AP French Language Syllabus
Overview of Course Design:
The AP French Language course is the culmination of a program which is
designed, from 6th grade, to prepare students for the AP exam. Our approach to
reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, from the earliest level, is designed to
provide students with numerous opportunities to acquire French naturally and to
perform in situations which call for unrehearsed, as well as practiced, natural use of
the language. Language skills, as well as grammar and vocabulary are rarely
taught or practiced in isolation.
Philosophy of skill development
Listening
Extensive use is made of French popular music, films, and programs from TV5 as well
as the tapes which accompany the AP review materials. Listening and speaking skills are
developed through the almost exclusive use of French in the classroom. Students are
expected to speak only in French in class.
Reading
Students who plan to continue to French IV (and later French V) have summer reading.
Incoming French IV students read Le Petit Nicolas et les Copains over the summer. In
French IV, students read Harry Potter à l’école des Sorciers and Harry Potter et la
Chambre de Secrets. Between French IV and French V, the first 250 pages of Harry
Potter et le Prisoner d’Azkaban are assigned as summer reading. Students write either a
reaction to each chapter or an explanation of the significance of the title of the chapter.
This reading forms the basis of the first few weeks’ work in the fall as is collected and
graded on the first day of school.
Writing
Prior to French V, students have practiced weekly timed writings with the goal of
producing 150+ words in 10 minutes. This activity makes the goals of a 300+ word essay
on the AP test not such a daunting task.
In French IV and V, a very specific rubric is introduced to evaluate student writing in
terms of the accuracy of basic structures as well as requiring the increased use of
advanced structures ( present and past participles, conditional and subjunctive sentences,
object and relative pronouns etc) as well as transition words or phrases. The goal in the
writing program is to gradually focus on and improve those skills of organization,
accuracy, varied vocabulary and sentence structure which mark a successful AP essay.
See “Appendix” for rubric.
Speaking
With the almost exclusive use of French in classes, students have many opportunities to
speak in a variety of settings. Students are expected to participate actively in each class
and part of their grade is based on their effective use of French in the classroom.
At the end of each level of Upper School French, students take an oral exam based on the
AP format. The students are given a picture to describe and a follow-up open-ended
question. They are to speak for about a minute. The exam is given in our analog lab
where students will eventually take the AP exam. Tapes are rated by the teachers and
the scores/comments are kept on file along with the cassettes. Every year, students take
the STAMP test (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency) offered by Language
Learning Systems in conjunction with CASLS (Center for Applied Second Language
Studies at the University of Oregon). This assessment has an oral component in which
students are given three prompts and are asked to give a 60 second response to each. The
STAMP speaking section is rated by professional evaluators and the results are reported
using the ACTFL scale. These results also become part of the student’s language
portfolio.
Students are able use the school’s email service, First Class, to respond to oral prompts
from the teacher or to practice pronunciation. They send the teacher their work as voice
mails. In AP French, students give oral presentations on cultural topics, participate in
class discussions and debates, give unrehearsed presentations on, or reactions to, topics
and record four practice exams using the AP format. Students also benefit from an
exchange with a school in Clermont-Ferrand. French students live and attend school here
for 10 days in the Spring and we spend Spring Break in France at their school. Due to
the small size of our school, all students are able ( and expected) to interact with the
exchange students when they are here.
AP French Language Class (French V)
Course Objectives: French V AP Language is designed
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To provide students with a wide range of topics and a variety of settings in which
to practice and become proficient in their oral, aural, written and reading skills in
preparation for the AP French Language Exam
To provide students with opportunities to study and discuss various topics of
French history and culture with the purpose of enriching their appreciation of
French/ francophone cultures and making connections between these topics and
their daily lives.
To provide students with opportunities to encounter contemporary French music,
media and politics and to allow them to practice their language skills in natural
situations.
To encourage students to continue their study of French and to provide contact
with students in France with whom they may develop life-long friendships.
