Instructor:   James H. Reid                                            E-mail: jhreid@ilstu.edu

Office:  WIL 357          Office Phone:  438-7894          Office Hrs: Mon./Wed. 3-4 p.m.

Messages:  FL Dept. 438-3604       

homepage:  http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid 

• Grammatical Correction Abbreviations 

• Content correction signs

• Common French Grammatical Errors

• Passé Composé vs.Imparfait

• Contemporary French Culture Links

• Frequent Error List

• Grammar Review Sheets

• Comment taper les accents dans Microsoft Word

• Système scolaire français

• French Media on-line (TV,Newspapers,Magazines,Radio)

Espaces, Cherie Mitschke, Cheryl Tano, & Valérie Thiers-Thiam, and its accompanying Workbook and Answer Key, plus video/audio CDs.  These materials are available at the Alamo II on North St. and the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the Bone Student Center.

DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES: French 112 is the second half of the introductory course in French.  Students are expected to have knowledge of the basics of French (FR 111 or its equivalent; 2 yrs of high school French).  In this course, our main goal will be to expand our ability to communicate in French by speaking, listening, reading, or writing and to understand and speak critically about Francophone culture.  In order to meet these objectives, students are required:

1.      to study outside of class (daily preparation/homework/labs),

2.      to attend classes regularly, and

3.      to participate fully in class activities.

PLACEMENT:  Students who have recently and successfully completed three or more solid years of high school French should strongly consider enrolling in 115.  Contrary to popular belief, taking 112 with the experience of three or more years of high school French will not necessarily lead to your ultimate success. 

Horaire (Schedule—Calendar of Assignments and Exams)

DEPARTMENTAL POLICY:

1.         Grading:  Your class grade is divided as follows:

                         *Class Participation and Daily Preparation                                15%
                        *Daily Homework, Quizzes, & Workbook Exercises                15%
                        *Oral Tests (2)                                                                         10%
                        *Lesson épreuves  (12)                                                            30%
                        *Multi-unit tests (2)                                                                  15%
                        *Final Exam                                                                             15%

                         Grading Scale:   A=100-90   B=89-80   C=79-70   D=69-60   F=Below 60

 2.         Class participation, daily preparation, and attendance:

 Learning a foreign language is highly interactive and hands on, so it is essential to attend class regularly. For the purposes of participation grades, department policy is not to distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. If you are not in class, you are not participating; you will be graded for your participation only on the days you were in class each week period.  Also, if you are consistently late to class, this also affects your participation grade.

Late homework will not be accepted and there are no make-ups for missed quizzes or épreuves.  However, the lowest quiz and épreuve grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.  At the discretion of your instructor, the multi-unit tests may be made up within a reasonable time with a valid, documented excuse.  Prescriptions are not valid, documented excuses.

Students are responsible for learning all new vocabulary and grammar, for studying the assigned material, and for writing out assigned exercises before class time. Most of class time will be spent on putting the material into use in French. Detailed grammatical explanations are in English in the book.  It is essential to read and understand these explanations before class to avoid confusion during class time.  Be sure to ask your questions!

If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what material was covered during your absence and what assignments are due next class.  Therefore, exchange phone or e-mail information with 2 classmates so that you won’t get behind.

 3.         Participation/Attendance Grading Criteria:

I will assign daily participation grades according to four sets of criteria:  attendance/tardiness, use of the target language, effort, and class participation. 

Class participation will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

5 points

·        consistently engaged in class and partner activities and volunteers answers and participates with examples in French

• listens attentively and responds appropriately to others in French 
• strong effort to work within the contexts given for class activities
• uses “off time” (time after having finished activities) to chat primarily in French or to go over activity again
• asks clarification questions to teacher and students in order to negotiate meaning

4 points

• mostly engaged in class and partner activities and sometimes volunteers answers in French or participates in examples
• listens attentively and responds appropriately to others in French
• good effort to work within the contexts given
• sometimes uses “off time” to chat in French or English or to repeat activity in French
• sometimes asks clarification questions in order to negotiate meaning

3 points

• engaged in activities but rarely volunteers answers or participates in examples in French.
• listens attentively to others and responds somewhat appropriately
• uses “off time” to chat usually in English or sometimes repeats activity with partner
• rarely asks clarification questions but makes an effort to follow along with the class

