FRN 2002, Intermediate French II

Professor Binita Mehta
Office: Founders G-26B
Phone: (914) 323-5407 (on campus dial x5407)
Email: mehtab@mville.edu.

Texts (available in the Bookstore)
St. Onge, St. Onge, and Kulick.  Interaction.  6th edition. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2003. 
St. Onge, St. Onge, and Kulick.  Interaction. Workbook and Lab Manual.
Camus, Albert. L’Etranger, Prentice Hall, 1955.
A bilingual (French-English, English-French) dictionary.

 Course Objectives

FRN 2002 is designed for students who have taken FRN 2001 here at Manhattanville, for students who have more than one year of French in college, or for students who have more than three years of high school French.  The goal of FRN 2002 is to add to your foundation in French, helping you improve your ability to understand what you hear, to communicate orally, to read and to express yourself in writing. The course, conducted entirely in French, and will be supplemented with cultural and literary readings as well as videos and films. 

Course Schedule
FRN 2002 meets three days a week

Course Content
FRN 2002 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 dialogues on the audio CD included with your textbook. We will also listen to French songs and watch French films.  You will also practice listening with the Interactions CD-audio series.  These audio-CDs are accessible on the computers in the Language Laboratory located in the Library. 

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 have cultural readings, short literary texts, and a twentieth-century novel.
Writing:  In addition to exercises from your textbook and workbook, you will also write three compositions.  You will have a chance to revise your first draft.  Your second draft will be graded.  For this reason, you should not consult friends or tutors while preparing your written work.

Grammar
:  We will complete the second half of the grammar in your textbook Interactions.  To improve your control of structures, you will do the grammar exercises in your workbook and the ones assigned 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 2002 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.

Class Participation
Active participation in class and, therefore, regular attendance is required. More than three 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. 

Homework and Quizzes
You are responsible for reading the assignments before every class.  At the end of every class, I will assign the material that needs to be read for the next class.  You will also be assigned written homework from the textbook from time to time.  In addition, you will be responsible for the written exercises for each chapter in the workbook. I will check your workbooks periodically.  You will have four quizzes in the course of the semester.  I will drop the lowest quiz grade. There will be NO MAKE-UPS.
Oral Interviews

During the last week of classes, I will be holding oral interviews with individual students. You will meet with me for about 10 minutes and I will ask you questions based on the material we have covered over the semester.
Electronic Mail

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.  Take advantage of the opportunity to communicate with me in French.

Useful websites:
http://interaction.heinle.com 

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”

 For French events in NYC the Tri-State Area

http://frenchculture.org/events/newyork  --French events in NYC and the Tri-State area
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
www.bam.org  

Grades
Quizzes: 30%
Oral Interviews: 10%
Compositions: 15%
Homework and Class Participation: 25%
Final exam:       20%

 Schedule of Assignments: (This schedule is subject to change)

 Key
Ch. = chapter in Interaction
Comp: = Composition

Week 1
Introduction; Chapter 5, Interaction; Révision, Le Passé composé and Imparfait
Chapter 5, Interaction “La Presse et le message”

 Week 2
Chapter 6, Interaction “Le mot et l’image”
Chapter 6
Chapter 6

Week 3
Chapter. 6, Interaction, "Le mot et l'image"
Chapter 6
Chapter 6

Week 4
Quiz 1
Film
Film

Week 5
Chapter 7, Interaction “Les Transports et la technologie”; (Comp. I)
Chapter 7
Chapter 7

Week 6
Chapter 7, Interaction, “Les Transports et la technologie”
Chapter 7
Chapter 7

Week 7
Quiz 2
Chapter 8, Interaction “A la fac”
Chapter 8.

Week 8: Spring Break 

Week 9
Chapter 8, Interaction, "A la fac"
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 (Comp 2)

Week 10
Chapter 8
Quiz 3
Chapter 9, Interaction “La Francophonie”

Week 11
Chapter 9, Interaction
, “La Francophonie”
Chapter 9
Chapter 9

Week 12
Chapter 9 Interaction, “La Francophonie”
Chapter 9
Quiz 4

Week 13
Chapter 10, Interaction “Découvrir et se découvrir”
Chapter 10
Chapter 10

Week 14
Chapter 10, Interaction (Comp 3)
Chapter 10 
Chapter 10

Week 15
Chapter 10, Interaction
Oral Interviews
Oral Interviews; Révision

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.

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