French 320 French Grammar & Composition 
Fall 2008 MWF 1:50-2:45   FAC 254  (updated daily)
Instructor:
Nathan Love, Ph.D. (I.U.) 
Office: FAC 282 Office: 745-5909 E-mail: nathan.love@wku.edu
Office hours: TWF 8:00 am-9:00 am, MR 11:00 am-12:00 pm & by appt.

Web page: http://edtech.wku.edu/~nlove Blackboard: http://ecourses.wku.edu
Required books:
Voir la liste.
wku logo mod langs
Dictionnaire monolingue
Dictionnaire bilingue
Grammaire Pomme
Structures
Le Conjugueur
Go to week 1
Go to final exam

Go to grades
Grammaire en ligne
Pour écrire

F320 French Grammar and Composition is a course intended for those who have had some previous study of French, either three or more years in high school or F202. It is intended to provide students who wish to take advanced courses in French with a working knowledge of French grammar and sustained practice creating various French compositions. This course is a college course; it is not intended as validation of grammatical knowledge acquired previously. F320 counts toward fulfilling the French minor and major. Through coursework, experience abroad, and other cultural encounters, the Modern Languages Program cultivates communicative skills and cultural awareness that prepare students at Western Kentucky University to be more knowledgeable and sensitive citizens of the global community.


  The course goals follow in order of priority:
 
  1. Structure of Language: To acquire a complete view of the structure of the French language.
  2. Grammar: To become thoroughly acquainted with grammatical categories and concepts peculiar to French and English, and to become articulate concerning them.
  3. Writing: To begin to write sustained guided compositions which illustrate specific grammatical points.
  4. Vocabulary: To build vocabulary via readings and exercises.
  5. Preparation: To become prepared linguistically to take more advanced French.

The primary objective is a working knowledge of the overall structure of the French language and its rules of grammar as applied to written expression in French. It is assumed that regular practice with much trial and error is an integral and necessary means to accomplishing the primary course objectives. Time is therefore precious. Our modus operandi is careful preparation for each class session. I will expect preparation from you, and you may expect it of me. If absent one should contact me before the next class meeting – not to explain excuse the absence, but in order to find out what was accomplished and, especially, what is to be prepared outside of class. Typically, vocabulary, points of grammar or the like will be presented on day one, practiced enough to allow you to practice outside class before day two. A quiz or worksheet will follow immediately, covering that same material on day two. For instance, on day one, the present tense of donner is presented, then practiced by dictation. By the very next class meeting, a quiz may establish if the present forms of donner have been learned. 


Participation and attendance: class attendance is mandatory, and participation is essential; speaking French at every opportunity will help a student with speaking and listening skills. Participation will solidify understanding of structure of the language and process of composing and editing written French. Students are to check Blackboard (http://ecourses.wku.edu) or my Web page (http://edtech.wku.edu/~nlove/320grammar/f320fall2008.htm) and stay abreast of announcements, assignments and changes in the syllabus frequently. In the event that it is necessary to miss class, it is the responsibility of the student to find out what was covered and to learn the appropriate material. Upon returning to class students are expected to be fully prepared: ready to participate, to turn in assignments, and to take quizzes or exams as scheduled. When/if you miss a class meeting, you can be relatively certain that you missed at least one quiz (see below). If absent, one should contact me before the next class meeting – not to explain or excuse the absence, but in order to find out what was accomplished and, especially, what is to be prepared outside of class, unless you believe that you know with certainty what was missed and have no questions about it. To bolster participation you may elect to present to the class an exposé in addition to the two exposés that are obligatory.


Auditing An auditor is one who enrolls and participates in a course without expecting to receive academic credit. The same registration procedure is followed and the same fees charged as for courses taken for credit. An audited course is not applicable to any degree or certificate program. Regular class attendance is expected of an auditor. Other course requirements, which may be obtained in writing from the instructor, will vary depending on the nature of the course. Students interested in auditing a course should secure permission from the instructor and discuss course requirements prior to enrolling. Failure to meet course requirements may result in the auditor being withdrawn from the course at the request of the instructor. A successful audit will be recorded on the transcript with the designation AU. (from: Academic Requirements and Regulations, Undergraduate Course Catalog)


Assignments (or homework) will be posted on the timeline part of the syllabus below by means of a link on the date by which the assignment is due. Thus to know what is to be prepared for the August 25 class meeting, click on the link on "25 août 08" below. (You will know when the assignment has been uploaded, as the date will appear in bold, and turn blue as a link upon passing the mouse over it.) There will be questions or assignments regularly posted on Blackboard or the Web page to be completed before the next class. Unless instructed otherwise, assignments are not printed out and handed in. The majority of the quizzes will cover these assignments.


