AP French Language and Culture
FadiaHamid
Course description
AP French Language and Culture is a college-level course intended for students in their fifth year of study of French. The three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational) defined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to the AP French Language and Culture course. Course work provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in the intermediate to pre-advanced range as described in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K–12 Learners. Students who enroll in this course should already have a good command of the grammar and considerable competence in listening, reading, speaking and writing.
When communicating, students in the AP French Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (communities). Class is conducted exclusively in French and students are expected to use French for all communications.Students use several primary textbooks and other authentic materials and resources that are in accordance with those suggested on the College Board website. Students are expected to take the AP French Language and Culture exam at the end of this course.
COURSE MATERIAL
Primary textbooks for Students
Allons au-delà – La langue et La Culture du Monde Francophone
Richard Ladd– 2012 – Pearson Prentice Hall - ISBN : 978-0-13-317953-8
AP French:Preparing for the French Language and Culture Examination.
Text with audio – Activities and test Practice – Real talk! Speak and record.
Richard Ladd– 2012 – Pearson Prentice Hall - ISBN : 978-0-13-317537-0
Une Fois Pour Toutes- une révision des structures essentielles de la langue française (Hale Sturges II, Linda Cregg Nielsen, Henry L. Herbst
1992 – Longman and Prentice Hall – ISBN: 0-8013-0825-9
Supplementary Reading and grammar review texts
Par tout le monde francophone
Henry Lynn Herbst, Hale Sturges II – 1996 – Addison Wesley Longman –
ISBN: 0-8013-1190-X
Ensemble littérature – sixièmeedition.
Raymond F. Comeau, Normand J. Lamoureux – 1999 – Holt, Rinehart and Winston – Harcourt Brace College Publishers – ISBN: 0-03-022248-6
501 French Verbs
Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris – 2007 – Barron’s –
ISBN: 978-0-7641-3554-5
Imaginez, le français sans frontières
Mitschke – 2012 – Vista Higher Learning – ISBN: 978-1-60576-886-1
Une si longue lettre
Mariama Bâ – Les nouvelles éditions africaines
Un papillon dans la cité
Gisèle Pineau – Editions Sépia
Other resources and internet sites for Reading and listening
- Articles and informational graphs and charts from French newspapers and magazines internet sites such as le Monde, Libération, l’Internaute, le Figaro to name a few.
- YouTube sites for French or Francophone songs relevant to the six themes
- AATF – YouTube site
Assessment
Oral performance – based on regular informal in-class participation along with interpersonal speaking assessments and oral presentations on cultural topics, graded using the AP scoring guidelines
Written performance – based on in-class essays and interpersonal writing assignments, graded using the AP scoring guidelines.
Reading and listening performance – based on both informal comprehension and formal multiple-choice passages in the format of the AP exam.
Teaching Strategies
A total immersion in French environment lays the groundwork for the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) that are embedded in weekly activities. I try to promote a student-centered classroom where the emphasis is on communication to help students reach higher levels of proficiency. Students receive a syllabus on the first day of the week that outlines the activities in classand describes homework. While activities vary from week to week, certain assignments and assessments are scheduled regularly, usually every week or two. These include thematic vocabulary quizzes and in-class essays that are evaluated using the AP French Language rubric. As often as possible, every activity is designed to incorporate all four skills. :
To reach higher levels of proficiencyin listening:
Our class is completely conducted in French and students use only French with me andwith one anotherwithin the classroom. Every other week, a student chooses a French thematically based song,brings it to class along with a vocabulary list of new words and a cloze activity for the rest of the students to complete. Every other year we go on a trip to France that includes a home stay with a French family. This allows students to use French in real-life situations and build friendships and connections with French families. Furthermore, it is an excellent opportunity for them to practice using French in emails, on Face book and other social media venues before and after the trip. Throughout the year, students complete formal assignments that require them to bring in a video or podcast on current events, give a resume about it and be ready to answer questions regarding the news. This can be from any of the websites on the syllabus or one of their choice. In addition, they listen to the podcasts and sound bits associated with the readings in Allons au-delà, watch French films in class and at the International film festival that takes place in our city every year.. These are followed by lively class discussions about the themes of each film and a comparison of the arts in the United States and France or the francophone world.
