AP French
Instructor: Monsieur Bernard
Office Hours:
Students need to schedule meeting in advance. I can usually meet before and after school, as well as during
periods 3, 5 or 8.
Contact Information:
Phone: 773-535-1350 Ext 27409
E-mail: abernard2@cps.k12.il.us
Prerequisite: Successful completion of French III.
Credits: This is a 0.5 credit/semester course.
Description:
AP are advanced courses and a continuation of French 3 or French 4. The focus of this series of courses is on
real-life language use, the integration of culture and language, and the four skills of speaking, listening, reading,
and writing. The class will be conducted entirely in French, and you will be expected to participate actively
using the language skills that you are learning. You will be introduced to a variety of reading and writing
exercises that will serve to reinforce the oral focus of the course.
Course goals:
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Converse, narrate, describe and explain situations in response to oral and written
prompts using advanced vocabulary, sentence structure, connected sentences and
paragraphs. Both oral and written communication will be emphasized in various
time frames and mood.
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Comprehend spoken language relating to different settings and situations.
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Read and understand written language from various sources, including newspapers, magazines and
literature, without a dictionary.
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Use critical thinking skills (inference, deduction, application, etc) to answer questions, summarize and
respond to written and spoken texts.
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Express ideas orally and in writing fluently and accurately.
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Use culturally appropriate grammar, idioms, vocabulary and speech patterns to show a deep
understanding of the culture and linguistic nuances.
Illinois Learning Standards :
STATE GOAL 28: Use the target language to communicate within and beyond the classroom setting.
STATE GOAL 29: Use the target language to develop an understanding of the customs, arts, literature, history
and geography associated with the target language.
STATE GOAL 30: Use the target language to make connections and reinforce knowledge and skills across
academic, vocational and technical disciplines.
ACT College Readiness Standards :
The following standards will be integrated into the instruction:
 English: Word choice
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English: Sentence structure and formation
English: Conventions of usage
English: Conventions of punctuation
Reading: Main ideas
Reading: Meanings of words
 Writing: Using language
Instructional Materials:
Text: Provided by CPS
En Bonne Forme 7th Edition--- Houghton Mifflin
Materials purchased by student and brought to class each day:
 French/English dictionary (recommended)
 ½ “ binder
 Five dividers
 Loose leaf paper
 Two black or blue pens
 A bright colored ballpoint, not red
 Two pencils
 A personal supply of tissues
Course policies:
Participation: The small size of our class means there is no excuse for not participating! Being prepared for
and participating in class activities is one of the most important means of attaining the goals of the course.
There are unfortunately few opportunities to speak, hear, read, and write French in Chicago, other than in
French class, so it is essential to come and practice actively on a daily basis. French will be used exclusively in
class. This includes conversations between teacher and students and amongst students. Failure to do so on a
regular basis will result in a lower participation grade.
Furthermore, in our conversations outside of class will also try to use French as the primary language.
Tutoring: Once a week you will be expected to tutor students studying French I, II or III for about 30 minutes.
We will discuss the necessary arrangements by September 8, first day of tutoring.
Quizzes: Frequent short quizzes will provide you and me with feedback as to your preparedness and your
understanding of the material you are practicing. These quizzes can be both announced and unannounced. A
number of oral quizzes will be given to you in the form of the speaking section of the AP exam.
Homework Assignments: I will regularly assign work to be completed outside of class. It is your
responsibility to complete all assignments on time. Work completed after class has begun is considered late and
will receive a grade of zero.
Projects/Oral Presentations: During the year, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your oral skills in
French during various group and individual activities such as interviews, discussions, plays and so on. In case of
a group project, each person in the group will be evaluated individually according to criteria that you will
receive beforehand. Besides these special assignments, you will have a weekly formal oral presentation as
explained a little further in this syllabus.
Written Exams: Exams will be given in this course. Each exam is designed to assess your skills in listening,
reading, writing, and your understanding of cultural information presented in the course. You will have 2 major
exams per month testing you on the grammar and reading. You will also have at least 2 formal essays per month
to write under the same testing conditions you will have the day of the AP exam.
Journal: Throughout the year, you will write short responses to a topic assigned by your instructor, and/or of
your choosing. These entries will comprise your journal. Grades will be based on the development of your
ideas, the evidence of your learning in the course, and the comprehensibility of your writing.
Dictionary: You are expected to create your own dictionary with words that I write on the board or that you
will hear or read in class and while doing your homework. These dictionaries will be collected and graded on a
regular basis. Individualized vocabulary quizzes will be given.
