Syllabus for French 1234, Elementary French, spring semester 2015
Office: Dr. Stuart McClintock, Bea Wood 110. Telephone: 397-4857. Please leave your number with your
message so that I can return your call. You can e-mail to stuart.mcclintock@mwsu.edu
Office Hours: M, T, Th, F 9-11; T, Th 2-3, and by appointment. Further, I am often in my office outside of
office hours, and you are welcome if I am there.
Required Texts: Vis-à-vis, 4th edition and accompanying 4th edition workbook
Goals and Language of instruction: There are three interrelated objectives for this course.
The first goal is to continue to be able to speak, understand, write, and read the French language. We move
towards total immersion in French as the year progresses.
The second goal is to study francophone (French-speaking) cultures. We will focus on French culture but also
become familiar with the unique cultures and modes of expression of many other francophone countries. While
learning about francophone cultures, you will be encouraged to compare your own culture with those of
francophone societies.
The third goal is to tie language and culture together by learning to use the French language appropriately in a
variety of cultural contexts in the francophone world.
Assessment: Your grade is made up of the following components
Lab (1 per chapter)
10%
Attendance
10%
Quizzes
10%
Homework, personal journals (1 per chapter), oral work
10%
Tests (1 per chapter)
40%
Final
20%
Absence policy: Attendance is mandatory. A student can be be dropped after six unexcused absences. Only
an excused absence, defined as a university-sponsored event, is not counted as an absence. Attendance grades
are as follows: zero or one absence, 110; two absences, 95; three absences, 90; every absence after four
thereafter is five points off your attendance grade per absence. Repeated late arrival will count as an absence. I
will try to warn you when you are approaching the limit, but you are responsible for knowing how many
absences you have.
Homework: Homework is due at the beginning of class; no work is accepted after class. If you are absent, turn
in assignment the day you return. Please submit neat work and follow rules about homework procedures clearly
outlined in syllabus. Sloppy work or work that does not follow homework procedures will be returned with a
zero.
Quizzes: Quizzes are administered at the beginning of class. In general, no make-up quizzes are given for late
students. Quizzes are usually announced; however pop quizzes will also be administered. If you are absent, you
may make up your quiz, but you must be ready to do it at the beginning of the class to which you return. It is
your responsibility to follow through on making up the quiz.
Goals and Language of instruction: The goal of this course is to begin to be able to speak, understand, write,
and read the French language. We gradually move towards total immersion as the semester progresses.. We will
also study francophone (French-speaking) cultures. Further we will study the fundamental building blocks of all
languages through the study of one particular language.
Schedule: There is a three or four page test for each chapter. It is always on the last date of the chapter.
1/17-1/30:
chapitre 8
3/26-4/10:
chapitre 12
1/31-2/13:
chapitre 9
4/12-4/24:
chapitre 13
2/14-2:27:
chapitre 10
4/25-5/4:
chapitres 14 & 15
2/28-3/9:
chapitre 11
Final exam: 5/3 1-3
Lab homework: Each chapter has a lab assignment to be done in the language lab in Moffet Library . (It is not
the lab assignment in the workbook.) The lab must be completed in one seating because you hand in your work
when you leave. Skip the dictation at the beginning of the tape. The questions after the dictation are your
assignment. You write the questions and then the answers to these questions/prompts in full sentences in
French. You may listen to the tape as many times as you like. When you have finished, recopy your work
neatly and hand it in to the lab assistant. The lab assistant is instructed to only accept work done in the lab. You
should do the lab at the end of the second week of the chapter. I collect the lab work at noon following the day
of the chapter test, which is the day we start the next chapter. Tests are generally on Monday; so your lab is due
Tuesday. You should not consult with a classmate about any part of the lab.
Extra Credit: You can do something related to French for extra credit to replace or add to a poor grade for
homework, quiz, or lab. It can be just about anything such as going to a museum with French art, reading a
French novel, or watching a French movie. Write up what you've done and submit it. The bigger the project, the
more it's worth. You may do a maximum of two extra credit projects. Talk to me to clear project before you do
it.
Academic honesty: Any work that you submit that is not your own is reason for censure for all parties involved.
Procedure for censure follows the academic dishonesty policy in the student handbook.
Students with disabilities: MSU provides students with documented disabilities academic accommodations. If
you are a student with a disability, please contact me.
Words of advice for success in this class and in French:
1. You do not learn a language by osmosis in a classroom. Learning a language requires a lot of work.
2.A beginning language class is different from most college classes because of the pace and the amount and
kind of homework assignments. We meet four times a week. There is usually written work due every class.
Memorization is fundamental to learning a new language. You make progress slowly. You must keep up on a
daily basis to succeed.
3. Arrive in class with enough time to get yourself ready. Always bring both of your course books. Be prepared
when class begins. This means that you should have your books and homework out and your book turned to the
page we’ve most recently covered.
4. Pay attention to the professor and to those around you. A good language learner is a good listener. I will
consistently repeat many phrases. Try to pick up on them and be able to say them to yourself.
5. Force yourself to use the language as much as possible. The more this becomes a habit, the more natural it
will become. Do not worry about errors; your effort will result in increased confidence, a prime ingredient in
using language. The more you force yourself to use the language, the more self-reliant you are and the prouder
you will feel. Pretend that the speaker does not speak English , and you must communicate.
6. Remember that each language is a unique system. You must adapt to that system. Try not to filter French
through English unless you see a similarity that helps you.
7. Remember that 25% of your daily grade is based on your speaking skills.
Homework rules and procedures
1. Arrive in class with work completed. Do not do your homework in class or start doing your homework just
before class starts!
2. Head your paper with your name, section (8am or 11am), and assignment (page and exercise numbers).
3. Write out everything in an assignment. For example, the whole paragraph or sentence in a fill-in-the-blank
exercise should be written in full.
4. We go over homework each class, and you are responsible for properly grading your own paper. Bring a red
pen to mark errors and/or make corrections.
6. You should keep a French folder into which you put your returned homework assignments, quizzes, and test
study sheets. You can refer to these at test times, and you have a record of your work in case there is some
discrepancy between a grade I have for you and what you have as the actual grade.
French at Midwestern:
1. There is a French Club open to anybody interested in francophone (French speaking) culture.
2. There is a French minor and a French area of concentration at Midwestern. You must take the four
introductory semesters of language instruction and then a minimum of four advanced courses for the minor and
six advanced course for the area of concentration. Those interested in teaching will take six advanced classes for
a total of 32 hours. If you are interested, see me for details.
3. There is a 2,000 dollar scholarship given every year for a French minor to study/travel in a francophone
country.
4. We have a chapter of Pi Delta Phi, the French National Honor society. To qualify for membership, you must
have completed one advanced French course with an average of 3.00.
5. There are possibilities for studying French in another country over the summer. See me.
6. Midwestern participates in a program in France at which you can study for a full semester every spring.
Courses are in English and cover a wide range of subjects. The program is open to all majors because courses
are part of the core curriculum.
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