French 4 AP Syllabus and Information
Course description: AP French Language and Culture is a college-level course intended for students in their
fourth year of study of French. The course is taught exclusively in French, and student interaction is entirely in
French to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes of
communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational.
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The course guides the students to explore culture and events in both contemporary and historical settings
and to examine products and practices of the target culture and relate them to the underlying
perspectives.
Students use one primary textbook and other authentic materials and resources (including literary and
non-literary texts and audio and video recordings) that support the six course themes. [CR2a] [CR2c]
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are all emphasized throughout the various themes with the
overall goal of rendering these skills more natural, accurate, and fluid. When communicating, students
in the AP French Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s),
incorporate interdisciplinary topics (connections), make comparisons between the native language and
the target language and between cultures (comparisons), and use the target language in real-life
settings (communities). [CR9] [CR3a]
Exclusive use of French by teacher and students for active communication is de rigueur in the
classroom. [CR1]
Students practice the AP exam format through multiple choice reading and listening comprehension
questions, speaking prompts, and essay writing. This exam practice also serves as formal assessment
(grades) of student progress.
Students are expected to take the AP French Language and Culture exam at the end of this course.
Required classroom materials:
A composition book (100 sheets/200 pages, wide or college ruled)
Paper and a writing instrument.
Dry erase marker(s) (for your personal use).
A glue stick is recommended.
A box of tissues for the class to use is greatly appreciated!
Required website log-ins (will be created during class):
Quizlet.com
Evernote.com
Edmodo.com
Duolingo.com
Conjuguemos.com
Email
The 3 AP modalities (language skills) will be developed and evaluated in these ways:
Course work provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes
via classroom debates, oral exposés and oral questions. Students read the historic and literary selections
in Trésors and Bravo, and also read novels and articles in newspapers, magazines, and on the internet. Students
are made familiar with AP Rubrics for evaluation and these are utilized as the standard for all writing and
speaking assessments. Students develop vocabulary and grammar using a variety of texts: Trésor du temps,
Cours Supérieur, Bravo, and En Bonne Forme, for example, and will also access the internet for grammar review.
Students listen to podcasts, French news, and music clips on weekly basis and are exposed to authentic French
via film clips and internet listening assignments. Supplementary literary and cultural readings enhance reading
comprehension skills and build vocabulary. [CR2][CR3]
The following six themes are integrated throughout the year through readings, audio samples, writing
opportunities, and speaking opportunities.
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Global Challenges [6a]
Science and Technology [6b]
Contemporary Life [6c]
Personal and Public Identities [6d]
Families and Communities [6e]
Beauty and Aesthetics [6f]
Guidelines and Grading:
Each unit (6 weeks grading period) will be based on one of the AP themes. In addition, students will have
various practices for vocabulary, grammar, and the AP tested modalities, as well as tests and quizzes on the AP
tested modalities (Interpretive Listening, Interpretive Reading, Interpersonal Speaking, Interpersonal Writing,
Presentational Speaking, and Presentational Writing).
40% - Major Grades (Tests, essays, projects)
60% - Minor Grades (practice, quizzes, knowledge checks)
Late grades: Work will be accepted late with 10 points deducted per day with a max deduction of 50%. (In
other words, a student can turn in work until the Friday before the end of the 6 weeks for up to a 50.)
Retakes of quizzes and tests are for a maximum of 70%.
Attendance and punctuality are important. Each French lesson will require knowledge of the previous lesson, so
it's important to stay caught up! If you're absent for whatever reason, please be prepared to spend time in
tutorials. Also be sure to check the assignment calendar to see what you've missed!
