French 130

Prerequisite:
Completion of French 120 or 121 at Penn or a placement score between 450 and 540 on the Achievement Exam (SAT II) or between 30 and 35 on the online placement exam.

Required Texts: (Available in the textbook section of the Penn Bookstore - 36th and Walnut)

Bragger & Rice: Quant à moi. Manuel de classe (second edition)
Quant à moi. Manuel de préparation (second edition)

These textbooks will also be used for French 140, which is the continuation of this course. You should bring both the Manuel de classe and the Manuel de préparation to class each day.

Course Description:
French 130 is the first half of a two-semester intermediate sequence designed to help you attain a level of proficiency that should allow you to function comfortably in a French-speaking environment. You are expected to have already learned the most basic grammatical structures in elementary French and will review these on your own in the Manuel de préparation. This course will build on your existing skills in French, increase your confidence and ability to read, write, speak, and understand French, and introduce you to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural material.
As in other French courses at Penn, class will be conducted entirely in French. In addition to structured oral practice, work in class will include frequent communicative activities such as role-plays, problem-solving tasks, discussions, and debates, often carried out in pairs or small groups. Through the study of authentic materials such as articles, poems, songs, films, videos, and taped conversations between native speakers you will deepen your knowledge of the French-speaking world. The course explores the customs and values prevailing in France, Senegal, Cameroun, Martinique, and other cultures, with a focus on living standards, family traditions, cuisine, and leisure activities. Daily homework will require listening practice with audio and video cassettes, in addition to regular written exercises in the Manuel de préparation and frequent composition practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.

Goals:
By the end of this course, you should be able to communicate well enough in French to discuss and write about yourself, your immediate surroundings, your personal life and interests (past, present, and future), and some of your opinions about the world at large. You will also have the tools to function in a variety of social or travel situations such as ordering a meal, offering and receiving gifts, finding an apartment, making plans, and getting information. You will increase your confidence in understanding spoken French and can expect to be able to get some of the main points of conversations by native speakers on familiar topics. With the aid of a dictionary, you will be able to understand the main ideas and some supporting detail in general interest articles from the French press and to appreciate simple excerpts from literary works.

Required Work
Attendance: Regular attendance in class is required. Roll will be taken on a daily basis. You are allowed a maximum of four absences during the semester. Your instructor will talk to you after two absences and send a note of warning to your advisor after three absences. After four absences your grade will be lowered. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find the assignment and come prepared for the next class. Students are expected to come to class on time. Repeated tardiness will be counted toward an absence.
Oral Preparation: Because of the emphasis in this course on the development of oral and listening comprehension skills, it will not be sufficient to study the assignments silently from the book. Oral exercises will be assigned regularly and should be prepared out loud before coming to class. Some of these will be assigned for practice in the language lab; you will practice other exercises at home by yourself or with others. Your performance on these prepared exercises will be graded.
Written Homework: You will have regular assignments of various lengths, including some longer, formal compositions that will focus on the development of writing skills. All written homework must be handed in on time. It will be accepted late only if you are ill.

Tests
Chapter Tests: There will be three tests to evaluate your understanding of the vocabulary and structures contained in the chapitres préliminaire, 1, 2, and 3.
Quizzes: You will also have weekly, very short in-class quizzes. These quick "spot-checks" will provide feedback to the teacher on the quality of your daily class preparation. The lowest of your quiz grades will be dropped. Three of these quizzes will include a listening comprehension section.
Midterm: there will be a midterm oral interview individually scheduled with your instructor.
Final exam: The final exam is scheduled during final exam week. The final oral interview will be individually scheduled with your instructor during the last week of classes or reading days.
There are no make-up quizzes or exams; if you miss one you will receive a 0.

Final Grade:
3 chapter tests - 15%
Quizzes and listenings - 25%
Final exam - 15%
Written homework and compositions - 20%
Mid-term and final orals - 10%
Class preparation and participation - 15%

Grading Scale:  

MMETS (Multimedia Center):
The Quant à moi textbook series is sold as a package with a CDRom and students generally work on the audio components of their assignments at home. However, teachers may assign other listening or recording work in the MMETS center in the basement of David Rittenhouse Labs (33rd and Walnut). As a Penn student, you also have access to a variety of French instructional videos and cassettes for listening comprehension practice, and a large collection of French movies in the Van Pelt Library.

The Department Home Page:
Consult the Romance Languages Department Home Page for information on additional resources, such as local radio and TV programming in French, sources for French-language magazines and newspapers, or even French pastires. The page also has links to selected WWW sites which can enrich your study of the language. Each section of French 130 will have a class session scheduled in a computer lab at MMETS at the beginning of the semester, where you will be introduced to these and other internet resources.

The Maison Française:
The Maison Française, part of the Modern Languages Residential Program of Gregory House, is located in the Class of 1925 building, 3940 Locust Walk. It hosts French film screenings that are free and open to the Penn community every Thursday night from 9:30-11:30pm. There is a weekly coffee hour or "pause café" for anyone who would like to speak French on Mondays from 9-10pm. It is also possible to join the residents for dinner any weeknight between 6:00 and 7:00 in 1925 Commons. For further details on these and other activities, click on the above link (The Maison française).

Tutoring Support:
Students who would like additional help with their language studies should contact the Penn Tutoring and Learning Resource Center at 3820 Locust Walk.
The Center organizes regular sessions for walk-in help in a number of residences in addition to providing one-on-one tutoring.

Language Direct:
This is a new effort of the Wheel Project sponsored by the Modern Languages Program which will provide on-line tutorial help. Students can seek help on their study of French by e-mail at any time of day or night and receive a response within 24 hours. Language Direct will also organize on-site tutorials in the Modern Languages House that are keyed toward major exams such as the final.

Study Abroad:
The University of Pennsylvania strongly encourages students to take advantage of the variety of opportunities for study abroad. Summer, semester, and year-long programs in France and Francophone countires are sponsored by Penn-Summer-Abroad (3440 Market St., Suite 100, Tel: 8-7028) and the Office of International Programs (133 Bennett Hall, Tel: 8-4661). The Penn-in-Tours program offers a variety of courses in language, civilization and art history at the advanced level, in addition to an intensive intermediate course sequence (French 134). Contact the program director, Kathryn K. McMahon, or visit the Web site.

Director of the French Language Program:

Kathryn K. McMahon
Williams 532
898-7440

French 130 Coordinator:

Melanie Peron
449 Williams
898-7428