Business French will concern, especially, how to communicate in a business context. We are concerned with both communication within a company and without. The second emphasis of the course will be reinforcement of French language skills. Writing and speaking French are an integral part of upper division courses in the French program. See my statement on teaching French, if you are curious. 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.

Books: Only Business French: An Intermediate Course is required; none of the others has been ordered, and may not, in any case, be readily available. Borrowings from the other business text books will be provided when appropriate, and will receive mention in the schedule or assignments below. The reference works will be useful to all advanced students of French, regardless of course work.

Grade for Major or Minor: Effective in summer 2006, students must earn a "C" or better in any Modern Language course included among those that count toward the major or minor in French, German, or Spanish. This policy applies to all students who submit a degree program after the end of the spring 2006 semester.

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 31 class meeting, click on the link on "31 aug 06" 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. This semester there will be an assignment from time to time in Blackboard's Discussion Board related to class participation.

Tests, quizzes and worksheets: Quizzes and worksheets will be numerous. 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.

Exams: There will be no make up exams.  The 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. The final exam will be comprehensive in scope, whereas the other three are only unit exams. 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.

A Project will be required. It will take the form of a PowerPoint presentation that covers any matter related to the course content and approved by the instructor. A rubric exists that sets forth the criteria for the presentation as an exercise in technology. (A second project will be required as an honors component for honors credit.)

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 assure progress toward communication skills. Students are to check Blackboard (http://ecourses.wku.edu) or my Web page (http://edtech.wku.edu/~nlove/331fall06.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.

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 Module 1 or for Quiz 2 you will need to retain throughout the semester and specifically for the final exam which is cumulative.

Resources available include the textbook, consultations and assistance during office hours. I can find more resources for anyone needing more than these, and would be pleased to do so. 

Course Grade -- sources & weights:

• Quizzes & Worksheets:
• Exam 1:
• PowerPoint Project:
• Final Exam:

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.