Advanced French Reading and Vocabulary Skills
French 220
Fall 2009
Reid
T/R 2-3:15
Office Hours:  M/W 10-11and by appt.
Office: 357 Williams
438-7894
E-Mail: jhreid@ilstu.edu
Homepage: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/
Office Hours: M/W 2-3 or by appt.
Password protected materials:  userid:  jhreid,  password: reid


Advanced Reading and Vocabulary Skills will teach you how to read in ways that open you up to how others see the world and themselves.  Our goal is to learn techniques of reading that expand our awareness of others and ourselves and to open up new possibilities of thinking and acting.  The course prepares students  for the Survey of Literature courses, 221 and 222, and for more advanced courses in reading literature and culture.

In French 220, you will identify, define, and use a wide variety of French vocabulary, including the vocabulary necessary for reading, writing, and speaking thoughtfully about the three literary genres: theatre, prose, and poetry.  You will also learn methods of interpreting literary and cultural texts critically and coherently according to specific evidence from the text. 

Online English/French or French/English dictionaries:  http://www.wordreference.com/.  Look for the correct translation among a list of translations.

Online French/French Dictionary:  http://www.lexilogos.com.  When reading, look for the meaning or meanings that best fit the word in its context. 


Class Schedule

I.  Poésie

August 18 Introduction au cours et à la poésie, Introduction à la poésie (Restricted:  user userid and password listed above); Si notre vie...; "Les grenades"

August 20 « Comme on voit . . . » (copy poem and GLC, translate poem, answer questions on GLC, bring both to class), Pierre de Ronsard, GLC Ronsard, "Comme on voit..." (copy, answer questions on Critical Reading Guide (GLC) (see instructions below), memorize vocabulary, and bring to class).  Introduction à la poésie


August 25 « Demain dès l’aube », Victor Hugo (copy poem and GLC, translate poem, answer questions on GLC, bring both to class), GLC Demain dès l'aube, Copy and Bring to Class: "Common French Grammar Errors."  (copy, answer questions on Critical Reading Guide (GLC) (see instructions below), memorize vocabulary, and bring to class), Learn to correct common French errors:  1-4.  Apportez "Harmonie du soir" à cette classe.  Nous allons le lire ensemble avant la fin de la classe.

August 27  "Harmonie du soir," Charles Baudelaire, Learn to correct common French errors:  5-8, GLC Harmonie Copy and Bring to Class:  Literary Tenses


September 1 "Les Fenêtres,” Charles Baudelaire [click on "table des matières," far left, then find poem] (Copy poem and GLC, answer questions, bring both to class (same from now on),  GLC Les Fenêtres, Carlut (Relative Pronouns) 135-41, 142-45,  Devoirs écrites 301-02 Ex. A-C, Copy and Bring to Class: Worksheet Relative Pronouns,  Worksheet Relative Pronouns II,  See Topics for First Essay (Web)

September 3  « Il pleure dans mon cœur » Paul Verlaine, GLC Il pleure, Essay Writing Guidelines Poetry, Choice of Poems for Essay

 
September 8 « Le Dormeur du val », Arthur Rimbaud, GLC Dormeur, Carlut (Subjunctive) 148-50, Devoirs écrites 302-03 Ex. D, 305-06 Ex. A,  Grammar Review, Learn to correct common French errors:  9-12

September 10 Quiz I (includes all GLC vocabulary and questions, common French errors up to class before quiz, and L'introduction à la poésie), Carlut 151-61, Devoirs écrites306-08, Ex. B-D
 

September 14 FIRST ESSAY DUE

September 15 « Le Horla », Guy de Maupassant, 17-22, Introduction à la prose, GLC "Le Horla" I, Learn to correct common French errors:  13-16, Copy and Bring to Class:  Review table Subjunctive/Infinitive,  Worksheet Subjunctive: Past/Present/Infinitive (copy and bring to class)

September 17 « Horla » 22-26, GLC "Le Horla" II, Copy and Bring to Class: Worksheet Subjunctive/Indicative (copy and bring to class)


September 22 « Horla » 26-30, GLC "Le Horla" III, Copy and Bring to Class:  Worksheet Subjunctive Superlative (copy and bring to class); Copiez:  Introduction au roman

September 24 « Horla » 30-37, GLC "Le Horla" IV, Carlut 162-65, (Articles) 169-77, Devoirs écrites309-10 Ex. A-C,  Copy, Learn, and Bring to Class:  French Articles,  Learn to correct common French errors: 17-20, 


September 29 « Horla » 37-41, GLC "Le Horla" V, Articles Worksheet I (copy and bring to class), Learn to correct common French errors:  21-23.