Interactivités provide practice to reinforce what is presented or briefly reviewed during class. Interactivités will provide essential practice. They should also prepare students for quizzes, compositions, and the final exam. They may be part of what is assigned as homework.


Quizzes will be done in class, although most can be prepared for before class. There will at least one short quiz every class meeting. They will cover what has been assigned or recently presented. Quizzes over what is assigned will provide an indication whether the assignment has been completed and understood. Quizzes covering what has been recently presented during class will likewise provide an indication of your emerging skills, especially concerning grammar and composition. Some will be done as small group activities during class meetings. Among other things, they prepare a student for exams. As with Interactivités, quizzes are not busywork (none of us has time for that!); each one has a teaching or learning point behind it. Quizzes will be numerous; and may not be made up if missed. Since they will be numerous, you may well miss some or do poorly on others. Rather than drop a certain number of quizzes, your quiz average will be curved approximately ten percent to allow for the normal vicissitudes of life.


Student Engagement Activity / Project : To be determined. All Student Engagement Activities, university wide, you can -- and really ought to -- record at the WKU SEAT page.


Exams: Both exams are meant to gauge your progress toward the course goals with an efficient use of exam time. They test the language skills you are acquiring, and are not limited to simply covering language content: material, pages, exercises or tables that can be memorized on short order. For both, consequently, you will speak French, listen to French, read some French and write French -- and not merely rehash specific phrases, vocabulary or exercises. There will be no make up exams. If you anticipate a problem with taking an exam when it is scheduled, or if you should miss an exam, contact me at your earliest opportunity! The day and time of the final exam are established by the Registrar. Whereas there may be changes on the syllabus below, the day and time of the final exam are absolute. Please do not make plans, therefore, at variance with our scheduled final exam.


Expectations, in summary, are as follows. Students are expected 1) to study, do assignments, and prepare for class, 2) to attend class, contribute and participate during class, 3) avail themselves of resources, and to seek help from instructor when appropriate, including during office hours or by appointment, 4) to demonstrate knowledge and language skills in progress against what is expected, 5) to work, for instance, on pronunciation, listening comprehension and recognition of spoken vocabulary, 6) to submit by deadlines work required, 7) to turn in for a grade the student’s own work and, of course, not to permit work to be used by another for his/her graded assignments. 8) to stay abreast of announcements, assignments and changes in the syllabus at least three times each week. 9) to keep cell phones turned off and silent during class; to keep cell phones and other electronic devices capable of communication/data retrieval out of sight during all graded activities. The instructor is expected 1) to be prepared for teaching each class session, 2) to offer clear examples and explanations, 3) to encourage participation from students, 4) provide opportunities for you to hear, speak, write and read French and to offer, specifically, as much oral practice in class as possible, 5) to meet with students during office hours and by appointment outside of class, 6) to be fair-minded at all times, 7) to respect students, and their beliefs and opinions, 8) to challenge students to meet the course goals as fully as possible. (Click on statement on teaching to read my thoughts on the entire subject.)


Study some French every day without exception and you will discover why language courses used to meet daily. The best way to learn, to meet course objectives and to maximize benefits derived from study of French is without a doubt to study some French every day. You will not be particularly successful if you learn the material for the moment only. What you learn for a given day or for a given exam you will need to retain throughout the semester and specifically for the final exam which is cumulative.


Resources available include the textbook, its tapes, tapes for D’Accord, another textbook with tapes, as well as consultations and extra practice during office hours. For additional resources for individuals, click here. I can find more resources for anyone needing more than these, and would be pleased to do so.


