French 3

In French 3 students will continue to round out their study of French to become a competent speaker and writer in the language. Interactive videos and audio recordings as well as other authentic resources will be drawn upon to compliment the textbooks, both in class as well as in the weekly assignments. Contemporary songs will be woven into the weekly assignments as well.

New tenses are introduced in this course to allow students to speak of future events as well as conditional situations. Students will build their confidence in being able to maintain a conversation with assurance and ease on a variety of topics. They will be able to understand the main idea and supporting details of a variety of authentic texts. In addition, students will be able to give clear and detailed presentations, responding to questions from their classmates and teacher. They will also will be writing longer descriptions and narrations with more complex sentences.

Students will continue to build their personal strategies for language learning. They will be given helpful links to online resources to help them practice and build their skills. The structure that is presented in French 3 focuses on the Conditional and Future tenses, continuing to incorporate pronouns into their speech, and learning how to build more complex sentences with connector words.

The class sizes are limited to 12 in order to allow for optimal communication within the classroom as well as teacher oversight on assignments. Research shows that students are successful when they are comfortable and at ease. In French 3, live class time is used for speaking French as much as possible, with the teacher using exclusively French. Students are given structure and support to help them speak in French as much as possible.

Face-to face live class time is one hour per week, therefore the weekly assignments are designed to keep students actively working with French during the week. Many interactive videos, audio recordings, and other authentic French resources are used to accomplish this. Developing accuracy in pronunciation and learning grammatical structures of the language are incorporated into the lessons and assignments. The course is rounded out by exploring the vast contributions the French have made in history, art, literature, and culture and why it is spoken as a major language on every continent in the world.

Tuition for this course also includes membership in the French Club, where students have the opportunity to serve in leadership positions.

Students will also be given the opportunity to participate in  ‘Le Grand Concours’.  This is an annual test/ competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.  For a minimal fee ($10.00) students can see how they rank among other American students of French.  This will take place in March.  Many AIM students have received gold, silver or bronze awards!

Course Structure

The class is structured around the weekly live meeting. Students can expect to have about 3-4 hours of homework each week. Five weekly assignments are posted that build on what was presented in class, preparing the student for the upcoming meeting. In class, students can ask and answer questions based on the weekly assignments. Language structure is provided to guide the interaction in class.

The units last 3-4 weeks with an assessment project/test at the end of each unit. In addition to regular weekly assignments, students keep a weekly written journal.

Who should enroll?

This class is for students in grades 9-12 who have completed the equivalent of French 1 and 2.

Technology/Other Requirements

• A quiet environment for live class (i.e. not in a noisy area like a coffee shop)
• High speed, broadband Internet
• Web cam, sound card, and microphone (for live sessions)
• Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures
• A scanner is helpful for turning in assignments

Evaluation and Feedback

Weekly assignments receive the complete score, unless some correcting is needed. So, if students do their work, including the corrections, they will get a perfect score for their weekly assignments. On the assessments, more details are taken into consideration. If a student is working well and within their abilities, I give high marks.

Most weekly homework is graded the week it is turned in. Unit projects sometimes take longer, but patience is practiced when students have technical difficulties (which often show up with the bigger projects). Mrs. Barstow’s goal is to give feedback and corrections in French on the assignments. Should students have trouble with any assignments, she will be available during the week to help them.

Communication

Parents are encouraged to reach out to the teacher whenever they have concerns or questions. A note will be sent to them should their student get week’s behind in their work. Parents are linked as ‘observers’ of their student’s account in Canvas and will be able to track their grades. Progress reports go out at the end of December; final grades go out in May once the final test has been graded.