AP Exam: You are required to take the AP French exam, which is two and a half hours long. The test is not
based on any particular subject matter but instead attempts to measure the student’s level of performance in the
use of the language, both in understanding spoken and written French and in responding in correct and
idiomatic French. Listening and reading are tested in multiple choice section, writing and speaking in the free
response section
GRADING:
The final grade will be determined according to the following:
Class Participation
Tutoring
Homework
Projects/Presentations
Journal
Dictionary
Quizzes
Exams
10%
10%
10%
10%
15%
10%
10%
25%
Grading Scale: A >90%, B>80%, C>70%, D>60%, F<60%
How to Study for this Course
Here are some tips for making your experience learning French fun and rewarding:
1. Always keep up with the homework.
2. Review and read assigned chapters as you start each homework assignment.
3. Make flashcards to learn new vocabulary or make a study sheet--I’ll show you how. Repeatedly writing and
re-writing new words also helps in memorization. Merely looking at the book will not help you learn to
spell, pronounce and use new words. You have to practice new vocabulary in different ways.
4. Review vocabulary, handouts and notes frequently.
5. Ask questions in class when you do not understand something--or see me after class.
6. Always feel free to make an appointment with me before or after school for extra help.
7. Listen when I’m speaking.
8. Speak in French when you’re given the opportunity.
9. Do not carry on side conversations or be goofy in class. You’ll definitely miss something important-practice and information--and you’ll prevent others from learning, too.
10. Take risks--go out on a limb and try to speak French!
11. Tests will be announced far in advance and students should begin studying (see tips 1-5) immediately.
Reviewing past exams and learning from mistakes will be very helpful since foreign language is cumulative.
COURSE PLANNER:
All Quarters:
1) Every week you will present orally to the class a story that you have read in the following online
newspapers: lemonde.fr or leparisien.fr. You need to bring the article with you and give me a copy.
Your speech should not be longer than two minutes, the title and all new vocabulary has to be put on the
board (with their meaning) before you speak. Your article has to be current (no more than a couple of
days old). A discussion inspired by your presentation will follow. The advantage of having a small class,
is that this kind of activity will not take a big chunk of our class as your presentations will be spread out
throughout the week.
2) We will also use on a regular basis other resources for shorter reading as well as for practicing the
listening comprehension part of the exam. Images of art pieces and cartoons will be used to complement
your textbook. Past AP exams will also be used in order to review the oral part of the exam.
3) You will write in your journals at least twice a week about a topic that will either be inspired from our
readings, the news or timeless societal matters. For example: “A votre avis, qu’est-ce qui est à l’origine
des problèmes de banlieues en France?” “Etes-vous pour ou contre la peine de mort?” I will collect your
journals at the end of each week and return them to you on Mondays.
4) You will also use your journals to write larger essays inspired from past AP exams. These will be done
in class about twice a month. Once I return your essays, you will need to correct the mistakes I
highlighted. A color code (to be explained to you later in class) will be used to indicate whether the
mistake lies in the syntax, the vocabulary or conjugation.
5) Lastly you will write in your journal your reactions to the francophone news you will hear in class at
tv5.org or various audio stories I will play in class. It is important that you get used to hearing authentic
speech.
Grammatical reviews, readings and writings specific to the first quarter:
September
Over the course of the first quarter we will emphasize verb reviews. It is advised but not mandatory that you
purchase 501 French Verbs by Christopher Kendris available at any bookstore. This book is very handy if you
have a doubt about the conjugation of a verb.
Writing: We will start by identifying and understanding the various elements that make up a sentence.
Using En Bonne Forme, we will review how to form and use each tense and mood. This will be a review of
what you did last year.
This month we will review “le présent, l’ imperative, le passif et les temps du passé”.
We will look at how to break down the structural components of a text and focus on journalistic/press writing as
well as literary reading and analysis techniques as opposed to summary writing techniques. This will help you
in your weekly oral presentation pres of newspapers and magazine articles.
Analysis and interpretation of visuals such as photos, advertisements, comic strips, and works of art.
Reading: “Premier Conte pour Enfants de Moins de Trois Ans” by Eugene Ionesco. We will also look at the
author and other work you might know from him. This book addresses several grammatical points at the end of
each story and we will take this opportunity to review these points as see how they are illustrated in the context
of a literary piece.
Two additional stories to be read this month, which are: “Enfance” by Nathalie Sarraute and “La machine à
détecter tous ce qui est Americain” by Roch. We will follow the same plan as to the first reading for each
upcoming piece of literature.
October
Lesson and exercises: Les temps du future et du conditionnel.
