French 5—AP Language

Course Description

The AP French Language course is the fifth year of a sequential program, the
culmination of several years of language study in our curriculum. The course
incorporates authentic materials and resources along with required texts in
accordance with those suggested by the AP French Language Course
Description as found on the College Board website.
The five domains of learning found in the Foreign Language Standards--
Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities—are
incorporated into this program. These domains involve the skills of listening,
speaking, reading, writing and developing cultural awareness appropriate to the
course level. Students will continue to develop their skills in reading, writing,
listening and speaking with these specific goals:

l) Strong emphasis on understanding authentic spoken expression

in formal and conversational contexts
2) Vocabulary expansion and refinement of grammar usage with
the aid of a formal French grammar textbook
3) Substantial experience with authentic written texts from many
sources to develop comprehension skills and cultural
knowledge
4) Continuous demonstration of oral and written expression of ideas
with fluency and accuracy
5). Specific AP Exam practice in order to become more familiar
with the exam format.

Most students taking French 5 are in their fifth year of language study, although
a few native speakers enter the program at appropriate levels. Students may
begin a full year of French as early as 7th grade, and many of our students chose
to continue throughout high school. The core text for French 4 Honors is Trésors
du temps, so students have already begun to read French, to learn and write
French and to communicate about many language subjects.

The class meets four times weekly, three classes are 52 minutes long and one
class is 90 minutes long.

Course Overview

Reprise is the primary textbook, serving as the basis for grammar review and
perfection during the year. The repetitive quality of the exercises helps students
build up reflexive responses and spontaneous speech. Students appreciate the
workbook and reference qualities of the text, and most choose to purchase it,
although library check-out is also available. The non-contextualized vocabulary
for exercises gives the teacher freedom to choose a variety of readings to go with
grammar topics and student interests.

Class time is primarily devoted to discussion of grammar, current events and

literature, as well as oral presentations and written responses to reading and
discussion. Students read and write about a wide range of topics, expand their
vocabulary and improve their use of French for writing and reasoning. Listening
activities also include many French songs, selected films, excerpts from TV5,
and recorded stories, to name a few. The class is conducted in French 95% of
the time.

Students practice for the various parts of the French Language AP test and are
encouraged to take the Grand Concours as extra practice. We have an active
exchange program and a French Club, which is open to all students at this high
school.

THE YEAR’S PROGRAM

August-September
Grammar—present, passé composé, imparfait tenses; passive mood
Reading—Journal français articles, current events in Francophone countries
Assessment—quizzes on verb forms, paragraphs and compositions,
introductions, narrations in past tenses, telling a story
Oral—get-reaquainted activities, pages of questions from Tactics, for example, as
warm-ups, and vocabulary development
Listening—throughout the year: weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-news
from various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc. French songs

October
Grammar—subjunctive [using Reprise, Une Fois pour toutes, Triangle, Tactics],
numbers, times, dates
Reading—Articles—Antigone of Jean Anouilh
Oral—picture exercises, Antigone speeches, discussions of the play and its
importance in World War II France
Assessment—short writings about Antigone, subjunctive project, and subjunctive
test, reading speeches from Antigone. Major essay “dire oui ou dire non”
Listening—film of Antigone, film l’Accompagnatrice . weekly or bi-weekly
excerpts from TV5-news from various francophone countries, le Dessous des
cartes, etc. French songs

November
Grammar—conditionals—Reprise, Une fois pour toutes, Triangle
Reading—Alphonse Daudet: Lettres de mon moulin—“le Secret de Maître
Cornille”, “la Chèvre de M. Seguin”, “les Trois Messes basses”
Oral— picture stories, 1st AP recording, “Les Devinettes” French Riddles
Assessment—questions about plot, structure and style of each story [written and
oral]; short reflective essays on each, grading and feedback on recording,
Listening—first AP listening practice. weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-
news from various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc., French
Songs

December
Grammar—relative pronouns, prepositions with infinitives and with objects
Reading—conclusion of Daudet unit, background of Noël en Provence, pictures
and commentary from Provence Shop*; 13 desserts event
Oral—personal reflections on the stories and the Pagnol films—Secret and
Messes
Assessment—Major Compare/contrast essay: story and film “Les Trois Messes
Basses” —Why the differences? Differences in the media
Listening—Marcel Pagnol film: Lettres de mon Moulin. weekly or bi-weekly
excerpts from TV5-news from various francophone countries, le Dessous des
cartes, etc., French Songs

January
Grammar—Questions and negations
Reading—AP readings and short answers; beginning of L’Étranger d’Albert
Camus unit: biographical material and la Résistance Française
Oral— Guiding group discussions, chapter overviews with correct new
vocabulary, surface level questions vs. higher level thinking
Assessment—evaluation of above grammar, reading responses; comprehensive
final exam with AP essay and speaking sections
Listening—AP listening exercises. weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-news
from various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc., French Songs

February
Grammar—very complex sentences—combining as many elements as possible
Reading—Les Contes de Maupassant—la Parure, les Deux Amis, le Retour, la
Ficelle, la Guerre Franco-Allemande. chansons d’amour—Berlioz, Bizet, Dion,
Piaf, Amadou et Mariam, etc.
Oral—questions in pairs; 60 second practices; summaries of story endings.
Song: Brave marin. Discussions of story structure, i.e., surprise endings, no
dénouements.
Assessment—Valentine using very complex sentences; grammar quizzes;
vraisemblable endings for the stories la Parure or le Retour
Listening—chansons d’amour. weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-news from
various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc.

March
Grammar—present participles and infinitives
Reading—famous short poems, with emphasis on 19th and 20th centuries
Oral—poetry recitation; question sheets
Assessment—tests; pronunciation and expression grades, commentary or
analysis essay on a selected poem
Listening—poetry recordings. weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-news from
various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc.

