Professor:

Dr. D. Brian Mann

Coordinates:

• Office: Dunlap 314A
• Telephone: 864-1961
• E-mail: bmann@ngcsu.edu.  I will have a web page up soon.

Office Hours:

TBA (I’m usually in my office by 08:00, so that’s a good time to catch me).

 Required Materials:

• Voilà 3rd ed. by Heilenman, Kaplan, Tournier
• Cahier d’activités écrites et orales and accompanying CD ROM.
• 120-minute, normal-bias audio cassette.  To minimize risk of breakage, I recommend a high-quality tape such as BASF, FUJI, JVC, Maxell, Memorex, Sony, or TDK.

 Recommended:

• 501 French Verbs by Kendris or Le Bescherelle: Dictionnaire des verbes français.
• A good French/English dictionary

Prerequisite: none.  Introduction to Francophone culture and the fundamentals of hearing, speaking, reading, and writing French.  Designed for those who have not studied French before or who need a review.  Language laboratory assignments.  Active class room use of the language.

Eligibility:

You may not take FREN 1001 for credit if you have taken two years or more of high-school French.  You may take it for review, however, and it counts toward the Hope Scholarship and full-time student status.

Course Objectives:

• To introduce and develop the communicative skills of listening and speaking in French with the purpose of facilitating personalized exchange in the target language.
• To introduce and develop reading and writing skills with the purpose of acquiring an elementary degree of literacy in the target language.
• To learn about the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity within France and the Francophone world.
• To become aware of the relatedness of all cultures and to begin to understand those of the Francophone world.

Methods Of Instruction:

• Guided communicative activities between professor and students in a whole-class situation.
• Small group communicative activities.
• Frequent review of written homework.
• Grammar explanations of difficult grammatical problems.
• Internet activities and exercises.
• Laboratory work, including audio cassettes, internet, and if possible, film and music.

Final Grade:  Your final grade will reflect your performance in the course of the semester and will be determined in the following manner:

• 4 scheduled exams: 50%.  The scores for the four exams will be averaged.
• Daily work: 25%.  Homework, lab work, pop quizzes, and your willingness to practice the language, credit for which is dependent upon DAILY ATTENDANCE (see following page).  I will divide this portion of your grade into three equal parts: Quizzes, Laboratory work, and Homework.  Your quizzes will be averaged, your lab grade will be compiled from your attendance in the lab as well as the tapes you turn in, and the homework grades*  will be averaged.
• Final exam: 25%.  The emphasis on the comprehensive final exam reflects the fact that French 1001 is part of a 4-semester sequence.  You must thus demonstrate at the end of each semester that you have acquired the skills to succeed in the following course.  There will be a written and an oral component. See the attached guide to help you prepare for this exam.

* Homework earns a ? (for completing the assignment as required), a ?- (for sub-standard work), and a ?+ (for a decidedly superior effort that indicates to me you were really serious about learning from the assignment).  A ? is worth one homework assignment, a ?- counts for half credit, and a ?+ counts for 1.5 homework assignments.  The accumulated extra points you earn here will compensate for missed quizzes or homework, a low test score, or just raising your overall average.  Don’t overlook this opportunity for success!!

Discipline/Academic dishonesty:

• The language learning environment is a delicate one, and I work hard to initiate and maintain it.  Therefore, disruptive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Students are also expected to follow the Academic Integrity Policy of North Georgia College and State University, found on pages 64-67 of the 1998-2000 Undergraduate Bulletin, and to adhere to the integrity code: “On my honor I will not lie, cheat, steal, plagiarize, evade the truth or tolerate those who do” (p. 65).  Violations will be referred to the Academic Integrity Council.

Attendance policy:

• In French 1001, I expect you to uphold the standards of the institution to whose curriculum this class belongs: "The university expects all students to attend all regularly scheduled for instruction an examination” (Bulletin p. 59).  Although I understand that circumstances beyond your control or your own personal priorities might lead you to miss class, this university insists that you take responsibility for the decisions you make regarding attendance: “The student is responsible for all material presented in class and for all announcements and assignments” (p. 59).

Because of the cumulative nature of language learning, missing class will put your grade at risk almost immediately.  Daily assignments can always be obtained from the instructor or a classmate, but there is no make-up for missed pop-quizzes, homework, lab work, or the daily practice necessary for the development of proficiency in the target language.  In addition, there is no make-up if you miss a scheduled exam without informing me in advance of your situation. Rather, the score on the subsequent scheduled exam will count twice.

• When absences become numerous, the university gives me the authority to make unpleasant decisions about your enrollment that affect your academic standing: “If the total number of a student’s absences exceeds 14% of the scheduled classes [in our case 6], it shall become the prerogative of the instructor to drop the student from the class roll with a W or WF, or to continue the student in class” (p. 59).  I want you to have every opportunity to succeed in this class, but I expect you to be adult enough to speak with me privately about any personal situation that causes or might cause you to miss more than six classes.  If you don’t, I must assume that you are acting irresponsibly and I will remove you from the roster.  By the way, two tardies count as one absence.  And remember: it is your responsibility to be informed of the deadlines concerning your student status or any changes in your registration.

Lab and other work:

• Because listening and responding to the speech patterns of native speakers is so important, you are required to work with the cassette program for Voilà and the other French-related materials available to you in the language lab for a minimum of 50 minutes per week.  You must complete the tape for each chapter while we are on that particular chapter, and as in the case of regular homework, no credit is given for lab work turned in after we go on to the next chapter.  You also have your CD ROM’s, and I may also ask you to use the Internet, watch French films, and/or read an article on French culture, politics, history, etc.  There is also a website at the University of Texas for our textbook that offers activities for practice and enhancement of your skills.  Go to http://voila.heinle.com/title.htm

Class participation:

• You are expected to prepare basic grammar and vocabulary lessons at home.  By doing this, you make it possible for us to spend a large portion of class time on speaking and practicing what you studied at home.  I expect you to study the upcoming material in the textbook and to do exercises in the Cahier, to check your answers in the back of the Cahier, then to come to class with any questions you might have.  We will use as much of class time as we can in active use of the grammar, vocabulary, and culture.  On some of the more difficult grammar items, I will make introductory explanations in class before asking you to study the material at home.  Any time you are having trouble, you should see me and/or the tutor in the lab as soon as possible.

A final note:  This is my first semester at NGCSU, and there is much for me to learn about it and its students. I would like you to let me know if you think there is anything you can contribute to my doing so!  In conclusion, all of the above policy can be summarized as follows:  Do your best to be present, on time, and prepared, and I will do my best to do the same!  Au fur et à mesure, amusons-nous!

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