        Course Grade -- sources & weights:
  • Project:
  • Quizzes:
  • Compositions / Rédactions (4 @ 10%):
  • Final Exam:
10%
20%
40%
30%

Academic dishonesty: “Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal” (from the 2006-2007 online student handbook). Acts of academic dishonesty include the use of a translating device to complete writing assignments and failing to turn cell phones and PDAs off before taking an exam. Student work may be checked using plagiarism detection software. See Western's statement on academic dishonesty in the 2006-2007 online student handbook for more information. See the same source for university policy on plagiarism ‑ "To represent written work taken from another source as one's own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense. The academic work of a student must be his/her own. One must give any author credit for source material borrowed from him/her. To lift content directly from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a borrowed passage without reference to the source after having changed a few words is also plagiarism." The use of online translation aids is strictly prohibited. Students enrolled may not assist one another on graded exercises.


Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services in DUC A-200 of the Student Success Center in Downing University Center. Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.


Changes: Changes to all matters above may become necessary, especially regarding the syllabus and/or the due dates of graded work. The instructor reserves the right to make such changes as he/she deems necessary. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain the most recent iteration of the syllabus either as posted on the Blackboard site for this course or as made available in the classroom.


1 lundi 25 août 08 Introduction; grammaire en ligne ; parties du discours ; parties de la phrase ; structures ; comment avoir des accents: fiche ; PPT ;

2 mercredi 27 août 08 Analysez ces textes ; Traitement de textes : Fichier 1 : Comprendre et procéder : Réfexion [1-3] ; Outils : [8-10] / Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 1

3 vendredi 29 août 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 1 /Traitement de textes : Fichier 1 : Comprendre et procéder Écrire [4-5] note: dictionnaires ; 'write' - 'écrire'

   lundi 01 sept 08 Pas de cours

4 mercredi 03 sept 08 Pour écrire ; Traitement de textes [pp. 3-5] ; [ p. 9 A. / p. 10 B.] ; corrigé du quiz 1

5 vendredi 05 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier: Leçon 2 : temps grammaticaux ; fiches à corriger ; Vincent

6 lundi 08 sept 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 2 : Décrire une personne ; niveau élémentaire ; visage célèbre Mona Lisa ; portraits littéraires : Vautrin ; Charlemagne ; Giton et Phédon ; erreurs-01 & corrigé
7 mercredi 10 sept 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 2 : Décrire une personne ; votre première rédaction ; maison d'être ; accord des participes passés ; 3 petits cochons
8 vendredi 12 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 3 : impératif ; l'article partitif et activités interactives ; venir de + infinitif ; le plus-que-parfait

9 lundi 15 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 3 : venir de + infinitif ; le plus-que-parfait ; Rédaction 1 : description d'une personne ; corrigé du quiz

10 mercredi 17 sept 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 3 : Écrire une lettre

11 vendredi 19 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 4 : futur , interactivité ; futur antérieur ; corrigé du quiz

12 lundi 22 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 5 : futur en ligne ; poème ; conditionnel , interactivité ; phrases avec 'si' ; conditionnel et futur ; rédaction 1

13 mercredi 24 sept 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 5 : passé du conditionnel , interactivité ; le féminin de certains mots
14 vendredi 26 sept 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 4 : Raconter un évènement ; lettres

15 lundi 29 sept 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 4 : Raconter un évènement ; corrigé du quiz - futur ; lettres (suite) ; raconter un événement
16 mercredi 01 oct 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 6 : pronoms y et en ; pronoms (en général) ; interactivités - l'ordre des pronoms ; corrigé du quiz - conditionnel
   vendredi 03 oct 08 Pas de cours

17 lundi 06 oct 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 6 : identification des temps grammaticaux ; le présent du subjonctif , PPTs , emploi ; fiche de grammaire > le français des affaires ; Traitement de textes Ex. A. [51-52]
18 mercredi 08 oct 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 6 : Comparaisons C. 1. p. 140 , C. 2. p. 141
19 vendredi 10 oct 08 Rédaction 2 : un événement dans votre vie personnelle ; Dasher subjonctif [14], pronoms [5] ; corrigé - rédaction 2

20 lundi 13 oct 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 5 : Expliquer une idée [65-75] ; vocabulaire 1, 2 ; qui, que ; to remember ; corrigé - rédaction 2 ; corrigé du quiz
Oct. 14 - Last day to drop a full semester course with a W.
Last day to change a full semester course from credit to audit.