October 1 « Horla » 41-46, GLC "Le Horla" VI, Copy and Bring to Class:  Articles Worksheet II, and Essay Writing Guidelines


October 6 « Horla » 46-51, GLC "Le Horla" VII, Carlut 179-82, (Indefinite Pronouns) 186-91, 193-96, (Passive) 200-06 Voix passive, Devoirs écrites 313-15 Ex. A-C.

October 8 « Horla » 51-56, GLC "Le Horla" VIII; Essay Topics: Horla


October 13 Quiz II, Grammaire (includes all GLC vocabulary and questions, common French errors up to class before quiz, and L'introduction à la prose), Carlut (Causative "faire") 206-09, 210-12, Devoirs écrites 317-20 Ex. A-D

October 15 Le jeu de l'amour et du hasard, Marivaux, GLC Jeu I COPIEZ TEXTE Acte I scène 1 Introduction au théâtre


October 19 Second Essay Due

October 20  Jeu scènes 2-4 [2-3], GLC Jeu II;

October 22 Jeu scènes 5-7[4-6], GLC Jeu III Carlut (devoir) 216-25, Devoirs écrites 321-23 Ex. A-C, Résumé devoir


October 27 Jeu scènes 8-10[6-9], GLC Jeu IV

October 29 Jeu , Acte II scènes 1-7, GLC Jeu V, Carlut (prépositions de lieu, verbes plus prépositions) 228-40,  Devoirs écrites 325-26 Ex. A-B, 


November 3  Jeu scènes 8-10, GLC Jeu VI

November 5 Quiz III (includes all GLC vocabulary and questions, common French errors up to class before quiz, and L'introduction au théâtre), Carlut (Il est vs. C'est) 236-46, Devoirs écrites 326-27 Ex. C-D,    


November 10 Jeu scènes 11-13, GLC Jeu VII, Essay Topics:  Jeu

November 12 Jeu Acte III, scènes 1-4; GLC Jeu VIII, Carlut  250-64, 266-68 Devoirs écrites 329-32 Ex. A-E


November 17 Jeu scènes 5-7, GLC Jeu IX

November 19 Jeu scènes 8-scène dernière, GLX Jeu X


November 21-November 29 Thanksgiving Vacation


December 1 Quiz, Review

December 2 Third Essay Due

December 3  Review,


December 7, Monday, 3:10-5:10 p.m. Final Exam


French Poems On-line:

http://poesie.webnet.fr/lesgrandsclassiques/poemes/liste_auteurs_a.html (French poems before 20th century.  Click on "Author" at top, then look for poets you know).

http://un2sg4.unige.ch/athena/baudelaire/spleen/baud_ppp_frame0.html (Baudelaire's prose poems)

Required Texts:

Carlut, Charles, Walter Meiden. French for Oral and Written Review. 5th Ed. New
     York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993
de Maupassant, Guy.  Le Horla et autres nouvelles fantastiques.  Paris :  Pocket, 2006
Racine, Jean. Phèdre.  Paris :  Librio, 1999.
A full size, hardcover, English/French dictionary, preferably Collins/Robert ($20),
      Hachette, Larousse, or Harraps

(To buy books online:  Barnes and Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com), Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com), and Borders.com (http://www.borders.com)..

Your responsibilities as a student in this course:

A) Before Class (You will probably need to spend between 2-3 hours preparing for each class, by completing the assigned reading, writing answers to the homework questions, reviewing grammar, and doing exercises)


1) Reading and Critical Reading Guides:

Before the class for which a specific reading is assigned, you are responsible for:

*       arriving at an overall interpretation of the assigned reading passage

*       answering fully the questions on the Guide de Lecture Critique (GLC),  Critical Reading Guides must be copied from the "Advanced Reading" homepage.  YOU MUST TYPE YOUR ANSWERS.

*       supporting your interpretation with concrete references to the text and solid reasons. 

*       contacting me (by e-mail, phone, office visit) if you do not understand a reading or a question.

Read the poems, passages, or scenes assigned for that day before coming to class. Suggested reading technique:

*       First read quickly the entire assigned poem or passage of play or short story.  Try to get a general idea of what is going on without looking up most words you do not know. Look up only those words necessary to get a general idea of what the poem or passage is saying.

*       Second, reread it.  Look up only those words necessary to arrive at a critical understanding of the overall gist of the poem or passage. Underline words you look up and put the translation in the margin.

*       Third, reread the poem or passage again in order to answer the questions on the vocabulary/question sheets. The purpose of the questions on the Critical Reading Guide is to help you understand (and summarize) the overall thrust of the poem or passage and guide you in reading them critically. You may write these answers in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

Either copy the question sheet and fill in your answers by hand or copy it to Microsoft Word and type in your answers.  Do not give me answers that are not preceded by the questions.