Scope and Sequence (Course Outline)
Course Calendar (First Semester)
Unit 1: La Quête de Soi - Personal and Public Identities
 Grammar/Vocabulary review
o present tense regular and irregular verbs
o passé composé of regular and irregular verbs
o imparfait of regular and irregular verbs
o articles and gender of nouns
o transitions
Unit 2: La vie contemporaine - Contemporary Life
 Grammar/Vocabulary review
o futur simple and passé simple
o adverbs
o adjectives
Unit 3: Les défis mondiaux - Global Challenges
 Grammar/Vocabulary review
o Conditional tense
o si clauses
o conditional past
o plus-que-parfait
o conjuctions
Course Calendar (Second Semester)
Unit 4: La famille et la communauté - Family and Community
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Grammar/Vocabulary review
o subjunctive
o passive voice
o idioms with various irregular verbs
Unit 5: La science et la technologie - Science and technology
 Grammar/Vocabulary review
o negation
o object pronouns
o stress pronouns
Unit 6: L'esthétique - Beauty and Aesthetics
 Increased AP practice
Integration of Authentic Materials and Course Themes
This course is designed in such a way as to use various literary and cinematic works in French to allow
students to develop the three types of communication while exploring the six cultural themes. The
academic year is divided into units based upon major works of literature or collections of more modern
excerpts. Within each unit, students work to improve their competency through formal and informal
reading, writing, and listening activities.
Au Revoir les Enfants [CR2a]
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Global Challenges – tolerance, human rights, peace and war [CR6a]
Science and Technology – ethical questions [CR6b]
Personal and Public Identity – beliefs and values, alienation and assimilation, language and
identity, nationalism and patriotism [CR6d]
Families and Community – age and class, family structure, childhood, friendship and love [CR6e]
Candide [CR2c]
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Global Challenges – war and peace, diversity, health [CR6a]
Families and Community – family structure, customs and ceremonies, friendship and
love [CR6e]
Personal and Public Identity – beliefs and values, alienation and assimilation, nationalism,
language and identity, multiculturalism [CR6d]
Beauty and Aesthetics – ideals of beauty, world artistic heritage [CR6f]
Contemporary Life – education, travel, rites of passage [CR6c]
Cyrano de Bergerac (Film) [CR2a]
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Personal and Public Identity – alienation and assimilation, gender and sexuality, language and
identity [CR6d]
Contemporary Life – education, rites of passage, professions [CR6c]
Families and Community – age and class, friendship and love, family structure [CR6e]
Beauty and Aesthetics – literature, ideals of beauty [CR6f]
Le Rouge et le Noir [CR2c]·
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Global Challenges – tolerance, human rights, economic issues [CR6a]
Families and Community – family structure, customs and ceremonies, friendship and
love [CR6e]
Personal and Public Identity – beliefs and values, alienation and assimilation, gender [CR6d]
Beauty and Aesthetics – ideals of beauty, world artistic heritage [CR6f]
Contemporary Life – education, travel, rites of passage [CR6c]
Course Materials and Resources
Print Resources: [CR2]
Allons au-delà: La langue et les cultures du monde francophone, Richard Ladd, Pearson, 2012.
AP French: Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination, Richard Ladd,
Pearson, 2012 .
Bravo, Judith A. Muyskens, Linda L. Harlow, Michèle Vialet, Jean-François Brière,
Thomson Heinle, 2002
Reprise, National Textbook Company, 1997
Trésors du temps, Yvone Lenard, Glencoe, 2005
Literary Texts: [CR2c]
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Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand
Candide, Voltaire
Le Rouge et le Noir, Stendahl
Internet Resource: [CR2a]
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com (AP resources)
http://www.rfi.fr/ (Radio France Internationale)
http://www.comfm.com/ (French radio and podcasts)
http://www.radiofrance.fr/ (French podcasts)
http://iaudioguide.com/ (City audio guide tours)
http://www.cnrs.fr/ (Centre national de la recherche scientifique)
www.champselysees.com (print and audio magazine)
http://www.ambafrance-us.org/ (French podcasts)
http://www.rtl.fr/ (French podcasts, news, video)
http://colby.edu/knelson/exercises/index.html (grammar practice, songs)
www.lemonde.fr (online French newspaper)
www.france24.com/fr (French news online)
http://TV5.org (TV5monde webpage)
www.bbc.com (BBC Ma France teaching resources and videos)
http://www.utm.edu/departments/french/french.html (Tennessee Bob’s Famous French Links)
Additional Resources:
Film and film excerpts in French
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Jean de Florette
Cyrano de Bergerac
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Joyeux Noël