking about yourself and what you look like
q Describing friends
q Describing your room at home
q Everyday objects at school and at home
q Color and size
Grammar/Structures
q The verb avoir
q Definite and indefinite articles
q Partitives with the affirmative and after negatives
q Placement of adjectives
q Regular and irregular feminine forms of adjectives
q The plural of nouns
q Il est vs. c’est
Culture
q Haïti
q Transportation in France
q The city of Toulouse
Unit 6: Le Shopping: Leçons 17, 18, 19
· Note change in unit sequence. It was found that Unit 5 functions better at year’s end.
Communication
q Describing men’s and women’s clothes and styles
q Learning to shop for clothing and other items
q Talking about money
q Making comparisons
Grammar/Structures
q Verbs with accent & spelling changes: acheter, préférer, commencer, manger
q Demonstrative and interrogative adjectives
q The verb mettre
q Regular verbs ending in –ir and –re
q The adjectives beau, nouveau, vieux
q Comparisons with plus, moins, aussi…..que
q Imperatives
q The use of the pronoun on
Culture
q Types of stores in France
q Algérie; Maghrébins and Beurs in France |
QUARTER 4
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April/May
Unit 6: Le Shopping - Leçon 20
Unit 5: En Ville – Leçons 13, 14, 15, 16
Communication
q Describing the city, public buildings, and places of interest
q Asking for and giving directions
q Describing a house or apartment
q Discussing trips, vacation, and weekend plans
q Talking about future activities, friends, and families
Grammar/Structures
q The verb aller
q Prepositions: à, de, chez
q Constructions with à and de
q Future expressed with aller + infinitive
q The verb venir
q Disjunctive (independent) pronouns: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles
q Possession with de
q Possessive adjectives
q Ordinal numbers
q The verb jouer with sports/games and music instruments
Culture
q Paris
q Pets and animals
Semester 2 Exam: multi-part evaluation in late May |
*A much more detailed program of study is available in the Language Resource Room.
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