AP French Language Syllabus
Course overview:
French 3 is a prerequisite to the AP course. The AP is much more advanced than the French 3 curriculum. Therefore, students need to be encouraged and willing to maintain their French skills over the summer. They check out Une Fois pour toutes, a good dictionary, and their selection of reading books, newspapers, and magazines from the teacher’s varied collection. They read their chosen materials, use the French sound track of DVDs at home, and maybe even begin reviewing grammar topics in Une Fois. At the start of the fall semester of AP students can’t be expected to have any material “officially” reviewed from what would be a level 4 course which our school does not offer. So the syllabus shows that all topics in Une Fois will be revisited during the actual course. In the meantime, the teacher sets up at least three summer and seven fall meetings or social occasions in order to practice French speaking skills. Attendance is expected and is intended to develop camaraderie, to share reading materials, to enjoy speaking French – all to help students maintain skills and enthusiasm for French in anticipation of the AP course.
The language used by teacher and students throughout the course as well as the summer and fall meetings is French. In addition, students are expected to use French outside of class with peers and, whenever feasible, with other Francophone faculty, family, and community members. They will add their reports of such experiences to class discussion.
Instructional resources:
Students have access to a wide variety of materials and technology beyond the primary materials the school provides each individual. These include the teacher’s extensive collection of authentic reading, viewing, and listening materials, the internet and Audacity recording capacity, various college materials, reference books, and teacher-created materials.
Primary materials:
- Ladd, Richard & Girard, Colette. (1998). AP French: Preparing for the Language Examination (2nd ed.). Glenview, Illinois: Addison Wesley – Longman.
- Sturges, Hale, Cregg Nielsen, Linda & Herbst, Henry L. (1992). Une Fois pour toutes (2e éd.). White PlainsNY: Longman.
- Colburn, Jean H. (1989). Let’s Talk Cards. ReadingMA: Addison-Wesley
- Black, Catherine, Chaput, Louise & Tremblay, Victor-Laurent. (2005). Invitation à écrire. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
- Lenard, Yvonne. (2005). Trésors du temps. Columbus: McGraw-Hill.
- Atkins, Beryl T. et al. (1993). Collins Robert French/English Dictionary (2nd ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers and Dictionnaires Le Robert.
- Assessment rubrics (Intermediate-Mid and Pre-advanced Presentational, Interpretive, Interpersonal Modes) of the Consortium for Assessing Performance Standards (CAPS). New Jersey.
Main supplementary materials:
- Siskin, Jay H. & Krueger, Cheryl. (2001). Entretiens (2e éd.). Fort Worth: Harcourt.
- Vigourt, Marielle & Zimmerman, Joelle. (1994). Listening Comprehension skills for Intermediate and Advanced Students. White PlainsNY: Longman.
- Fiber Luce, Louise. (1995). Littératures en contexte: Le Monde Francophone. Fort Worth: Harcourt .
- Budig-Markin, Valérie & Gaasch, James. (1995) Diversité: la Nouvelle Francophonie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- Mortimer, Mildred P. (1972). Contes Africains. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- Amiry, Laila. (2004). How to Prepare for the AP French Exam (2nd ed.). HauppaugeNY: Barron’s Educational Series.
- Shein, Françoise. (2006). French Four Years: Advanced French with AP component.New York: AmscoSchool Publications.
- Released AP exams from prior years
- Le Français dans le monde, No 349-351 with audio CD
Authentic materials for additional reading, listening, and speaking activities:
- le Journal Français d’Amérique (historical/cultural articles glossed and non-glossed, from back issues)
- Current subscriptions:
- France-Amérique
- Ça m’intéresse
- Elle à Table
- Paris-Match
- Chez Nous, Scholastic Magazines
- Molière, Le Médecin Malgré Lui, Classiques Larousse
- Simenon, Maigret, (1934), Presses Pocket
Useful Internet sites:
(weeks 10 and 18)
(weeks 10 and 18)
(week 32)
(weeks 20, 28, 32)
(week 1-2)
(week 1-2)
(reference)
(reference)
(weeks 10 and 18)
(weeks 10and 18)
(Tennessee Bob)
(reference)
(weeks 10 and 18)
(weeks 10 and 18)
Films:
- Jean de Florette
- Manon des Sources
- Ponette
- Jacquot
- Les Triplettes de Belleville
- Être et avoir
- Kirikou
- La Rue Cases Nègres
- French in Action (1987)
- Faces of the Holocaust: Marcel Jabelot
Speaking:
Virtually all interaction in class is in French, except perhaps for some grammar clarification. To ensure the development of pre-advanced proficiency, students role play situations (25 advanced Let’s Talk Cards) which use different registers, topics, settings, and types of discourse. Discussion includes cultural contexts and linguistic variations that apply. Additionally, students respond to conversational prompts such as interviews, debates, and story telling. They develop questioning strategies from simple to higher order and discourse strategies to sustain conversation, using rich,idiomatic vocabulary with accurate syntax.
Listening:
Students have daily exposure to both text-based activities and authentic listening tasks. Via the internet, they view and hear streaming video and audio of the news, film trailers, and music videos. Full length versions of several films and clips of others will be used.
Listening is almost always integrated with at least one other skill. Most often, all four skills are used to exploit a listening task.