April
Grammar—full AP practice test, grammar and little word work
Reading—AP and article readings
Oral—speaking tests
Assessment—full AP test scoring
Listening—AP practice. weekly or bi-weekly excerpts from TV5-news from
various francophone countries, le Dessous des cartes, etc.

May-June
Grammar—details and finishing touches until test; beginning of the group reading
Reading—background on author and work, Cyrano de Bergerac (if time permits)
Oral—reading aloud, literature discussions
Listening—recording of work read
Assessment—individual or small group projects that demonstrate understanding
of the work chosen in an original way. May include collages with accompanying
written explanations, short films, music compositions, debates, trials, etc.
depending on work chosen. Presentation and explanation of these projects to
the class.

*French-language text and photos sent by the owner of an internet business—

Provence Shop—telling the charming story of her home town’s yearly
celebration.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

1) In order for students to feel at ease with writing essays, students must
write in a variety of different styles [see above], but throughout the year,
they must develop towards increasingly complex sentences—we use
frequent brainstorms to “express what really shocked you” with each
French text. We discuss song and film titles as well as themes and work
on possible complex approaches to expressing ideas about which they
 wish to write. We also do multiple drafts for written essays based on
grammar errors found. In February students complete a Valentine project,
in which students at all levels of French—1 through 6—write a Valentine
“poem” with grammar and content appropriate to their level. The French 5
poem includes a series of very complex sentences, addressed to one
literary or film character from another, causing the student to address
audience and voice as well as grammar.
2) Students practice speaking skills in pairs and small groups. They present
short speeches for the class and record speeches for powerpoint
presentations. To prepare specifically for the AP speaking test, we begin
by having everyone speak out loud about everyday subjects for one
minute. Then we progress to commentary about current events and class
readings. Since the school uses the classroom set of recorders for the
test itself, the students find using them in class reassuring. We do at least
3 or 4 dry runs spaced throughout the fall and spring. In addition to the
above practice, one student presents the week’s current events in French
every Wednesday in a “reporting” style.
3) Mastering grammar concepts is a major component of the program.
Students do many exercises from Reprise principally, and supplemented
from Une Fois Pour Toutes as needed. Some sort of scripted oral work
where students write correctly and present to the class follows up every
section. Students always have th options to ask questions of clarification
for each grammar subject.
4) Vocabulary is reviewed and developed using the topical sections of
Reprise as well as the newspaper, journal and literary readings. At the
beginning of the school year, students purchase a small ringed note pad
and create their own “personal French dictionary”, noting new words and
expressions and providing synonyms and definitions in French. Students
must also retell the plots of literary selections and the major points of news
stories using the necessary vocabulary. Each student must continually
revisit new vocabulary lists and cumulative review quizzes are given
monthly.
5) Listening and speaking are done in class—we have no lab facilities—with
several small cassette recorders for recording and cassette, CD and DVD
players. Corrective pronunciation work is done collectively with the set of
recorders, and students must listen to their work outside of class and
consult individually with the teacher on their own. Many French song and
film titles provide speaking models and students are expected to
demonstrate progress in accent and fluidity.

TEXTBOOKS
Core text:

Reprise. National Textbook Company, 1997. Lincolnwood, Illinois

Supplemental grammar and vocabulary

Une fois pour toutes. 2nd edition. 1992 Hale Sturges II, Linda Cregg Nielsen,
Henry L. Herbst, Longmans Publishing Group White Plains, NY

En Bonne Forme. 7th edition 2001 Simone Renaud Dietiker, Dominique van
Hooff. Hoiughton Miufflin Company, Boston, Mass.

Triangle. 2nd edition 1996 Carolyn F. Demaray, Josette J. Smith. Wayside

Publishing, Concord, Mass

En d’autres termes. 2nd edition, 1995. Renée White. Wayside Publishing,

Concord, Mass.

Tactics. Joseph R. Scott, Jr., 1998, Wayside Publishing, Concord, Mass.

Tactics 1, 2, 3, GO!. Joseph R. Scott, Jr. 1998 Wayside Publishing, Concord,

Mass.

Drawing Conversations in French. 2005. Véronique Lynch, Brittney Grover.

V&B Publications, USA

Literature
Anouilh, Jean. Antigone. Édition de La Table Ronde, Paris, 1946

Frois, Etienne. Profil d’une œuvre : Antigone. Hatier : Paris, 1998.

Daudet, Alphonse, Lettres de mon moulin. Cladssiques Larousse, 1992.

Maupassant, Guy de. Contes choisis. Classiques Larousse 1955

Albert Camus, L’Étranger. Librairie Gallimard 1957

Poetry—Ronsard, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Prévert, etc.

Tous les Poèmes pour le cours avancé

Other readings
Journal Français. Published monthly by France-Presse, San Francisco, CA

News and feature items of interest from other sources :

www.cned.fr (Verbes)
www.france3.fr (Actualités)
www.tv5.org (Actualités)
www.lemonde.fr (journal)
www.franceamérique.fr (journal)
www.figaro.fr (journal)

Sample AP tests , including many taken from www.collegeboard.com

Le Petit Nicholas, Éditions Denoël, 1960

Films, listening
Fairy tales—various books, CD’s and tapes.

Antigone. DVD. Mise en scene de Nicolas Briançon. 2003

Pagnol, Marcel: Letters from My Windmill. Film, 1955. Reproduced by Interama

Video Classics, 1991.

L’Accompagnatrice

Songs—Khaled, Hardy, Dion, Berlioz, Bizet, Amadou et Mariam and many

others

Selections from TV5—7 jours, etc.