Primary Resources
Grammar/Vocabulary
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Breaking the Barrier: French Advanced (Coursaget/Myers) ISBN 0-971-28174-2
Une fois Pour toutes (Sturges, Nielsen, Herbst)
Culture Discussion
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Echos:(Cultural Discussion for Students (Campbell) ISBN0-300-09803-0
Listening Practice
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La France et la Francophonie : Conversations with Native Speakers
(O’Neil) ISBN: 0-300-11543-2
Reading
 Le Petit Prince ISBN 2-07-051578-8 Folio Junior
 “Un Sac de Billes (Joseph Joffo) ISBN 2-253-02949-1 Livre de Poche
 Excerpts from “Jean de Florette” ISBN 2-877-06054-3 Editions de Fallois
and “Manon des Sources (Pagnol) ISNB 287706512X Editions de Fallois
 Harry Potter et le prisonnier d’Azkaban ISBN 2-0-052818-9 Folio Junior
Specific AP Review
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“Preparing for the French Language Exam “ (Ladd) ISBN 0-673-21847-3
“The Best Preparation for the AP Language Exam” (Knauer)
ISBN 0-7386-0102-1
Released AP exams
Miscellaneous
 “L’Actu” –on line newspaper from PlayBac Presse (Paris)
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www.playbacpresse.fr/quotidiens/presentation/actu.php
“Presse Papiers” (extraits de la presse francaise) (ELI)
www.tv5.org
www.conjuguemos.com (for verb formation review)
www.quia.com (class pages created for the French V class are found here)
http://casls.uoregon.edu/stamp2.php Information on the STAMP test)
www.classpak.net (source of authentic reading activities)
http://www.actuados.com/ site for French teens
http://www.espacefrancophone.org/home.html source for French radio and TV
Facilities
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Analog lab for practice taping and administration of AP test.
Digital MAC lab
Students all have laptops in class every day for internet access.
School is has wireless internet access in all rooms.
SMART BOARD linked to video/audio receiver to project movies on large
screen.
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DVD/VCR/CD players all available in the classroom.
Students all have First Class accounts for email/voicemail
Course Planner
Weeks 1-34 Journal/Essay writing
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Weekly journals/essays are based on the reading being done in class (novels,
newspapers, magazines ), reactions to TV news or movie themes.
In class essays (done bi-weekly) are timed (45 minutes) and use previous AP
prompts
Rubric: 1st and 2nd trimester –diagnostic rubric identifying areas of concern.
Students are assessed on their ability to use a variety of advanced structures,
tenses and transition elements. Students correct and rewrite the essay and return it
for a second grade. See appendix
Rubric: 3rd trimester—holistic rubric using the AP guidelines. Students correct
and return the essay but no second grade is given.
AP practice: 3rd trimester, the AP open-response section (fill-in and verbs) and the
essay are given in a 65 minute class period in order to familiarize students with
issues of time management and proofreading in preparation for the exam.
Weeks 1-34 Intensive Grammar and Vocabulary work
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The books “Une fois pour toutes” and “Breaking the Barrier” are used throughout
the year to review grammar and vocabulary. Students are given work to do
independently that is reviewed/corrected in class. Weekly quizzes on vocabulary
and/or grammar are given.
Weeks 1-30 French Music
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Students listen to, on a weekly basis, traditional French singers (Brel, Brassens,
Moustaki, Duteil, Le Forestier, Piaf, Cabrel, Goldman and others) as well as more
recent singers/groups such as Renaud, Axelle Red, Zebda, Benabar, Chanson
Plus, Manau, Teri Moise, and Alpha Blondy.
Songs are introduced as cloze activities with an emphasis on a particular tense,
grammatical structure. The use of the cloze activity allows for the development of
critical listening skills. Discussion, in French, is held on the theme, images,
choice of vocabulary and cultural setting/significance of the song. Students are
asked to identify the importance of the grammatical/syntactical choices that a
composer makes when writing a song.
Students are asked to choose a French song and present it to the class as an
“analyse du texte”. This happens once in both the first and second trimesters. If
an accompanying video clip is available, it is viewed and the class discusses the
manner in which the video meets their expectations given the theme/imagery of
the song. Students discuss the differences between French music videos and their
American counterparts.
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Themes such as immigration, living in an urban area, use of language (verlan,
foreign terms, slang), French history, modern conflicts (terrorism, war), are
discussed in the context of the songs studied. Care is given to including those
singers whosesongs which reflect changes in contemporary French society
(Zebda, Frere200, Benabar for example)
 Students write an essay comparing the theme/songs of a French singer/composer
with an American singer/composer of their choice. This happens once in both
first and second trimesters. Students are to give specific examples from the
songs/singer they choose to support their ideas.
Websites:
 http://musique.ado.fr
 http://plateau.pntic.mes-es/_cvera/hotpot/chansons/index.htm
 www.tv5.org
 www.paroles.net
 http://www.lepointdufle.net/p/chansons.htm
 http://www.dailymotion.com/cvera/ source of video clips
Weeks 1-5 Harry Potter et le Prisonnier d’Azkaban
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Review of the first 12 chapters ( which are read over the summer). Discussion, in
French, of plot developments in first two books that are continued into this book.
Presentations, in French, by the students on character development over the series
of books.
Discussions of the significance of the chapter titles and the differences between
the story line as seen in the video and read in the book.