To reach higher levels of proficiencyin speaking:
Since French is de rigueur in our classroom, participation is expected in class discussions. Students also engage in class discussions and debates about the themes being studied or current events. Students are regularly given speaking prompts and they record their answer digitally. The prompts are usually based on the theme being studied or on a special current event in the community. Their responses are evaluated using the AP Speaking rubric, which they receive at the beginning of the year. Students receive feedback with comments and corrections. In other speaking activities students bring pictures from magazines, advertisements, etc. (or find them online) and are required to describe, hypothesize, and ask and answer questions about them. They are also assigned weekly presentations, to practice both speaking and listening presentational modes. For example they may be asked to talk about a painting of their choice by a French or francophone artist and provide information about the artist and explain why they chose it.
To reach higher levels of proficiencyin reading:
The course prepares students to use the French language in real-life settings.
Therefore, texts are drawn from a variety of authentic sources including francophone literary excerpts representing different genres, francophone newspapers and magazines from the Internet as well as novels and anthologies. Students also are assigned the short excerpts with multiple-choice questions from released AP exams as well as the ones from their texts. They are expected to support and justify their answers by referencing the text. Students typically receive participation points for this kind of activity. Assessments vary depending on the type of reading involved. For example, getting the gist is the most important criteria associated with reading magazine and newspaper articles. In more intensive reading assignments, typically literary readings, students need to understand linguistic as well as semantic detail and pay closer attention to the text. Follow-up exercises may include dictations from the text, true and false questions or short responses, group discussion of theme, and reflectionon the ideas in the text and how it relates to their own knowledge and experience. A short writing assignment often follows such discussions.
To reach higher levels of proficiencyin writing:
Students have writing tasks assigned to them at least twice a week for homework. Often these involve answering questions based on a literary reading assignment or writing a short reaction to a theme treated in a reading. For magazine or newspaper articles, they answer questions regardingthe main ideas, define new vocabulary words in French andwrite a reaction to the article. They also keep a journal about topics that vary from personal events to current events articles. I check them weekly and gradethem only for completion. However, the journals are often used as a springboard to discuss use of grammar structures, vocabulary and useful expressions. Every other week students have an in-class writing assignment related to the theme being studied or to current events. During the first semester, students are allowed to use dictionaries or vocabularies lists and have the 50 minutes class period to complete it. However, starting with the second semester, students are no longer allowed to use any resources and the essays are timed modeling the AP exam. When I first correct their writing, I include comments on the strength of theessay and indicate areas that need improvement. They have to rewrite the essays making all necessary corrections. This strategy makes them more aware of the areas where they are strong and those they need to improve. All writing is graded based on the AP rubric. In addition, students examine samples of writing of all levels that are available on the AP website and students assess them to compare their evaluation to that of the actual ones given by AP correctors.This serves as an opportunity to help students avoid certain errors and improve their writing.
General guide to thematic units
(Note: “Activities” may include journaling, interactive exercises; oral and written presentations; the use of discussion boards on GoogleClassroom; and the use of social networking to communicate with students from France)
August/September(25 days) / Contemporary life and education
• Study vocabulary associated with schools, learning and subjects.
• Read, discuss and react in writing to excerpts from L’Enfant Noir (CamaraLaye).
• Read, discuss and react to excerpts from Un papillondans la cité(GisèlePineau).
• Read about the French education system:
• Based on above and other shorter texts about educational issues, work in groups to create a presentation that compares different aspects of the French and American school systems.
• Complete listening and Internet activities from
7 Jourssur la Planète that correspond to education and other contemporary issues in the francophone world.
• Keep an interactive journal noting linguistic differences between French and English.
• Grammar review: possessive pronouns, present tense and imperative.
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing contemporary life and education.
September /October
(25 days) / Unit 2- Families and Communities
• Study vocabulary associated with family and relationships.
