Information: Intensive Intermediate French(005) Fall 2008

This class will meet 5 times per week: 3 hours will be considered a Master Class, 1 hour a special Tuesday Session, and 1 hour a Small Group Session.

Texts:

Ensuite, Chantal P. Thompson and Bette G. Hirsch, 4e Edition.
Cahier d'Exercices pour Ensuite.
La Vénus d'Ille, Prosper Mérimée. (Classiques Larousse)
Xeroxed materials to be distributed in class.

Master Class (Classe): At Bryn Mawr this will be taught Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 9 and at 10 in Thomas 104 . The course will be organised around Ensuite and supplemented by xeroxed, video, and computer materials on cultural and literary topics and by the literary text listed above. At Haverford MWF sessions will be from 11.30--12.30 in Stokes 207.

Special Tuesday session (Séance Spéciale): (At Bryn Mawr and Haverford time and place to be arranged.) This will serve two major functions: a). To allow us to enjoy material studied in class or prepared in the small group sessions; b). To make use of our audio-visual resources. On occasion the viewing of a French movie may replace this session.

Small Group sessions (Petits Groupes): These conversation/activity groups will take place on Thursdays (exact time and place to be arranged at Bryn Mawr and Haverford) These will be conducted by assistants who are native or near-native speakers of French. Activities and assignments will vary but will almost always include a brief discussion of the the French News (Journal Télévisé) which you should watch in Bryn Mawr Language Learning Center (in Denbigh) or on-line at least once a week. Although the assistants will not be giving you a grade, at the end of the semester they will provide your professor with a report on your participation and progress. This will be taken into account when we consider the "participation" portion of your final grade.

In addition, you are encouraged to take advantage of every opportunity to listen to and speak French. We hope, for instance, to be able to offer a series of French movies (and on occasion attendance at these may be considered compulsory and will replace the Tuesday session); there will be a 'Table Française' in Haffner for lunch and/or dinner one day per week and at Haverford there will be a lunch. Details will be announced later. We also urge you to make use of the Language Learning Center (Bryn Mawr)/Language Learning Center (Haverford) resources (videos, DVDs, satellite broadcasts, and computer related options such as CD-Roms, spell-check, browsers etc.) By the end of the semester you will be expected to have seen at least two French movies either in the Language Learning Center or as part of the French Film Series.

All audio materials for Ensuite will be available in digitized form on the web and accessible via the LLC web-pages where you will find full instructions.

Assignments and Testing: We will be updating schedules on a regular basis detailing what we will be studying in class, which texts you should bring to any particular session, and what your homework assignments will be for each evening. Since most of the grammar is really review for you, you will be asked to prepare the grammar and textbook exercises at home. Classroom time will be used for spot-checking your assimilation of the material, problem-solving, and going over a few of the trickier exercises. For the most part, however, we hope to concentrate on exploiting what you have learned in activities which are less grammar-oriented.

In addition to preparation, there will be regular written assignments including exercises from the text and workbook, three longer pieces of writing, lab work, and frequent quizzes. Please note that the workbook exercises are assigned for self-review before each quiz. *It is up to you to check your responses with the answer key and to meet with your professor to discuss anything you do not understand*. We ask you to bring in your workbook at regular intervals so as your professor can spot check for difficulties. You should also ask your professor to look over the more open-ended exercises where there is no clear right or wrong answer. (The 'dictée', for which there is no answer key, will be assigned as part of your regular homework and corrected by your professor.)

We will give you more details of the Final exam nearer the time, but you might want to bear in mind that it will involve a 15-20 minute Oral Proficiency Interview in addition to a written section. Your final grade will also be influenced by your participation in class and in the conversation groups during the semester. The grade wll be calculated as follows: quizzes 30%; papers 15%; final written exam 30%; final oral exam 10%; participation (in class, group sessions, non-graded written assignments etc.) 15%.

Students continuing from 'Baby' Intensive: Although we hope you will want to pursue your studies in French, you are entitled to consider Fr 005 as a one-semester course and you will receive credit even if you choose not to take a 100-level course in the Spring.

All Other Students: Although French 005 is a one-semester course, it is part of a year long program which you must complete in order to receive credit for this Fall semester. In the Spring you will have a choice between

Fr 102 (Introduction à l'analyse littéraire et culturelle II) and Fr 105 (Directions de la France Contemporaine).

All the serious information out of the way, I hope we'll also have lots of fun! If you have any questions or problems to discuss you can find me in my office (Thomas 150; X5386), or you can contact me by e-mail.