The remaining chapters 13-22 are read with accompanying questions/discussions.
The corresponding video sections are seen once with subtitles as a preview of the
reading and then without subtitles on the day of the discussion.
Grammar is reviewed in the context of excerpts from the text. Vocabulary is
chosen from the text and quizzed.
A final essay (on the popularity of this genre of writing) is assigned and a
discussion is subsequently held in class.
Edition used: Folio Junior ISBN 2-07-0528-28-9
Weeks 6-10; Le Petit Prince
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The objective of this unit of study is to understand the significance of St-Exupery
as a French writer and to recognize the importance of this work in the body of 20th
century French literature.
Students do a preliminary study of St-Exupery and make an oral report to the
class. Topics may include: his early life, his career as a pilot, his stay in the US,
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his other works, commentaries on the meaning of Le Petit Prince, St Euxpery’s
disappearance and death and the recent finding of his plane….
Students have plot and open-ended questions for each chapter and have to give a
title to each chapter. In-class discussions center around plot questions, the titles
chosen by students for each chapter, and finally the open-ended question for each
chapter.
The students create a clay creation that symbolizes the book for them and these
are presented in class as well as a follow-up discussion of the students’ various
answers to final essay question. All discussion takes place in French.
Students listen to various sections of the book as read on the CD “Le Petit Prince
by Gaillmard Jeunesse. They also listen/look at the assorted biographic elements
and commentaries contained on the CD.
Edition used: Folio Junior ISBN 2-07-051578-8
Websites: www.richmond.edu/~jpaulsen/petitprince/petitprince.html#activite
www.lepetitprince.com (Official site, activities, multimedia
presentations)
Weeks 11-19 Un Sac de Billes/ German Occupation of France
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The objective of this unit is for the students to be able to, in French,
1. explain the attitude and preparation of the French military prior to the
invasion of France with an emphasis on the role of Petain and DeGaulle.
2. identify the major figures in French history from 1940-45.
3. identify the area of France which was officially occupied as well as the
site of the Vichy government.
4. explain the role fo the French resistance during the war, its major leaders
and its impact on French society and the outcome of the war.
5. explain the series of Jewish laws passed by the Vichy government
from1940-44 and the resulting impact on the daily lives of French Jewish
citizens.
6. explain the significance of camps of Drancy and Struthof.
7. understand and explain the terms “milice” and “collabos’ in terms of the
conflicts which French citizens faced during the Occupation as well as
identifying the actions of those who protected Jewish citizens.
The students are asked to do a preliminary study of the war and to present their
papers to the class as an introduction to the novel/films which will be used. The
oral presentations and the accompanying papers are in French. Each student has
to prepare a powerpoint for the class.
The novel “Un Sac de Billes” is read, in its entirety. Students are asked to
summarize and give titles to each chapter as well as answering some specific plot
questions. Discussions are held about the titles chosen and their appropriateness
as well as the specific plot questions. ISBN 2-253-02949-1 Livre de Poche
Students watch the film : Un Sac de Billes (no subtitles), Au Revoir, les Enfants
(with subtitles), La Shoah (an interview with a French survivor of the
Holocaust—subtitled), and The Children of Chabannes (subtitled). With Au
Revoir, les enfants and The children of Chabannse, some sections are shown as
second time without subtitles.
 Students are asked to give impromptu in-class summaries of the plot and/or
characters once a week.
 Final essay on the moral dilemmas faced by the French citizenry during the
Occupation is assigned. Length is 250+ words. Students are asked to support
their ideas with contextual evidence from the book and movies studied.
Websites
1. http://www.sacdebilles.co.uk/
A very useful site by David Ash which has downloadable synopses of the book.
2. http://www.ac-creteil.fr
A set of multiple-choice questions in French on Un Sac de billes.
3. http://b8.stradax.net/misc/un_sac_de_billes.html.
A detailed study of Un Sac de billes by Beat Strasser.
4. http://coverpearl.piranho.de
Daniela Fülbier's pages with information in French. Just click on Joseph Joffo in the menu on
the left.
5. http://www.magenta.nl/crosspoint/shoah.html
One of the many websites on the holocaust (Shoah), with many links to other websites.
6. http://aphgcaen.free.fr/cercle.htm
A very useful website by the Cercle de la déportation et de la Shoah with links to articles and
other resources on the position of Jews in World War II.
7. http://hypo.ge-dip.etat-ge.ch/www/cliotexte/index.html
A very detailed website on the teaching of history. It is worth scrolling down to the
Twentieth-century section for texts and chronologies of French history.
