It will take you a few minutes to study this document, but it is essential for your success in the course to familiarize yourself thoroughly each of the points explained in this guide. Your instructor will assume that you have carefully read and taken note of every instruction, so at no point in the course will you feel uncertain about what is expected for each class and each assignment. Assignments not prepared according to these instructions will not be credited.
IMPORTANT DATES, Fall 2010:
Friday, September 24: First submission of vocabulary-grammar
notebook assignment (for inspection only)
Friday, October 1: Submission of partial version of composition assignment
(for inspection only)
Friday, October 22: Second submission of vocabulary-grammar
notebook, for marking (15%)
Monday, October 25: Second submission of partial version of
compostion assignment (for inspection only)
Wednesday, November 10: Final submission of composition assignment for marking
(30%)
Monday, November 29: Final submission of vocabulary-grammar
notebook, for marking (15%)
The purpose of French 2601 is to equip you with the skills to
understand with a high degree of accuracy what you read and to
summarize and explain this to others in French.
Specifically we build on reading skills developed in French 1502 by the
careful study of narrative and descriptice texts so as to
facilitate your future reading of such works. These texts may be
short or long, fiction or non-fiction. This study includes understanding
the text at the level of each sentence, even each word. But it also
includes understanding how they are structured and what techniques
(procédés in French) are used to relate events and describe persons, objects and situations..
In the first instance, then, the text is studied with a view to
developing the essential mastery of the grammar, vocabulary and
idiom that you will need in order to read similar texts with
ease in the future.. Therefore the purpose of studying these texts
is not simply to understand these particular texts. The
passage under consideration will be used as a point of departure
for developing grammar and vocabulary points related to those found in
the passage.
2. How should I prepare the assigned reading for each class?
The text of the assigned reading should be CAREFULLY prepared
BEFORE each class. Here "carefully" means finding all new
words and expressions in bilingual and unilingual dictionaries,
consulting a reference grammar to understand any new constructions
encountered (why, for example, a certain verb is in the
subjunctive mood, or why the normal order of a subject and its verb is
inverted).
As part of your preparation for class (and later, as a review exercise),
you will find it helpful to read the assigned passages aloud. You will find this
helpful for remembering new vocabulary and the major ideas of the reading.
In addition, you should master where applicable the "active vocabulary" found
on the "Vocabulaire
Actif" Web page. A selection of items will be taken from this page
for your final exam.
In class you will be expected to be able to answer
questions, both orally and on the blackboard, concerning ALL of the
vocabulary in the assigned readings, and to explain the grammar and
construction of all the sentences in these passages. If you do
not fully understand an expression or construction you should prepare
questions to ask the instructor in class.
You will also be assigned questions on the content, structure, and
techniques of the texts studied, frequently from the study editions of
these texts which have been assigned for the course. In class it will be
expected that you have prepared these questions. See the "Exercices" page
for exercises you should prepare before class. These exercises will be
either (i) discussed in class orally, (ii) discussed orally in small
groups, or (iii) answered in writing on the blackboard. You should come
to class prepared to answer the assigned exercise questions in any of
these three ways.
3. Will I be able to learn everything I need from class
discussion?
You will not benefit from class discussion unless you have prepared
the reading assignment and questions before coming to class. Requiring
such preparation is intended to allow you to make the most efficient use
possible of your time, and is based on the observation that students
profit from textual study only when they have diligently worked through
the text themselves before class discussion. Experience has shown
that students who attempt to garner from class discussion bits of
information concerning an unfamiliar text derive little benefit from their
efforts. (See the last paragraph of the answer to question 17
and question 23 on the matter of time management.)
RETOUR à la page
Français 2601
Since a major objective of French 2601 is to give you the tools you need in
order to read, in the future, with ease and thoroughness of understanding,
texts
designed to inform or persuade, it is essential to increase significantly your
vocabulary and familiarity with the structures of French. The specific
objective for French 2601 is to learn to recognize two or three new expressions
or constructions a day. To help meet this objective you will prepare in a
STENO notebook, following the instructions and model distributed in class by
the
instructor, daily notes with contextualized new vocabulary and grammar points
you learn in all of your readings in French.