During class you should correct you answers or add to them, but in a different color ink or pencil.  Do not erase answers, cross them out. I will give you partial credit for all additions or corrections made in class. In class we may not cover all written questions.   YOU WILL RECEIVE 75% CREDIT FOR ANSWERS ADDED IN CLASS.

Hand in your answers at the end of each class. I will give you a 10 (out of 10) if all the questions are answered adequately, a 6-8 if only some of the questions are answered and/or if all the answers show a minimum of thought, and a 0 if they are not turned in. If you are absent, you may turn the questions into me at least an hour before the next class day and you will receive full credit. Questions turned in later than that will receive a maximum of 80%.  It is to your advantage to do them, not only because of the credit, but because they will help you prepare the quiz, the final exam, and the writing of your paper.

In class, I will expect you to be able to summarize the crucial events narrated or things described in the text. I will not assume that you can answer all the questions on the Critical Reading Guide sufficiently, but I will assume that you can locate the part of the text to which each question refers, provide a thoughtful answer to all questions, and make progress over the course of the semester in arriving at convincing answers. 

Our class discussion will concentrate on the poem or passage to which the questions on the vocabulary/question sheets refer, but we may discuss different questions from the ones on the Guides.  For this reason it is essential for you to learn to take notes in class in order to prepare the quizzes, the final exam, and your essays.

Read ahead. Some assignments, particularly the prose readings, are much longer and more difficult.

You need not read the editors' commentaries on texts, the author's biography, or the summary of his critical theories, unless they are specifically assigned or you find them useful. Do not use this material to explain the text, but rather to suggest possible ways of reading them. We are not primarily concerned with what a biographer or critic has to say about these texts, but with your learning to identify the questions that the texts themselves raise and the ways in which they answer (or do not answer) these questions.


2) Vocabulary:

Before reading and coming to class, define and memorize all assigned vocabulary on the vocabulary/question sheets and all bolded vocabulary in the readings on the three genres. You should buy or borrow a large English/French Dictionary. Ideally you should write a sentence with each vocabulary item.

Combine memorization with reading a text or passage, since you will understand the vocabulary to be memorized better in its written context.


3) Difficult phrases:

Before the class for which readings are assigned, you should find out (from me or someone else) how to read sentences that you cannot interpret on your own.

Mark or jot down any difficult phrases in the reading and ask me for help in class.


4) Grammar:

Before the class for which they are assigned, you should learn how to interpret and use assigned grammar structures in your reading:

*      Read all assigned grammar explanations and write answers to all assigned grammar exercises (in Carlut and on worksheets) before coming to class on the day they are assigned.  Write your answers in the book or photocopy the exercises and write them on the photocopies.  Do not write them on a blank sheet of paper.

*       After you have written all the answers for an entire exercise, then, and only then, correct your answers according to the correction sheets that I have put on line.  Copy them from the homepage. Circle the errors and write the correct answers alongside.

We will review the grammar on those days marked "Grammar Review." Come to class with any questions that you may have about the exercises, since there will be time in class only to discuss the most difficult grammatical questions. There will not be enough class time to cover all exercises.

If you do not understand in-class grammar explanations or if a grammar point covered in the reading is not discussed in class, you may write me by e-mail, see me during my office hours, or make an appointment. Grammar points will be tested on the quizzes and on the final examination. The writing of exercises, even when you are reasonably certain that you know a grammar point, will greatly increase your performance on quizzes, exams, essays, and even in speaking.

Keep your grammar exercises together in the book, a folder, or a notebook and bring them to all quizzes. While you are answering quizzes I will check that the grammar exercises are done and that you are circling and correcting the errors. If all exercises are done and corrected, I will give you a 5 (out of 5 total points).


 5) Quizzes:

Quizzes are a means by which I ensure that you are continuously learning.

In order to prepare for quizzes, review the assigned grammar and exercises, vocabulary, your Reading Guides and your class notes before taking the quiz.

The quiz will test all vocabulary, bolded genre terms, grammar, and readings for the days marked in parentheses. Although the quiz will emphasize grammar points and texts discussed in class, there will sometimes be grammar review questions on material read but not discussed in class. You may make up the quiz up to two hours before the next class day, but you must find a time that is convenient for me.


6) Essays:

I expect you to turn in on time well-thought-out, coherent, and persuasive essays, that include supporting evidence from the text and a reasoned explanation why this evidence supports your conclusions. You are also responsible for using a good dictionary to correct your spelling and for using a grammar text to correct your grammar.