Sites on World War II France
9.. http://www.crdp-reims.fr/memoire/bac/2gm/etudes/03cartedefrance.htm
10. http://www.musee-resistance.com/officiel/visGuid/peuHist/apercu/apercu4.asp
11.www.charles-de-gaulle.org/dossier/18juin/temoignages/son22j.htm
12.www.musee-resistance.com/officiel/visGuid/peuHist/apercu/apercu1.asp
13.www.franceweb.fr/poesie/resist1.htm
14.http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/~os0tmc/occupied/vichy.htm
15.http://www.ac-rennes.fr/pedagogie/hist_geo/ResPeda/affiches/affiches/somt3.htm
16.http://www.polyinter.com/resistance/
17.http://www.musee-resistance.com/officiel/visGuid/intro/index.asp
18.http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Moulin
19.http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligne_Maginot
20.www.maginot67.com/
21.http://perso.orange.fr/d-d.natanson/milice.htm
22.http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milice_fran%C3%A7aise
23.http://erra.club.fr/LA4re.htm
24.http://blog.france2.fr/baccalaureat/index.php/2005/05/28/1435-levolutionpolitique-de-la-france-de-1945-a-nos-jours
Weeks 13 – 34 AP Vocabulary
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Students study vocabulary on a variety of topics which appear on the AP exam.
Emphasis is placed on “Faux Amis” and “transition words/phrases” as well as
topics listed in the back of “AP French: Preparing for the Language Exam”.
Vocabulary lists are posted on the class page on quia.com where students can
practice at their own pace.
Students are responsible for creating original sentences/short stories using
selected words.
Students work on translations that use the vocabulary in a variety of contexts and
with varied sentence structures (to allow for review of tenses or structures which
are of particular difficulty to speakers of English).
Weekly quizzes are given on the vocabulary. Quizzes are cumulative with
selected words from the previous weeks appearing.
Weeks 20-34 Intensive AP review
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Students use the books “AP French: Preparing for the Language Examination”
and “AP French Language” to systematically practice each of the sections of the
exam.
Intensive review of all types of pronouns (relative, demonstrative, object,
possessive) precede the practice of the “function word” drills.
Practice of conditional sentences, subjunctive, present and past participles,
precede the practice of the verb fill-in drills.
Students are assigned on a weekly basis: 3 fill-ins/ 3 verb completions and 3
readings sections from the “AP French: Preparing for the Language Exam.”
These are corrected in class. The first 5 weeks, no scores are given for the work
other than a completion grade. After this time, scores are given to each activity.
Students finish approximately 30 of the 40 practices for each section.
In class, one day a week, 25 minutes is given to listening comprehension using the
tapes/cds that accompany the above mentioned books.
Once a week, students write an essay using a old AP prompt during a 45 minute
class. The holistic AP writing rubric is used to determine the student’s score.
During the first 4 weeks, students meet individually with the teacher to discuss the
weak areas of their compositions and strategies to improve their writing. Grades
for the first 4 essays are not recorded and students can rewrite their essays. The
succeeding essays are graded, students must rewrite but there is no “second”
grade.
The last month before the exam, students work on the free response sections of
the AP exams 2001-2006. Students also starting doing a set of free-response fillins/verbs and an essay during a 65 minute class to familiarize them with issues of
time management/proofreading in preparation for the exam
Weeks 22-34 Review of verb formations (tenses)
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Students receive a list of tenses for review and they are to do the lessons on their
own using www.conjuguemos.com (either the site’s lessons or lessons listed
under “My teacher”). Cumulative pop quizzes are given.
The conjuguemos practice counts as a trimester grade as well as the quizzes.
Students also have access to quizzes/practice activities on their class page of
www.quia.com where they can practice verbs in context: past tenses, conditional
sentences and use of the subjunctive/present/indicative
Weeks 26-27 Review and Practice for the National French Contest
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Students are given packets of the grammar sections from the 2004-2006 National
French Contests. This work done independently and then class time is used once
a week for correction and explanation.
Emphasis is placed on recognizing the proper use of
present/past/future/conditional/subjunctive tenses as used in context.
Proper use of pronouns, adjectives and prepositions are they occur in the context
of a sentence is reviewed.
The reading sections and listening sections are reviewed for comprehension and
vocabulary practice.
All students take the National French Contest and their score is counted as a
trimester grade.
Students are also encouraged to participate in the Regional Language Festival
which occurs during the same time period as the National French Contest.
Competitions are held in Oral Proficiency, Listening Proficiency, Recitation of a
Literary Passage, Extemporaneous Prose Reading and Grammar/Vocabulary.
Winners compete again at the State Festival in May.