5. What do you mean by "contextualized" vocabulary?
Giving a short direct quotation of a few words (sentence fragment,
or very short sentence), taken from your readings or dictionaries, that
illustrate how the word is used, and which help you remember the word (see
the model distributed in class). Do not make up the
illustration yourself.
6. How many items should I include in my notebook?
About twenty a week, leading to a total of about 250 (but a
maximum of 300) items at the end of the term.
7. Is it not difficult to learn that many items in one
term?
No, providing you learn two or three every day, testing yourself
immediately after entering them in your notebook and reviewing what you
have learned at the end of each week. But do not try to learn thirty or
thirty-five new items all at once!
8. What are the advantages of learning vocabulary this way?
The principal advantage is that you yourself make the decisions and
take responsibility for determining what you need to and should learn,
rather than simply having the instructor tell you. In choosing outside
readings you will be able to build up vocabulary in areas that interest
you personally, and you will be rewarded for this in receiving marks
for your work.
Another advantage is that it will help you master the vocabulary of
texts studied in class, which in turn will lead to higher marks on
your examinations.
9. From what readings should I find material to put in my
Vocabulary
and Grammar Notebook?
You should include vocabulary and grammar items from both readings discussed
in class and from your own choice of out-of-class readings in French. A
wide variety of readings in French is made available on the course Web site
(click on "Lectures sur Internet" near the top of the main French 2601 Web
page), and others are available in the French department seminar and reading room
(SN-4035) and in the university library.
10. May I include in my Vocabulary
and Grammar Notebook material from notebooks prepared in other
courses or from old periodicals?
No. The entries in the notebook must not include entries used in similar
notebooks for any other course taken by the student. For this reason
entries taken from periodical literature (including newspapers and
magazines published on the Internet) may be taken only from
periodicals published between April 2010 and November 2010.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON COPYING FROM ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT: Academic
Offences defined in University Regulations 4.11.4 of the Calendar
include "plagiarism", "copying from another student's work
or allowing another student to copy from one's own work", and
"submitting work for one course which has been or is being submitted
for another course." Penalties range from reprimand and reduction of
marks to suspension or expulsion from the university. Consult
the university Calendar.
11. How do I distinguish between words and grammar points I want to
be able to use myself, and those I want only to be able to
recognize?
Vocabulary items that you wish to assimilate into your active
(productive, as opposed to simple recognition) vocabulary (normally
no less than 25% of items in the notebook) should be
marked with an asterisk (*) beside the English (or French)
equivalent of the term in the right-hand (or both) column(s) of the
steno notebook.
12. How will my instructor know exactly how many and what
readings I have used for this notebook?
At the back of the notebook, starting on the very last
page, there must be a numbered bibliography of all
readings you used in the preparation of the notebook, including publication
data
for each item. The information should be clear enough that your instructor
could easily find the readings cited if he wished to check them, and it should
include URL addresses of material read on the Internet.
13. Will there be questions from my personal notebook on the
final exam?
In the Fall 2010 section of French 2601(001) there will be no questions
taken directly from your personal notebook, but a major part of
the final examination will comprise vocabulary studied in the assigned
readings. Their inclusion in your notebook will be beneficial for exam
results.
14. When will I have to pass my notebook in, and how much is
it worth?
The notebook will be submitted three times: on Friday, September 24 (with 40-50 entries) for inspection and advice; on
Friday, Ocotber 22(with 125-150 entries) for a mark of 15%; and on Monday, November 29
(with 250-300 entries) for a further 15%. In order to ensure fairness
to all students, 0.2% of the final mark will be deducted each day beyond
the deadline that the notebook assignment is not submitted.
15. How will the notebook be marked?
The criteria used in determining the mark of the notebook will be: (a)
the care with each entry has been prepared, especially evidence of
work with a dictionary showing different meanings of the
word in question and, importantly, examples of contexts in which the word
is used (quotations of short sentences or phrases); (b)
inclusion of paradigms and explanations of grammatical points
encountered in reading; (c) the number and variety of readings
done by the student; (d) the number of entries in the notebook (about 250
for normal "B" level work, to a maximum of 300).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Notebook assignments not prepared according to
the specific instructions for this section of French 2601 will not be
accepted and credited. For example, notebooks in which adjectives
are not listed in the masculine singular form, verbs not listed in the
infinitive form or not labelled as transitive, indirect transitive or
pronominal, and notebooks without a bibliography at the back or without
labelling of personal active vocabulary, will not be credited.