Write three essays, 3-4 pages (750-1000 words) each. You will find a choice of topics linked to the syllabus. These topics will involve a critical examination of an entire text or a passage. Specific guidelines for the writing of the essay can be found on on-line syllabus.  If you wish to do a different topic, you must see me first.

There will be two drafts of the first two essays.  You will thus be graded twice on grammar, content, and composition. Composition is an invaluable means of teaching you to relate logically your different ideas about a text and arrive at a coherent interpretation that persuades others to share your point of view.  Both drafts will count 50% of the final grade so the first draft should be the best you can do.  A "B" on a rough draft does not ensure a "B" on the final draft.  The final draft must show evidence of an intelligent reaction to the comments on the first draft as well as substantial improvement since the first draft.

You are required to spell and grammar check all drafts of your paper before turning them in.  If you do not have the French spell and grammar check on your home computer, you can do soin the foreign languages computer lab (STV 227b).  See me or someone in the computer lab for help if you do not know how to convert a file made with a word processor other than Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.


7) Essay Writing and Correction:

a)  First Draft:

*       Print out from class homepage "Essay Writing Guidelines."  Use these instructions to organize your essay.

*       Print out from my class homepage "Common French Grammatical Errors."   Check over your essay for any of these commons errors.

*       Type in all accents. Instructions for Microsoft Word Accents

*       Do the spell and grammar check (STV 227b).

*       Turn all drafts of previous papers and this paper in a folder.

 

b) Second Draft

*       First, correct the grammar errors on the first draft. Write corrections near the words or in the margins. Grammar errors will be circled with abbreviations identifying the error.  In order to correct the errors, print off of my homepage "Grammatical Correction Abbreviations" and use it to identify the abbreviations.  Consult a grammar text or me if you have difficulties correcting the problem.

*       Print out from my homepage "Frequent Error List."   Fill in the quantity of each type of grammar error (not the errors themselves) that you have made under the appropriate essay number (such as, across  from "Conj" write  5 if I marked 5 conjugation errors). 

*       Then, rewrite your paper according to the comments on composition and content. Comments will be made on composition and content by a peer editor and by myself.   Print off of my homepage "Composition Correction Abbreviations and Suggestions" and use it to help you respond to the composition criticisms and suggestions.

*       When you write entirely new sentences, watch out for and correct any repetitions of the same grammar errors that you made on the first draft.

*       Check out the second draft on the Microsoft Word Spell and Grammar Check.

Turn in your second draft in your folder, with all previous papers and drafts, one week after you receive the corrected and commented first draft.  This folder should include:

bullet the second draft,
bullet the first draft,
bullet all drafts of previous papers,
bullet the filled out frequent error list.


B) In Class

Quizzes are often based on class discussion.  Essays should take into account class discussion.   So take notes!

1) Notes:

In class, take notes on the discussion of genre terms and readings, whether or not this discussion is based on the vocabulary/question sheets. These notes, along with your answers to the questions, will be indispensable for preparing the quizzes, essays, and final exam.

2) Participation:

A major goal of this course is for you to improve your skills in interpreting texts and in speaking French by participating in class.

Each day, you will receive a grade from 0 (absent) to 5 for class participation. A 5 assumes that you have come to class prepared to summarize and interpret the passage, that you participate seriously and intelligently in class, that you speak only in French, and that you show progress in critical reading.


C) Absences

I will expect you to complete all assignments on the syllabus or made in class, whether or not you are present when the an in-class assignment is made.

All changes in assignments will posted on the "Advanced Reading" syllabus web page.   If you are absent, you should get notes from someone else in the class. You will receive a 0 for class participation on days that you are absent, unless you provide me with a formal doctor's excuse or a printed obituary notice. In that case, I will give you your average participation grade for the absent day.


D) Final Exam

The final exam is a means by which I test your improvement in describing and interpreting works from each of the three genres, as well as your use of assigned grammar.

The final exam is based on all vocabulary/question sheets, assigned readings, class discussion, grammar, and vocabulary. The primary (but not exclusive) emphasis of the final exam will once again be on the literary texts and the grammar studied in class. Your revised class answers and notes, as well as your quizzes, will be critical in preparing this exam.


E) Grading Policy:

1) class participation (15%)
2) grammar exercises (5%)
3) Critical Reading Guides (20%)
4) papers (1/3 argument, 1/3 composition, 1/3 grammar) (30%)
5) quizzes, lowest dropped (15%)
6) final exam (15%)

You may ask me at any time to compute your class participation grades and approximate final grades.

At the end of the semester, I reserve the right to raise a student's grade if I judge that his or her performance in class and/or on essays has been outstanding or shown exceptional progress.

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, pagers, 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.

 

Poème:  "Une Charogne," Baudelaire, (on Web),  GLC Baudelaire, "Une Charogne".