How to Prepare
Your Students for
the AP French
Language & Culture
Persuasive Essay
Milton Alan Turner, NBCT
Saint Ignatius High School
mturner@ignatius.edu
http://faculty.Ignatius.edu/turner/
Overview
Introduction to AP French Language & Culture Exam
• AP Central Website
• Free-Response Section Tasks
• 2012 French Persuasive Essay
• Persuasive Essay Rubric
• Authentic Resources
• French-language Media Web Sites
• French-Language Media Apps for
smartphones/tablets
• AP French Language & Culture Facebook Group
• Student Activities- Les JT et les Causeries
•
AP Central
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
• Course Description
• Planning Guide
• Teacher Community
• Free-Response Questions
•Scoring Samples and
Commentary
AP French Language & Culture Exam
“The AP course provides students with opportunities to
demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in
the Intermediate to Pre-Advanced range.”
Overarching Premise
“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).”
AP French Language & Culture Course and Exam Description Effective Fall 2011
AP Cultural Themes
L’esthétique
La science et la
technologie
La famille et la
communauté
Les défis
mondiaux
La vie
contemporaine
La quête de
soi
AP French Language & Culture Exam Format
Section
# of
Questions
% of
Final
Score
95
minutes
Section I: Multiple Choice
Part A
Interpretive Communication:
Print Texts
Interpretative Communication: Print
and Audio Texts (combined)
Part B
Interpretative Communication: Audio
Texts
30
questions
35
questions
40
minutes
50%
Interpersonal Writing: E-mail reply
Task 2
Presentational Writing:
Persuasive Essay
Task 3
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation
Task 4
Presentational Speaking: Cultural
Comparison
55
minutes
85
minutes
Section II: Free-Response
Task 1
Time
1 prompt
15
minutes
1 prompt
55
minutes
50%
5 prompts
5
minutes
1 prompt
7
minutes
Task 2: Persuasive Essay
Students must write a persuasive essay on a given
topic clearly indicating their own viewpoint and
defending it thoroughly
• The essay topic is based on three sources
1. Printed article
2. Printed graph/chart/map
3. Audio source (podcast/interview)
• Students have 6 minutes to read the print sources
(article and graph) and 6 minutes to hear the audio
source twice
• Students have 40 minutes to write the essay
•
Task 2: Persuasive Essay Scoring Rubric
Holistic scoring (“Alan’s shoulders”)
• Task oriented
• Progressive
• integrates vs. summarizes information
• Number of sources referenced
• effective vs. suitable vs. unsuitable information
• Multiple ways to successfully use sources
• 2012 Scoring samples and commentary available at
•
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/
exam_information/4559.html
Preparation Suggestions
Regular exposure to authentic resources from
Day 1 Level 1
• Web sites
• Podcasts
• Apps
• Social media
• Le Grand Concours
• Practice Tests
• Course and Exam Description
• Practice Test (AP Audit)
•
Authentic Resources
My AP French Language & Culture Web Site
http://faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/apfrenchlang.htm
• Media Web Sites
• Le Monde www.lemonde.fr
• Radio France Internationale www.rfi.fr
• France 24 http://www.france24.com/fr/
• Smartphone Apps
• Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/apfrenchlang/
•
Student Activities
• Les
Journaux Télévisés
http://faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/tj.htm
• Les
Causeries
http://faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/causeries.htm