Themes, Contexts, & No Grammar
Teaching to the New AP French Exam
Chantal Cassan-Moudoud
cmoudoud@saes.org
St Andrew’s Episcopal School
October 2011
Why do I like the new format?
• AP French Language and Culture course
revisions reflect best practices in language
education. They are designed to promote fluency
and accuracy in the use of language and to
enable students to explore culture in
contemporary and historical contexts.
With what premises are we working?
The three modes of communication
(Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational)
defined in the Standards for Foreign Language
Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to
the AP French Language and Culture course.
The AP course provides students with
opportunities to demonstrate
their proficiency in each of the three modes in
the Intermediate to Pre-Advanced range as
described in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines
for K–12 Learners.
(AP Course Description 2011)
What are the three Modes of
Communication?
They provide a redefining organizing principle, and an enriched view of
language that reflects real communication.
The Interpersonal Mode is characterized by the active negotiation of
meaning among individuals. Participants observe and monitor one another to
see how their meanings and intentions are being communicated. Adjustments
and clarifications can be made accordingly.
The Interpretive Mode focuses on the appropriate cultural interpretation of
meanings that occur in written and spoken form where there is no recourse to
the active negotiation of meaning with the writer or the speaker.
The Presentational Mode refers to the creation of oral and written messages
in a manner that facilitates interpretation by members of the other culture
where no direct opportunity for the active negotiation of meaning between
members of the two cultures exists.
(ACTFL website)
What are we teaching/evaluating?
COMPREHENSIBILITY:
How well are they understood?
COMPREHENSION:
How well do they understand?
LANGUAGE CONTROL:
How accurate is their language?
VOCABULARY USE:
How extensive and applicable is their vocabulary?
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES:
How do they maintain communication?
CULTURAL AWARENESS:
How is their cultural awareness reflected in their
communication?
(ACTFL Performance Guidelines)
The new French AP exam
Interpretive Communication= 50%
• Reading: 4 sets
• Reading & Listening: 2 sets
• Listening: 3 sets
Interpersonal & Presentational
Communication = 50%
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Interpersonal Writing: reply to a message
Interpersonal Speaking: simulated conversation
Presentational Writing: persuasive essay
Presentational Speaking: cultural contrast
COMPREHENSION @ the Pre-Advanced Level
• Understand main ideas and significant details on a
variety of topics founds in the products of the target
culture.
• Develop an awareness of tone, style, and author
perspective.
• Demonstrate a growing independence as a reader or
a listener and generally comprehend what they read
and hear without relying solely on formally learned
vocabulary.
• Understand idiomatic expressions.
• Use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar
vocabulary.
ACTIVITIES to develop reading & listening
comprehension
1. Determine what students should know after
reading/listening the document.
2. Anticipate possible difficulties.
ACTIVITY #1
ACTIVITY #2
ACTIVITY #3
-Preparation
-Finding main
ideas
& supporting
details
-Going further
ACTIVITY #1: Preparation
• Activation of previous knowledge.
▫ Pictures
▫ Forum
▫ Class discussion
• Anticipation.
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Illustrations
Vocabulary
Context
Reading 1st sentence/paragraph
ACTIVITY #2: Reading/Listening
Highlight KNOWN
WORDS
List RECOGNIZED
WORDS/EXPRESSIONS
Sandwich
Share
Fake transcript
Share
Identify main ideas and supportive details.
Summarize
Sciences sans conscience…
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine de l’âme
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine et larmes
je ne m’y connais pas en balistique
je me méfie de la politique
armes chimiques ou bacteriologiques
defient toutes les lois de la logique
Je vous dis
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine de l’âme
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruines et larmes
devant les carnages de la violence
l'homme decouvre son impuissance
il appelle a l'aide le maitre du temps
c'est un S.O.S. si tu m'entends
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine de l’âme
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine et larmes
les océans sont radioactifs
avec les missiles qui réfléchissent
la terre entière s'asphyxie
c'est un vrai suicide collectif
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruine de l’âme
sciences sans conscience
n'est que ruines et larmes
Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/alpha-blondy-lyrics-sciences-sans-conscience-jj4fb7l#ixzz1bM8Atqz3
Alpha Blondie
ACTIVITY #3: Going further
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Establish contrast/comparison
Replicate author’s style
Continue the text
Refute the ideas presented in the text
Use the ideas from the text to defend a point of
view (persuasive essay)
RFI
COMPREHENSIBILITY @ the Pre-Advanced Level.
• Interpersonal & Presentational
▫ Report, narrate, describe, using connected
sentences and paragraphs in present and other
time frames.
▫ Fully understandable; occasional errors do not
impede comprehensibility.
▫ Use of register appropriate to the situation.
▫ Varied and appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic
expressions.
