General Information for Students
Summer 2003
Welcome to Intermediate French 1201
If you have not taken French 1102 at Columbia but have had French previously,
you must take the French department’s placement exam to evaluate your
knowledge of the language and culture before you stay in the class. For more
information about the placement exam, please call the French department at
(212) 854-2500.
COURSE GOALS: This course will further your awareness and understanding of the French language, culture and literature, as well as improve your mastery of grammar and writing skills. By the end of French 1201, you will be able to understand and analyze various types of documents and compose your reactions. Classes are conducted entirely in French.
Do take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Maison Française: lectures in French and English, café conversation, movies, etc.
If you have questions or concerns about the course, see your instructor or Prof. Pascale Hubert-Leibler, Director of the French Language Program, in 519 Philosophy Hall (212) 854-4819.
Required Texts:
Clare Tufts and Hannelore Jarausch, Sur le vif, 3ème édition,
Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001.
Clare Tufts and Hannelore Jarausch, Sur le vif: Cahier d’exercices écrits
et de laboratoire, 3ème édition, Boston: Heinle & Heinle,
2001.
Kundera, Milan, La lenteur. Paris: Gallimard, 1995.
All texts are available at the Columbia University Bookstore.
Recommended:
An English / French & French / English dictionary (Collins/Robert or Harrap’s)
Written work:
There will be 5 compositions during the semester. They must be written on a
computer. Use double-spacing or triple-spacing in order to facilitate correction.
You will be required to rewrite your compositions. If corrections are done
well, your grade will be raised.
Late work will affect your grade. An absence is not an excuse for not knowing about an assignment. If you are absent, email your instructor to let them know and telephone or email another student to get the assignment.
Listening:
Four CDs accompany the Sur le vif program. CDs 1-3 offer pronunciation, grammar
and dictation exercises relevant to each chapter. CD 4 provides you with
the audio material which pertains to each chapter in the text (the headphone
symbol in the margin of the Sur le vif text directs you to disc 4). The CDs
complement the program well and contain activities that will be helpful to
you at home.
On the web:
The site HYPERLINK http://wlv.heinle.com has
an Internet Language Center with vocabulary and grammar quizzes, guided Internet
activities
and vocabulary and pronunciation for each chapter in the text.
Oral examination:
There will be one oral exam at the end of the semester. The format of this
exam is up to the instructor.
Written examinations:
There will be 5 tests during the semester and a final exam at the end of the
semester. Exams will cover grammar and vocabulary. There will be no make-up
exams. “Exams will not be rescheduled to accommodate travel plans” (Columbia
College Bulletin, 98-99, page 86). Short unannounced quizzes may also be
given at the instructor’s discretion.
Preparation:
Study the grammar chapter and read the assigned pages or documents before class.
You are expected to come to class fully prepared and ready to ask precise
questions
on any point you need to have clarified.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. If you are absent more than three times without a
valid excuse (sickness with a doctor’s certificate, family emergency,
participation in a university-sponsored activity such as sports), your participation
grade will be lowered accordingly. The following scale will be used to calculate
your attendance grade:
| 0-3 absences for any reason: | A |
| 4 | B |
| 5 | C |
| 6 | D |
| 7 or more | F |
Course grade:
The final grade will be determined by the following guidelines:
20%= Participation / Preparation / Attendance / Oral Expression
20%= Compositions and Written Work
20%= Lab Exercises
20%= Exams
20%= Final Exam and Presentations
Exams will be graded according to the following percentage standards:
| 93-100% | A | 73-76% | C |
| 90-92% | A- | 70-72% | C- |
| 87-89% | B+ | 67-69% | D+ |
| 83-86% | B | 63-66% | D |
| 80-82% | B- | 0-62% | F |
| 77-79% | C+ |
Bon courage !