Weeks 28-32 Pagnol: Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources
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After several weeks on intensive AP review, we finish the year with the two films
“Jean de Florette” and “Manon des Sources” accompanied by excerpts/chapters of
the books as a way to get back into the discussion/ essay writing mode right
before the exam. This provides the students with lots of oral/aural/reading
practice in a context that they really enjoy.
Students are introduced the work of Marcel Pagnol and the importance of these
two books/films within the body of his work.
Students view the films, accompanied by excerpts from the books. Discussion is
held on the themes and plots as well as the cultural aspects of life in a small
village, and the role of stereotypes and ethnocentric behavior in the development
of the story.
The excerpted passages focus on the relationship between Jean and Ugolin in the
first book and between Papet and Ugolin in the second book. The questions of
innocence and guilt and revenge are discussed, in French, throughout the two
works.
At the end of the first film, a class discussion is held as to the possibilities for the
plot of the second book. An attempt is made to predict the outcome for all the
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major characters of the first book. Students write an essay, after the class
discussion, giving their “sequel” to Jean de Florette. These essays are then
discussed again at the end of the second film. The focus of the class discussion
the second time is on the ways in which the story differed from their suppositions
and the reasons why Pagnol chose to end the story in this manner. The final essay
is on the role of fate and guilt in the two stories (supported by specific examples).
Both movies are watched in their entirety with subtitles due to the difficulty of
understanding the heavy provencal accent of the actors.
Weeks 33-34—Mock AP exams
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Prior to the AP exam, students tape 3 practice AP oral exams in our analog lab
under conditions similar to the exam. A master tape is made up with the
instructions for the students, time built in for preparation and then the 60 second
response times. These tapes are evaluated by the teacher. The first taping is not
a recorded grade as the teacher confers with the student on the relative strengths
and weaknesses of his/her answers. The last two oral tapes count as a trimester
grade.
In all, the students will have 3 full AP practices with each section being done
under the time constraints of the actual exam. Students have these scores
recorded as past of their final trimester grade.
All students are expected to sit for the AP exam. If for some reason, a student
does not sit for the AP exam, the credit is awarded only as “advanced” not “AP”
and the transcript is changed to reflect this.
Rubric for essays/compositions on following page. Total point value may vary with the
topic or according to the emphasis (advanced structures/strong transitions etc). This
rubric is for the basic goal of a “clean, clear” essay.
APPENDIX:
Composition rubric—French V
Topic___________________
Length/topic development
5
Name_____
4
3
Basic control of grammar 45 pts
5= problem rarely/never occurs 4= sometimes
Subject/verb agreement
10
Verbs—choice of tense
10
Verbs—formation
5
Word position /spelling
5
Use of prepositions
5
60 pts / corrections 10 pts
3= frequently
8
6
8
6
4
3
4
3
4
3
2= very weak control
4
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4
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2
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2
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2
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Agreement (sing/pl or mas/fem)
Missing words or word choice
Advanced Structures 6pts
Si sentences
Subjunctive
Avant de../ après
Object pronouns
length____
En + present participle
basics____
Use of ce qui/ lequel/ don’t
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
used
____
____
____
____
problem with usage
_______
_______
_______
_______
____
_______
____
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Transition words
4 pts 1/2 each
Cependant / pourtant
Car
Néanmoins
En revanche
D’abord/ensuite/puis/enfin
De cette façon/ manière
Autrefois/auparavant
Lorsque (to replace quand)
Quand meme
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______
tel/ pareil
tel que---such as
soit…soit
alors, donc
c’est à dire
aussitôt que/ dés que
tandis que (“while”…to contrast )
Topic development=_________/5
Basic control =_____________/45
Advanced Structures=_______/6
Transitiions =_____________/4
Total = _______/ 60
“AP” score;______
AP Scale
Raw score/ AP score
% grade
description
9
5
A+
strong control/variety of grammar and vocabulary/
few significant errors/ use of transitions/ sense of style (sentence structure varied)
7-8
4
A/A-/B+
good control despite some errors/ good use of
vocabulary/ read smoothly despite some awkwardness of style./ occasional transitions
5-6
3
B/B-/C+/C
fair control/ use of simple grammar correctly and/or
use of more complex structures without numerous serious errors/some apt vocabulary/
occasion sign of fluency or style/ repetitive sentence structure or vocabulary
3-4
2
C-/D+/D/D- weak use of language/little control of grammar/
frequent use of anglicisms/ forces interpretation on the part of the reader/ very repetitive
1-2
1
F
unacceptable from most points of view/ almost total
lack of vocabulary/ essentially Gallicized English./ very simple sentences/no transitions
Floating point—for a coherent and well-organized essay or a particularly inventive one.