Back
to Professor Mehta homepageOffice:
Founders
G-26B
Phone: (914) 323-5407 (on
campus dial x5407)
Email: mehtab@mville.edu.
St.
Onge, St. Onge, and Kulick. Interaction. Workbook and Lab Manual.
A bilingual (French-English, English-French) dictionary.
If you take FRN 2001, College French I, you have already acquired a basic knowledge of the French language even though you may feel that you have forgotten some of what you learned initially. FRN 2001 is designed for students who have had one year of French in college, or two or three years in high school.
The
goal of FRN 2001 is to add to your foundation in French, helping you to improve
your ability to understand what you hear, to communicate orally, to read fictional
and non-fictional texts, and to express yourself in writing. Conducted in
French, the course will introduce you to French language and culture through
readings, films, and the World Wide Web exploring a variety of topics from
French commerce to the role of the French media.
FRN
2001 meets three days a week
FRN
2001 has substantive content, offering students both cultural and linguistic
knowledge, along with practice in oral and written communication.
Listening Comprehension: You will acquire listening comprehension studying various
audio-visual materials. During the semester you will listen to the audio CD
included with your textbook and watch two feature-length French films. You will
also practice listening with the Interactions
CD-audio series. The audio-CDs are
accessible on the computers in the Language Laboratory located in BW 2. Please check weekly open access hours for
the Language Lab at the Registrar’s Office in Brownson.
Speaking: Class sessions will concentrate on developing your
oral proficiency through active use of language. There will be guided use of specific grammatical structures and
vocabulary, but he principal activity will be discussion of readings and
audio-visual materials. You will also
engage in role-play, simulations, and other oral activities.
Reading: To help you improve your
reading skills, you will read short stories, poems and non-fiction texts.
Grammar: FRN 2001 covers about two-thirds of the grammar presented in Interaction; the remainder will be
covered in FRN 2002. To improve you control of structures, you will do the
grammar exercises in your workbook and some from your textbook. The directions and schedule for doing the
exercises will be explained in class. For added practice, there are
self-correcting grammatical and cultural exercises for each chapter on the Interaction
website at http://interaction.heinle.com.
Vocabulary: Interaction, the FRN 2001 textbook,
is organized thematically providing you with vocabulary that is interesting,
contemporary, and easy to learn. You
will also learn new words and expressions from the course reading
materials. As a result, your personal
lexicon will be greatly increased by the end of the semester.
Pronunciation:
During the semester, students will work to improve their pronunciation
through the audio CDs in the language lab and through class discussions.
Students
are expected to do the reading, video viewing, grammar assignments, and other
activities for the date on which they appear on the syllabus.
Active
participation in class and, therefore, regular attendance is required. More
than 3 absences without an official excuse will automatically lower your class
participation grade. The class
participation grade will be based on attending class and active involvement in
class activities. This implies good
preparation and demonstration of interest in the material, the instructor’s
comments and the contributions of your fellow students.
You are responsible for reading the assigned pages
in your syllabus before every class. You will be assigned written homework from the textbook. In
addition, you will be responsible for the written exercises for each chapter in
the workbook.
Most of your probably already have a computer and have access to the campus network. You can communicate directly with me when you have a question, as long as you write in French! Your informal messages will not be graded. Take advantage of the opportunity to communicate freely in French. Remember, as with everything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes!
Useful
websites:
French Media
www.lemonde.fr -- French newspaper, le
Monde
www.liberation.fr --French newspaper, Libération
www.rfi.fr-- French Radio Station, Radio France
Internationale
http://www.france-amerique.com --
See “Actualité”
www.france.com -- See “Agenda New York”
www.fiaf.org -- French Institute/Alliance
Française of New York
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/french/Mbase.html
- NYU, Maison Française
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/french/maison/ Columbia University, Maison Française
http://www.mri.gouv.qc.ca/usa/en/new_york/affaires_publiques/publications.asp
- Quebec Update, newsletter of the Délégation Général du Québec
Grades
Oral
Interviews: 10%
Compositions:
10%
Homework:
10%
Class
participation: 15%
Final
exam: 15%
Comp = composition
R = Reading
CD= Text Audio Compact Disk
Chapter
1, Interaction “Le commerce et la consommation”
Chapter
1 “The Imperative,” “Irregular verbs,” “Aller and
Faire with Infinitives”
Week
3
Ch.
1, Conversation(s) (CD)
Ch.
1, Philippe Delerm, “Le Croissant du trottoir,”
Review
Week
4
Quiz 1
Week
5
Chapter 2, "Basic Question
Patterns,” Comp 1
The
date, time and place of the FINAL EXAM
will be announced later in the semester. DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL PLANS BEFORE THE
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE IS POSTED.