21 mercredi 15 oct 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 5 : Expliquer une idée [68-71] passage tiré à L'Étranger ; un autre passage ; le doute méthodique de Descartes ; Ceci tuera cela -- Victor Hugo ; questions de syntaxe verbale
22 vendredi 17 oct 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 7 : article plein de subjonctifs ; verbes suivis d'infinitifs ; corrigé - rédaction 2 ; les temps dans un article ; corrigé du quiz

23 lundi 20 oct 08 Un ancien examen final ; Projet ; film: Maurice Richard à 18h00, mardi, le 21 octobre ; catégories grammaticales, COD ~ COI , participes passés 1 ; corrigé du quiz
24 mercredi 22 oct 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 5 : Expliquer une idée ; argumenter 1 ; argumenter 2 ; participes passés 2 , indicatif ~ subjonctif 1 , indicatif ~ subjonctif 2 ; indicatif ~subjonctif 3 ; subjonctif ~ infinitif ; révision: la comparaison
25 vendredi 24 oct 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 5 : Expliquer une idée ; la négation, exercice interactif 1, exercice interactif 2 , exercice interactif 3, exercice interactif 4 ; Pascal et l'art de persuader ; corrigé du quiz

26 lundi 27 oct 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 8 : Projet ; annonces ; quiz - mots-croisés ; composition spontanée : expliquer une idée ; corrigé du quiz
27 mercredi 29 oct 08 Rédaction 3 : expliquer une idée ; révision : pronoms chez Balzac ; rédaction 3 en revue
28 vendredi 31 oct 08 rédaction 3 en revue

29 lundi 03 nov 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 9 : les adjectifs , interactivité ; rédaction 3 en revue ; le français des affaires ; article défini
30 mercredi 05 nov 08 Pas de cours
31 vendredi 07 nov 08 Traitement de textes : Fichier 6 : Exprimer une opinion : utilisez deux expressions pour chacune des trois catégories [83-84] dans un essai qui commence de la manière suivante: « Quant aux résultats des élections, je trouve que ... »

32 lundi 10 nov 08 Breaking the French Barrier: Leçon 10 : corrigé du quiz
33 mercredi 12 nov 08 révision rapide des adjectifs : interactivité ; les temps grammaticaux - approfondissement 1 ; interactivité - pronoms ; corrigé du quiz
34 vendredi 14 nov 08 Rédaction 4 : Exprimer une opinion ; les temps grammaticaux - approfondissement 2 ; Breaking the French Barrier: Leçon 9 Révision A. 3. (assigned Nov. 3) ; adjectifs - Balzac ; corrigé du quiz

35 lundi 17 nov 08 Breaking the French Barrier : Leçon 11 : comment vont les projets? ; corrigé rédaction 4
36 mercredi 19 nov 08 avoir fini le projet ; corrigé rédaction 4 ; Manon des sources en 202
37 vendredi 21 nov 08 le projet - explications

38 lundi 24 nov 08 Breaking the French Barrier: Leçon 12 : Prof. Reed Vesey, Study Abroad visit ; le projet - explications (suite) ; projet - wiki terminé avant le mardi 25 novembre

39 lundi 01 déc 08 le projet - explications (suite) ; adjectifs qui changent de sens ; Goriot - adjectifs
40 mercredi 03 déc 08 Breaking the French Barrier: Un contrôle final [265-67] ; le projet - explications (dernière session) ; les temps grammaticaux - approfondissement 3
41 vendredi 05 déc 08 Révision:

jeudi
11 déc 08 Final Exam 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Changes to the foregoing may be deemed necessary by the instructor. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain the most recent iteration of the syllabus either as posted on the instructor's web page or as made available in the classroom.
Course Grade | Quiz Grades | Rédactions  | Final Exam | Projet  |

1/19/14 19:47   f320fall2008.htm    |Go to week 1    |Go to top of page    | French Club on Facebook