Reading:
Beginning in the summer and continuing throughout the course, students are responsible for independent reading outside of class. Current magazines and newspapers, internet sites of personal interest, and books from the teacher’s collection are among the authentic materials available. These vary widely. Some examples are: Asterix, le Petit Nicolas, les contesby Maupassant, Viou by Troyet, Un Papillon dans la Citéby Gisèle Pineau, and Le Rouge et le noir by Stendal. Because they have different interests, onceduring the course, they are given a choice of either a play or a polar to be read and discussed in a small group. Each group acts out a scene from their book with attention to historical and cultural langage of these two very different pieces of literature. Shorter readings chosen by the teacher serve as a starting point to class discussion, analysis of syntax and structures, and a source for vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Twice during the course, each student will find, read, summarize, and present to peers two articles of current or cultural interest using internet and print sources.
Writing:
Students write frequently and in a variety of ways. These include long paragraph descriptions, narratives, compare/contrast essays, a persuasive essay, letters, emails, invitation, dialog, reviews of film, book, and music video, le compte rendu, reflections, and AP prompts. In a binder, they keep close track of new thematic vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, useful conjunctions and structures and solutions to their writing errors. The text Invitation à écrire is a Canadian publication (100% in French) that emphasizes group work, text revision, and step-by-step learning.
Example of an integrated skills unit:
Students will view the documentary film Visages de la Shoah: Marcel Jabelot,which lends itself to both speaking and writing follow-up. Before viewingthis film, students read Barnett’s book including the background materials. Class discussion centers on the Questions de compréhension. Then contact is made, through the local Groupe français and the Alliance Française, they write letters to WW II era French people living in our area. They explain and share their thoughts about the film and invite a reply from them. Continued contact via email, snail mail, or even face-to-face meetings can be arranged. This unit involved all of the 5 C’s and all three modes (interpretive, interpersonal, presentation).
Time period / THEMES / PROJECTS / FUNCTIONS / MATERIALS /ACTIVITIES(N.B. The order of Une Fois chapter review may change as needs become evident, but students will work independently to review and practice after a 30 minute weekly chapter overview by the teacher. At least twice weekly, students will use Let’s Talk Cards for conversation using different contexts, functions, and registers.)
Week 1-2 / Theme: Allons au cinéma
- organiser des projets,
- décrire,
Week 3-4 / (suite) / Une Fois 2 et 11(conjunctions), listening activities from AP French writing: Invitationapplication exercises: améliorer son style
Week 5-6 / Film: Jean de Florette
- raconter
- résumer
Week 7-8 / Film: Jean de Florette (suite)
- raconter
- exprimer son opinion
- prédire
Week 9-10 / Individual project: Two self-selected cultural or current event articles from available print or website research
- chercher
- lire
- présenter un résumé à l’orale
- exprimer son opinion
AP French: readings, picture sequences for speaking
11-12 / Film: Manon des Sources / Une Fois 6, Invitation (Ch 3 – le récit), 200 word essay (narrative/summarize),
Week 13-14 / Project: Play or polar (2 small reading groups: le Médicin Malgré Lui or Maigret) / Une Fois 7, listening activities from AP French and LC Skills,
Week 15-16 / (suite) / Une Fois 8, Invitation (Ch 4 – le compte rendu), 3 paragraph essay (expository), small group presentation of a scene from the play or polar
Week 17-18 / Individual project: Two self-selected cultural or current event articles from available print or website research
- chercher
- lire
- présenter un résumé à l’orale
- exprimer son opinion
Exam Day / Midterm exam / Speaking sample, writing sample, multi-choice (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary)
Week 19-20 / (suite) / Une Fois 10, listening activities from AP French and LC Skills
Week 22-22 / Film: Kirikou / Une Fois 12, longer essay in class without aids with time limit, listening activities from AP French and LC Skills
Week 23-24 / Film, book, letter: Visages de la Shoah: Marcel Jabelot / View, listen, read along, discuss the documentary. AP French: function words, verbs, reading practice, writing: letter to local WW II era French people sharing thoughts about Jabelot’s experiences
First Saturday in March / Language EXPO at UNM, 9am – 1 pm / Une bonne occasion de rencontrer d’autres francophones, de découvrir des gens d’autres cultures et d’autres langues, de goûter la cuisine internationale
Week 25-26 / Test Trial run and practice / AP French: function words, verbs, reading practice. Complete battery practice AP exam using the computer application Audacity to record speaking
Week 27-28 / History, literature, art – 19th Century France / Une Fois review, longer essay without aids with time limit (AP prompt), Trésors du Temps (Ch. 11)
Week 29-30 / History, literature, art –
20th Century France / Longer essay without aids with time limit (AP prompt), Trésors du Temps (Ch. 12)
Week 31 / AP French language exam
Week 32-33 / La Musique francophone / (Post AP exam) Topics and materials by group consensus, for example:
View French in Action videos, listen/read/discuss music lyrics, enjoyable reading and speaking activities
Exam day / Final exam / Speaking sample, writing sample, multi-choice (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary)
Assessment:
Weekly Speaking: (graded using the Pre-Advanced Interpersonal Rubric)
- Discussion in class (quantity and quality of contributions)
- Paired scenarios (Let’s Talk Cards)
Weekly Writing
- Paragraphs and essays
- Exercises, summaries, etc.
Weekly quizzes (grammar and vocabulary)
- Une Fois chapters
Two Individual projects with integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking):
- Print or web research projects (interpretive and presentational modes)
One small group presentation of a scene from the play or polar
- act out a scene
Final exam:
- Speaking sample,
- Writing sample,
- Multi-choice (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary)