Course Syllabus

FREN 1020 Elementary French II

Course Description

This course is a continuation of FREN 1010 and provides additional exposure to the French language and the cultures of French-speaking peoples. It is designed for students who have completed FREN 1010 with a C- or better, or for students with equivalent experience. During the course, students continue to develop basic oral and listening communication skills by participating in activities that require them to use French in a variety of situations. As a result of developing these skills, they also acquire the ability to read and write French at a basic level. Students learn to communicate about topics that are most familiar to them (e.g., self, family, home, school, daily and recent activities), and they learn to appreciate ways of life different from their own. This course is interactive with a focus on learner participation, basic conversation practice in French, and additional focus on reading and writing. Successful completion of this course fulfills the foreign language requirement for the A.A. degree at Snow College.

Justification

This course satisfies the foreign language requirement for the Associate of Arts degree at Snow College. It is also a prerequisite for intermediate and advanced study of the language. Students are introduced to the language, cultures, and values of French-speaking peoples, one of the largest linguistic groups in the world and a major contributor to Western thought and culture. Learning French, particularly in combination with studies in other fields, such as art, music, philosophy, history, business, medicine, political science, social science, and technology, can provide a valuable and employable life resource.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students continue to demonstrate fundamental knowledge of francophone cultures through in-class presentations that include research on specific cultural topics or practices and a description/demonstration of an aspect of one or several of these cultures (e.g., cooking, music, games, dance, art, architecture).
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students continue to be exposed to French language and culture through video, text, and audio sources on the Internet and through music. As they advance through the topic criteria of shopping, fashion, clothing, travel, holidays and special events, they must build upon skills acquired in FREN 1010 and advance their ability to interpret media at the novice high level, moving away from being a simple beginner in the language. They demonstrate their ability to read and interpret French text through structured online tasks, as well as written media, and subsequently evaluate its meaning and cultural significance.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Students continue to experience perspectives different from their own and learn through readings, discussions, and their own research how people from other countries and regions of the world address problems in unique ways that meet their needs. These experiences allow students to draw on international perspectives when facing complex problems. Students are assessed during in-class discussions, on homework assignments, and on written quizzes and exams.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students continue to develop critical thinking skills as they learn French, where they must draw clues based on their own experience from the aural and visual input they receive. Students complete verbal and written assignments that demonstrate the ability to reason analytically and creatively evaluate the cultures, facts, and values of francophone peoples. Students are assessed during in-class discussions, on homework assignments, and on written quizzes and exams.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Students must work with partners to complete brief conversation exercises in French during class. Students have pair/group work and presentation(s) for the French language and cultures on a regular basis, in class, to learn the skill of effective team work and oral communication. Students demonstrate this skill throughout their pair/group activities and presentations in class. Students demonstrate their ability to read and write in French through Canvas exercises and in-class written exams. Students must work with partners to complete brief conversation exercises in French during class. Students have pair/group work and presentation(s) for the French language and cultures on a regular basis, in class, to learn the skill of effective team work and oral communication. Students demonstrate this skill throughout their pair/group activities and presentations in class. Students demonstrate their ability to read and write in French through Canvas exercises and in-class written exams.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Interpretive Listening: Students will understand everyday French words and phrases. They will be able to answer questions about themselves, their personal experiences, and their surroundings with greater capacity.
2. Interpretive Reading: Students will understand familiar words, phrases, and some more advanced sentences, building upon those reading skills acquired in FREN 1010.
3. Interpersonal Spoken: Students will interact with each other using words, phrases, and some memorized expressions. They wil be able to answer simple questions on familiar topics and form questions to create a more realistic dialogue, while expanding the range of their ability beyond the beginner level. They will be capable of describing events not only in the present, but in the past as well, with the ability to speak with anticipation of future events, as well as conjecture upon things that would happen given a certain set of circumstances.
4. Presentational Spoken: Students will provide information about themselves and their immediate surroundings using words, phrases, and some memorized expressions. They will aslo acquire information from others by forming proper sentences and questions, including topics that address events in the present, past, and future.
5. Presentational Written: Students will provide some basic information on familiar topics in lists, phrases, and memorized expressions.
6. Cultural Opportunities: Students will seek opportunities to learn about and experience new cultures outside of class.
7. Cultural Understanding: Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge of cultural traditions, customs, and values in one or more of French-speaking countries.

Course Content

Through lecture, one-on-one sessions with the instructor, class discussion, and activities, students will learn to demonstrate: Basic interactions like greeting, asking and answering questions, describing people and things, expressing preferences, inviting, accepting, refusing, making purchases, giving directions, requesting information, telling time, and recounting past events; interpretation of basic or simplified texts (e.g., calendars, biographical information, menus, cultural information, poems/songs, maps, advertisements, film reviews, instructions, schedules, websites, surveys); Basic expressions and vocabulary (e.g., greetings, school, home, family, possessions, numbers, days, months, public buildings, food, weather, sports); demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, future tense, imperfect tense, passive constructions, present perfect tense, preterit tense of irregular verbs, the subjunctive mood, and the use of prepositions; agreement (e.g., subject-verb, adjective-noun); cultural practices and products of France (e.g., food, music, transportation, film, housing, media); cultural perspectives in France; regional identities; and daily life in France. This content is delivered through interactive lecture, multimedia presentation, partner and group work, and instructor modeling concepts.