• Read and discussexcerptsfromUne si longue lettre (Mariama Bâ)
• Compare and contrast family structures in the US with those in francophone countries.
• Watch, discuss and react orally toa video on La piece montée
• Participate in a debate about the changing roles of families.
• Read entries about children’s lives from the site 24 heures de la vie d’un enfant and compare to their own childhood (in-class group discussion and in writing on digital discussion board)
• Grammar review: past tenses; prepositions; conjunctions.
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing families and communities.
November/December
(25 days) / Unit 3-Personal and Public Identities
• Study vocabulary associated with immigration, nationalism and patriotism.
• View excerpts concerning “multiculturalism” from the film: Paris je t’aime.
• Read and discussBeni ou le paradis privé (Azouz Bégag)and La dernière classe (Alphonse Daudet)
• Song (discussion and activities): Ma France à moi (Diam’s).
• Read and discussAux Champs (Guy de Maupassant)
• Grammar review: subjunctive and relative pronouns.
• Write a blog entry comparing and contrasting the conception of public identity in French and francophone countries with that in the United States and react to posts from other students.
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing personal and public identity.
January/February
(25 days) / Unit 4 - Global Challenges: Environment
• Study vocabulary associated with nature and environment.
• Read and discussL’Homme qui plantait les arbres (Giono).
• View and discuss film L’homme qui plantait des arbres.
• Song (discussion and activities): Aux Arbres Citoyens (Yannick Noah).
• Read, discuss and react in writing to article from “Internet Actuel” (L’homme le plus grand ennemi de la planète).
• Read and discuss the poem Soyez polis (Jacques Prévert)
• Complete listening and Internet activities from 7Jours sur la Planète that correspond to the environment.
• Grammar review: future, conditional and si clauses
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing global challenges.
February/March
(25 days) / Unit 5- Science and Technology
• Study vocabulary associated with technology and social networking.
• Read and discussLa fin des livres (Albert Robida and Octave Uzanne)
• Listen to, discuss, and completeactivities about: Internet et le piratage, Le téléphone portable, and Les roseaux sociaux (on canalacademie Internet site)
• Activities using French abbreviations for SMS (French.about.com)
• Write a blog entry addressing how the use of social networking is changing the world, and react to posts from other students.
• Grammar review: Si clauses and associated tenses
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing science and technology.
April
(15 days) / Unit 6 - Beauty and Aesthetics
• Study vocabulary associated with Beauty and aesthetics
• Read and discuss articles and watch videos from
• Listen to, discuss and complete activities on Les trésorsintimes de Monet and La fondationZinsouon canalacademie site.
• Oral presentations by students about a painting of their choice including an explanation about the style of painting and reasons they chose it.
• Read and discussLe corbeau et le renard and Le lièvre et la tortue (La Fontaine)
• Read and discuss the poem Il pleuredansmon Coeur (Verlaine)
• Complete listening and Internet activities from 7jours sur la Planète that correspond to art, beauty and aesthetics.
• Add to their interactive journal re: linguistic differences.
• Grammar review: possessive and demonstrative adjectives; descriptive adjectives and adjectiveagreement.
• Writing assignment incorporating above grammar and addressing beauty and aesthetics.
Grading
Students will be graded on the following:
- Weekly grammar and vocabulary quizzes
- Weekly class presentations
- Homework assignments
- In-class writing
- Class discussions
- End of semester and end of year assessments
AP French Language and Culture Exam Format
Section I: Multiple Choice / Approx. 95 minutes
Part A / Interpretive Communication:
Print Texts / 30 questions / 50% / Approx. 40 minutes
Part B / Interpretive Communication:
Print and Audio Texts (combined) / 35 questions / Approx. 55 minutes
Interpretive Communication:
Audio Texts
Section II: Free Response / Approx. 85 minutes
Interpersonal Writing: E-mail Reply / 1 prompt / 50% / 15 minutes
Presentational Writing: Persuasive Essay / 1 prompt / Approx. 55 minutes
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation / 5 prompts / 20 seconds for each response
Presentational Speaking: Cultural comparison / 1 prompt / 2 minutes to respond