ACTIVITIES to develop interpersonal & presentational
skills
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FORUM
CLASS DISCUSSION
LINGTLANGUAGE
PENPAL
BLOG
VIDEO
E-MAIL
ESSAY
LINGTLANGUAGE.COM
VOCABULARY
• Glossary
▫ Organized by theme
▫ Organized by parts of speech
▫ Include a definition & synonyms
• When reading/listening
▫ Focus on transition words
▫ Focus on lexical groups
• Vocabulary wall
▫ “Remue-méninges”
FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES
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Use of the past tenses
Use of the subjunctive
Use of the relative pronouns
“Mots magiques”
• Students keep track of their progress
• Quick review if needed
• Grammar wall
“Mots magiques”
• ET = ET
• Use of past tenses:
▫ QUAND + PC + Imparfait
▫ PENDANT QUE + Imparfait
▫ PARCE QUE + PqP
▫ Tous les jours… + Imparfait
▫ Un jour + PC
▫ Si + imparfait + conditionnel
▫ SI + PqP + conditionnel passé
▫ APRÈS + infinitif passé
(mais AVANT DE + infinitif;AVANT QUE + subjonctif)
• Use of future tenses:
▫ QUAND/DÈS QUE/ AUSSITÔT QUE
Evaluating the students’ progress
• IPA
▫ Integrated Performance Assessment
What is an IPA?
• The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) is a cluster
assessment featuring three tasks, each of which reflects one of the
three modes of communication--Interpretive, Interpersonal and
Presentational--as outlined in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines
for K-12 Learners (1998) and the Standards for Foreign Language
Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards for Foreign
Language Education Project, 1999). The three tasks are aligned
within a single theme or content area, reflecting the manner in
which students naturally acquire and use the language in the real
world or the classroom. Each task provides the information and
elicits the linguistic interaction that is necessary for students to
complete the subsequent task. IPAs are designed for students at the
novice-, intermediate-, and pre-advanced levels of proficiency. They
are standards-based; performance-based; developmental in nature;
integrative; designed to be used with scoring rubrics that rate
performance in terms of whether it meets expectations, exceeds
expectations, or does not meet expectations for the task; and valid
and reliable.
• (ACTFL website)
Let’s get started!
• 1. Interpretive
▫ Read
▫ Listen
• 2. Interpersonal
▫ Speak/Listen/Respond
▫ Write/Read/Respond
• 3. Presentational
▫ Speak
▫ Write
Select a topic….
INTERPRETIVE MODE
• Preparation
▫ Select 2 written documents
▫ Select an audio
▫ Identify one or two questions to be used for the
presentational essay/oral
▫ Have students read/listen to documents
• Students are evaluated on:
▫ Answers to list of questions (multiple-choice/ open-ended)
▫ Summary of main ideas & supporting details
INTERPERSONAL MODE
• After INTERPRETIVE ACTIVITY
▫ Students discuss the documents
 Identifying the main idea
 Evaluating the authors’ position
 Comparing/contrasting with their own culture
▫ Students are evaluated on:
 Discussion participation
 Quality of questions asked/answers given
 Relevance; Depth
 Language (Comprehensibility/Comprehension/Use of idiomatic
expressions)
 Communication strategies
 Acknowledgment of classmates ideas: agreeing/disagreeing
 Self-correction
 Asking for clarification
PRESENTATIONAL MODE
• Persuasive essay & oral presentation
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Use the three documents from the interpretive activity
Answer the initial question/s
Essay: need to present their point of view
Oral: need to establish a cultural comparison
• Students are evaluated on:
▫ Treatment of topic, including supporting details and
relevant examples.
▫ Clarity of expression
▫ Use of vocabulary
▫ Selection of appropriate register
▫ Organization; effective use of transitional elements or
cohesive devices
▫ Pronunciation/Intonation/Pacing
Creating Rubrics
• Exceeds/ Meets/Working toward/ Does not
meet Expectations
• Select the particular points on which you want
your students to focus
• Establish what MEETS YOUR EXPECTATIONS
at the time of the evaluation
• Use the AP Scoring Guidelines or the ACTFL
Performance Guidelines for guidance
• Have students create their own rubric
(class/individual)
When do you start teaching to the AP
exam?
NOW!!!
Familiarize students with the three modes of
communication.
Have students practice the different types of
activities.
Use the ACTFL performance guidelines for
evaluation.
Use the IPA.
Useful links
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AP CENTRAL: apcentral.collegeboard.com
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ACTFL: www.actfl.org
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Course description; Practice exams; Study guides
Standards; Proficiency guidelines; 2012 Conference in Philadelphia
NCLCR: http://nclrc.org/
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Language resource center; assessments; newsletter; webinars
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AATF: http://www.frenchteachers.org/
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LINGTLANGUAGE: www.lingtlanguage.com
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Create your own interpersonal activities (recording &+)
SCHOOLOGY: www.schoology.com
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Online discussions
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ePALS: http://www.epals.com/
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Edublogs: http://edublogs.org
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Blogs
RFI: www.rfi.fr
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Penpals; class projects
Radio France International; many activities
TV5: www.tv5.fr
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International French TV; videos, broadcast; documentaries; interviews