Ms. Candace Ryan

FRENCH I, II, III, and AP

Ocoee High School 2015-2016

Welcome to my French class! Please take the time to read this important letter with your student. I discuss the importance of language learning as well as my expectations for the school year. I hope you find this useful and informative. There are so many things to share with you and your student, but here are the basics…

Did you know that you all already speak quite a bit of French? 33% of the English language derives from French, so you’ve already accomplished quite a bit!

French is not just an elective class. It is as vital to your student’s life as math, English, science and history, if not moreso. Why? Because (according to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of France)…

…more than 200 million people speak French on the five continents. The Francophonie, the international organization of French-speaking countries, comprises 68 states and governments. French is the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the ninth most widely spoken language in the world. French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language courses for more than 750,000 learners.

…an ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. Knowledge of French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking parts of the world (Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, and North and sub-Saharan Africa). As the world’s fifth biggest economy and number-three destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic partner.

…French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture.

…and, after English and German, French is the third most used language on the Internet, ahead of Spanish. An ability to understand French offers an alternative view of the world through communication with French speakers from all the continents and news from the leading French-language international media (TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale).

I wanted to let you know, as someone who cares about your student’s learning, that students of foreign language classes must know how to effectively study for assessments. At the beginning of every unit, I provide students with the unit essentials to serve as the expectations in the unit as well as a study guide for the unit exam. (All information can be found on my website: I quiz the class very frequently on smaller lessons as we progress through the unit in order to efficiently and effectively prepare for the comprehensive unit exam.

Your student’s French notebook serves as a great review tool, in which your student should have written all required vocabulary, taken daily notes and done daily practice exercises. It is very important that your student knows how to adapt his/her study habits for a foreign language. (S)he must review vocabulary and notes daily (at home) and if appropriate/necessary, copy the vocabulary as many times as needed in order to memorize the spelling of a word, phrase or verb conjugation. Self-assessing at home is the key to making sure your student succeeds in the foreign language classroom. (S)he should do “drills” in order to test their mastery. There is no guessing in foreign language… and spelling always counts! We are a “digital” school, however, handwritten practice for this class is obligatory.

Your student will be assessed in four ways on each unit: speaking, writing, listening and reading. A speaking assessment is an oral presentation, such as explaining, presenting or conversing about the lesson to me or with another student/group of students. A writing assessment is a brief paragraph or several sentences on the lesson. A listening assessment is when the student listens to me or a recording and answers questions about what he/she heard. A reading assessment will be a brief paragraph or short story with reading comprehension questions at the end of the selection. This is a comprehensive way of assessing your student’s learning. Multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank does not accurately indicate how well a student is actually learning, so this will be used very infrequently. Every 9-week grading period your student will have a digital project to do as well. This may include writing a newsletter, recording a commercial, doing a restaurant role play or creating a travel brochure. I use real-life situations and current topics to make your student a 21st century language learner who is a global citizen.

Every student is required to join my French “Edmodo” group. Every assignment, practice exercise and assessment reminder will be posted on Edmodo. Your student should check Edmodo EVERY DAY for updates and information. For general information throughout the school year, students will need to access the website (see above link.) This is a way that your student can communicate with me and his/her classmates with appropriate, school-related information or questions. You and your student can also contact me directly through email at . I will reply within 48 hours.

There are very useful and fun websites such as “Quizlet.com” that help your student review specific lessons through games. There are also websites that can help your student learn general vocabulary and boost comprehension in order to achieve fluency such as “tv5monde.org”, “yabla.com” and “Disney.fr”. A very fun free app for language learning is “Duolingo”, which can be played on a smartphone or the school issued laptop. There will be a comprehensive list of websites at the end of this letter (and listed on the website) and I require all students to put each of these websites in their “Favorites” because they will need to access them frequently. STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO DO ONE HOUR OF INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (AT HOME) PER WEEK USING THE WEBSITES PROVIDED. I teach French, but it is up to your student to learn it. I encourage students to use every resource available to them BEFORE asking me for an answer. Even then, your student might be frustrated when I answer them with another question. I want your student to think and figure out as much on his/her own as possible. This is a valuable tool in life, not just in my class.

An important note: I strictly forbid using “Google translate”. Not only is this considered CHEATING, it is also rarely accurate. Language cannot simply be translated word for word. Please encourage your student to use his/her own thoughts.

If your student needs extra help, I offer tutoring. However, your student must schedule an appointment with me at least 24 hours prior. (This will usually be scheduled during my lunch or after school on Wednesdays.)

Thank you for your support of the foreign language classroom. I truly look forward to the rest of the school year with your student!

Please email me ASAP with your contact information (include your student’s name) so that I may have it on file. MERCI!

All best,

CRR

LIST OF WEBSITES TO MARK IN YOUR “FAVORITES”:

Publications

  • Le Monde - respected national daily, considered to be France's newspaper of record
  • Liberation - national daily, founded in 1973 by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, centre-left leaning
  • Le Figaro - national daily, centre-right leaning
  • Le Point - news weekly

Television

  • France 2 - national, main public TV network
  • France 3 - national, public
  • France 5 - national, public, educational
  • TF1 - national, commercial
  • M6 - national, commercial
  • La Chaine Info - rolling news
  • France 24 - global news channel, owned by public broadcaster and TF1; services in French, English, Arabic
  • TV5 Monde - international French-language TV, with programmes from French, Belgian, Swiss and Canadian public broadcasters
  • Canal Plus - national, subscription channel

Radio

  • Radio France - operates national and regional outlets, including speech-based France Inter and all-news France Info
  • Radio France Internationale (RFI) - international broadcaster, via shortwave and FM relays worldwide
  • Europe 1 - major commercial station, news and entertainment
  • RTL - major commercial station, speech and music
  • NRJ - commercial, leading hit music network
  • Agence France Presse (AFP) - Paris-based, founded in 1835

Dictionaries

  • Bescherelle.fr- French “Bible” (spelling, grammar, conjugation)
  • Larousse.fr (French-English)

Games/Learning

BONNE CHANCE!