Writing: This month we will focus on descriptive texts and improve the way we bring writng to life through
effective description.
Definition, explaination, and illustratration of essential stylistic components.
Reading : “Le syllabaire” by Joseph Zobel (PL 29-40) and “Le proverbe” by Marcel Aymé.
Special assignment:
You will call me via phone and discuss one of the readings. Be aware that I may also chit chat with you a little
bit.
Grammatical reviews, readings ad writings specific to second quarter:
November
Lesson and exercises: Le subjonctif et le discourse indirect.
Writing: We will look at the definitions and examples of narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative, and
injunctive writing.
Reading: “L’amoureuse” by Paul Edourd,“ Le dormeur du Val” by Arthur Rimbaud, “L’Hôte” by Albert
Camus.
December
Lesson and exercises : Les pronoms complements et accentués.
We will begin the movie “Amélie” using the lesson made by film Aérobics. Beside the obvious to you
listening/comprehension, you learn about writing about a film.
Writing: Descriptions of various types of novels (roman d'initiation, d'aventure, réaliste et naturaliste, etc.) as
well as short stories.
Reading : “D’Anne qui lui jetta de la neige” by Clément Marot and “La neige chaude” by Marie Savard .
January:
Lesson and exercises : Les pronoms posséssifs et démonstratifs + les expressions interrogatives.
Writing: Since the beginning of the year you have been wirting in your journals about a wide variety of topics,
most of them being your opinion about the subject in hand.We will look at how to develop and argue more
efficiently.
Reading: “Le Horla” by Guy de Maupassant, “L’invitation au voyage” by Charles Baudelaire.
For your Mid-term you will take an old AP exam. Given that we have not finished with our reviews, this test
will be curved.
Grammatical reviews and readings specific to third quarter:
February
We will emphasize prepositions, conjuctions and the structures of complex sentences. Once again it will be
helpful to go back to En bonne forme (Chapter 22).
Lesson and exercises: Les pronoms relatifs, les prépositions et les conjunctions.
Reading: “Oscar et Erick” by Marcel Aymé, “Plume” by Henri Michaux
Special assignment:
You need to interview a French speaking person that you will find at one of the following places: Alliance
Française de Chicago (http://www.af-chicago.org/app/homepage.asp), Consulat Général de France
(http://www.consulfrance-chicago.org) or Lycée Français de Chicago (http://www.lyceechicago.org). Go to
their websites for contact information and addresses. You are welcome to find someone working elsewhere, but
I need to pre-approve them ahead of time.
You will set up an appointment and interview the person using exclusively French. We will discuss at a later
point the kind of question you might ask, but know that you will be recording your conversation (thus make
sure to warn the interviwee ahead of time.
March
Lesson and exercises: Les négations + les adjectifs
Reading : “Histoire d’un bon bramin” by Voltaire, “Le loup et l’agneau” by La Fontaine, “Il était une feuille”
by Robert Desnos
Special assignment:
You will call a person in France (I will give you a number later) and try to find out basics information about
them as well as some interesting facts by keeping them on the phone for at least 5 minutes. It is more a
conversation than an interview, so it is fine if they also ask you questions.
You will not all call the same person!
Grammatical reviews and readings specific to fourth quarter:
April
AP specific reviews. Extensive use of old AP exams.
The fourth quarter being much shorter than the others, we will spend our time practicing all the aspects of the
AP exam using old AP exams. On one or two Saturdays, you will be asked to come to school in order to take an
AP exam in the real time and conditions. I know that it may not be convenient but it is worth the sacrifice.
This will also be the time of Spring Break and I would like you to take your journals with you and keep a diary
of what you are doing over you break. For those of you going to France with me, I will allocate time at the end
of each day for that specific purpose. Upon our return from break, I will ask you to bring a picture from your
vacation and comment on it for a couple of minutes.
Websites:
There are hundreds of websites aiming at sharpening your skills in French. The portal:
http://www.lepointdufle.net and the website:
http://millennium.arts.kuleuven.ac.be/weboscope/francais/index.htm may be the best place to start because of
their great organizational structures that make it easy for you to find what you are looking for.
Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement
By signing below, I confirm that I have read and understood the above requirements and expectations.*
Student’s name: _________________________________________________________
Please print
Parent/Guardian’s signature: ______________________________________________
Please sign
In order to encourage communication, please include complete contact information below.
Contact Information:
Home phone _____________________
cell phone ___________________________
Day time phone ________________________
Additional Contacts (such as family members or friends):
*Please detach and return this portion to the instructor no later than Monday, September 13, 2011.