Check list for submission of notebook assignment:
1. Are all items numbered consecutively, without restarting the
numbering for new dates or new sources?
2. Is there a numbered bibliography at the very back (last page
of the notebook), indicating what source(s) you have used (even if for
the time being there is only one)?
3. Are all the entries facing the same way when you open your
steno pad flat, displaying two pages?
4. Do all or most entries include in the left-hand column a
quotation of a short sentence (or a few words from part of a
sentence), found in your readings or your dictionaries, which illustrate
the meaning or meanings of the word?
5. Is every verb entry in the infinitive or dictionary form
(ending in -er, -ir or re)?
6. Is every verb entry clearly labelled "vt" (transitive verb,
taking a direct object), "vti" (indirect transitive verb, taking an
indirect object), "vi" (intransitive verb, never taking a direct object),
or "vpr" (pronominal verb)?
7. Is every noun entry given in the singular, with irregular
plural forms noted when necessary?
8. Is the gender of every noun clearly indicated either by an
article (le or la, un or une) or by a label?
9. Is every adjective entry given in the masculine
singular form, with irregular feminine or plural forms noted
when necessary?
10. Have you marked with an asterisk in the righthand (or both)
column(s) of the steno pad about a quarter of your entries to indicate
that you will learn these items as part of your active,
productive (and not just recognition) vocabulary?
11. Have you included some grammatical explanations or paradigms of
new grammar points you have encountered in your reading?
16. Am I responsible for everything covered in class, including
material not found explicitly in the textbooks or assigned
readings?
Yes.
For examination purposes, students will be responsible both for
everything assigned for study and for everything discussed in class
(including new vocabulary not appearing in the
passages assigned for study).
17. How important is it in this course to attend every
class?
In the past, students who missed a class
typically failed on examination questions devoted to the passage
and exercises discussed in that class.
Students often miss class because of some other pressing
commitment, such as an assignment for another course that must be
completed or an exam the same day. It is therefore very important for you
to plan the whole of each week in such a way that you allot sufficient
time to complete your different course requirements without missing any
classes. If you have trouble organizing your time, you are encouraged to
seek advice on this matter at the university Counselling Centre.
18. What should I do then if I have to miss a class for reasons of
illness?
On your return to the university you should immediately see your instructor
during his office hour (Monday to Friday 4:00-5:00
or by
appointment in Fall 2010) to determine what you missed and what
remedial work
can be done, and to obtain any documents that might have been distributed in
class. Please do not e-mail your instructor to advise him of your
absence from a single class -- the important thing is to find out what you
missed when you return to university. However, if you have to be absent for
more
than one class you are advised to telephone or e-mail your instructor to inform
him of the situation and make arrangements for catching up on missed work.
19. What is the format of the final exam, and what should I
study for it?
About half the exam will test your ability to understand the literal sense
of the readings you will have studied. For this half of the exam you are
responsible for being able to recognize and identify all the French
vocabulary and grammar constructions in all of the readings you will
have done during the semester. In addition there will be a selection of
items in English from the "Vocabulaire
Actif" Web page for which you will have to give the correct French
equivalent taken from your readings.
The second half of the exam will consist of questions on such matters as
the theme and plot of the works you will have studied. To
prepare for the final exam you should (i) reread each passage studied
with your notes on vocabulary and grammar, (ii) study notes you have
taken on the content of the readings, (iii) study your answers to the
exercises assigned for class discussion, (iv) be sure you can give
the French equivalent for each item inthe "Vocabulaire Actif", and
(v) know all the vocabulary in your personal Vocabulary and Grammar
Notebook drawn from the course readings. You should spend an hour at
the end of each week reviewing this material, and several hours
before the final exam studying the material covered throughout the term.
See above section A on preparation of readings.
20. Is there anything else
that I will be responsible for in each class?