2 points

• slightly engaged in class activities and does not volunteer answers or participate in examples
• listens to what others say but rarely attempts to respond appropriately
• ineffective use of “off time”
• shows some effort to follow along with the class but does not ask clarification questions

1 point

• not engaged in class or partner activities and does not volunteer answers or participate in examples
• listens in class but does not attempt to respond appropriately to others
• shows little to no effort to follow along with the class or to ask clarification questions
• more than 5 minutes late every day

0 points:

• Absent from class
• More than 15 minutes late for class more than two times during the week.
• Students who are absent from class are responsible for making up what they missed outside of class. For the purpose of participation grades, the department does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. In other words, if you are not in class, you cannot receive participation points.  However, with a valid documented excuse, homework can be turned in late for full credit.  This is determined on an individual basis and is at the discretion of the instructor.

4.         Homework/Audio Exercises:

A)  Homework:  On the class schedule you will find graded and non-graded exercises ias homework and
     preparation for each class (see the date of that class).  These exercises will help you and your instructor evaluate your progress.  
     Assignments must be completed and handed in on time.  No credit will be given for late assignments and the instructor is under no
     obligation to accept overdue assignments.

B) Workbook/Video Manuals:  Learning a foreign language obviously involves the development of listening skills, so it is important to do the workbook, audio, and video exercises for each lesson.  You will have two CDs, one that contains the video you will be studying, and one that gives the audio for all the listening exercises in the book.  You will be responsible for doing all the exercises, as given by your instructor.   You must bring your two workbooks to each épreuve.  There is no room for being late in this schedule, so plan accordingly.  Instructors will only accept workbooks on Mondays.

 The Workbook Grading Rubric: The grade is based on overall effort, including the level of completion and the accuracy of corrections.  You should use a different color of ink so that the corrections are easy to see.  The criteria are as follows:

 5.          Exams: The dates of all exams are indicated on the schedule.  There will be twelve shorter tests (épreuves), one for each lesson and two multi-unit tests for units 8-10 and units 11-13.   All exams will include listening comprehension, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar, as well as aspects of culture.

 *Absences on exam dates will not be tolerated.  For specific cases only, make-up arrangements are at the instructor’s discretion and will be discussed on an individual basis before the date of the exam.

 Oral Exams: In this class, you will learn to speak another language.  This is an exciting prospect, but in order to accomplish this goal, you have to talk!  For some of you, this is not a problem; for others, this will be a challenge.  The goal is to speak regardless of any mistakes you make in the process.  Errors are a natural part of the language learning process. With practice, you will learn to catch those errors and monitor for them.  So, you will be graded on your continual effort much more than on how perfectly you speak through your participation grade.  Of course, you will be expected to make progress; you cannot expect to get a good grade if there is no progress.  Two oral tests will serve to evaluate your overall ability to communicate ideas in grammatically correct forms.

 6.  Final Written Exam:  A comprehensive two-hour final exam for units 8-14 will be given at 10 a.m. on December 8th, 2007. 

 **The university will accommodate within reason, students who are unable to take examinations on the scheduled day for religious reasons.  Students should consult in advance with their instructor about alternative arrangements. 

 NOTES TO THE STUDENT

• Academic Dishonesty:  Cheating and Plagiarism WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.  See ISU Student Handbook, page 9.  Graded exercises—including homework and lab—are to be individual work.

•  Students are expected to behave in a manner consistent with being in a professional environment.  Open discussion and disagreement are encouraged in a respectful manner.  Open hostility, rudeness, and incivility are discouraged and will result in appropriate action.  Mechanical disruptions (cell phones, pages, electronic toys, music players, etc.) are also strongly discouraged.

• Students acting in a disruptive or uncivil manner may be dismissed from the class for the remainder of the class period.  If necessary, referrals may also be made to Community Rights & Responsibilities for violations of the Code of Student Conduct.

•  Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).

•  Pay attention to course/university withdrawal dates.  The last day to withdraw (WX) from this course is Friday, February 9, 2007.

• Students are encouraged to seek help outside of class during instructor office hours.  In addition, the department provides free tutoring hours in WIL 1F; a schedule will be posted.  You can also ask about a tutor in the Department Office, WIL 329, or in the University Center for Learning Assistance, WIL 301.

•  If students have problems/concerns with the instructor’s performance, they are encouraged to talk to their instructor honestly about it.  Students may also contact the Department Chair in WIL 32