Yes. You will be responsible for all announcements made in class
concerning assignments, examinations, etc., as well as for any
documents that might be distributed in class.
RETOUR à la page
Français 2602
21. What are the requirements for my written assignm?
All of the information you will need about your written assignment is
found in the document entitled Devoir
écrit distributed in the first class and found on the Internet at
http:/www.ucs.mun.ca/~jmaclean/2601.red.html
French 2601 can be considered an intermediate university
level French course. Students at the French 2601 level should be able to
understand and express
themselves in carefully spoken oral French, and, with the help of their
bilingual and unilingual dictionaries and a good reference grammar (see "Livres
obligatoires" in the course outline), should be able to read the
passages assigned for study and write short essays and examination answers
with accurate grammar, vocabulary and spelling.
23. How many hours per week of out-of-class work will this course
require?
French 2601 is not a "heavy" course with respect to workload, but it is
important to keep up with the work on a daily basis. The different
assignments in this course overlap considerably. For example, much of the
work for the Vocabulary Notebook is in fact synonymous with preparation
and review of your readings.
Typically you will need to spend about an hour a day on out-of-class
work; for example: 3 hours per week studying the assigned reading
(finding all new vocabulary in your dictionaries, checking grammatical
forms and constructions in your reference grammar, taking notes on the
content of the passage, reading the assigned passage aloud), 1.5 hours
preparing the assigned exercises for each reading, a total of about 1
hour making 20 entries (3 per day) in your Vocabulary and Grammar
Notebook, 1.5 hours for the written assignments. Planning and
budgeting your time are important ingredients to success in this
course.
24. What has led to success and what has led to problems in this
course in the past?.
Students who have done well in this course in the past (70%+) have
usually attended every class, have prepared every assigned reading and
exercise thoroughly before class, have read aloud the assigned readings
two or three times, have carefully checked over their written work
(including answers to assigned exercises), have spent time at the end of
every week testing themselves on the vocabulary studied and reviewing
the passages read, exercises completed, as well as class notes, and they
have availed themselves of every opportunity to speak, read and listen
to French (on radio and television, for example).
The difficulties experienced by a very small number of students can be
attributed to different factors. The most common cause is not keeping
up with the work on a daily basis and missing class: this is often a
simple problem of time management (see answers to questions 17 and 23).
Another difficulty that can occur at this level is an erroneous assumption
by the student that she or he already has an excellent command of French
and therefore needs to make only a minimal commitment to the work in
French 2601. This difficulty often arises with students, such as
ex-French Immersion students, who do indeed have
good comprehension and communication skills but whose command of such
matters as the use of tense and mood, agreement, accurate vocabulary,
and spelling and other aspects of written expression, are insufficient for
2000-level university French. Such students usually do very well
once they make a commitment to an hour a day of out-of-class work in
French 2601.
25. Are there any opportunities for extra help outside of
class?
Yes. First, if you have any questions or difficulties, and especially
if there are any sentences in the assigned readings you do not
completely understand, you can see your instructor during his office
hours (Monday to Friday 4:00-5:00, or by appointment in Fall 2010). Secondly, an
appointment can be made with your instructor's student assistant for
help in such matters as grammar questions on your written assignments.
Thirdly, the student assistants in the French Help Centre (SN 4035 at
times to be announced), although employed to work mainly with 1000-level
students, may occasionally be able to answer questions for French 2601.
Naturally this help cannot consist of pre-correcting your assignment.
Student assistants are instructed not to correct or rewrite assignments.
However they are able to answer specific questions you might have and to
give you help in finding answers to your difficulties in your
dictionaries and reference grammar. Extra help is under no
circumstances to be a subsitute for regular class attendance, and it
will not be available to students who are absent from class without
cause. A. PREPARATION OF READINGS FOR CLASS STUDY
1. What is the purpose of textual study in French 2601?
B. PERSONAL VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT (NOTEBOOK)
4. Why is the preparation of a Vocabulary and Grammar Notebook
assigned?
C. ATTENDANCE AND EXAMINATIONS
D. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
E. LEVEL AND WORKLOAD OF COURSE
22. What is the level of French proficiency in this course?