Longwood University
French 402 : Phonetics and Converstion
Printemps 2009

Site web: http://www.longwood.edu/staff/edwardswa/courses.htm

Required Text
Duménil, Annie.  Facile à dire! Les Sons du français.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.  Photocopies containing essential vocabulary will be distributed.  All students at this level should also own a substantial, hardback French-English dictionary. 

Course Description
A course designed to help students further develop their skills in speaking French accurately and fluently, and in understanding the formalities of spoken language.  The course requires students to learn basic linguistic symbols and the phonetic alphabet as a theoretical step toward improving articulation and pronunciation. Students will also learn strategies for conducting sustained conversations in French, and will work in groups to put these strategies into practice.  This is a course conducted entirely in French.  For a list of useful classroom expressions, click here.

Course Objectives
The phonetics portion of the class will concentrate on accurate pronunciation, while the conversation portion will focus on fluency and facility.  By the end of the course, students will demonstrate an ability to:

1. (Phonetics) Understand and transcribe the French sound system; ascertain the appropriate pronunciation of unfamiliar words and expressions; and recognize and avoid hazards common to English speakers of French.

2. (Conversation) Acquire a vocabulary and master the linguistic structures necessary for performing certain tasks in French, such describing people and objects, telling a story, expressing an opinion, conjecturing, summarizing, complaining, and apologizing; describe unfamiliar words using circumlocution.   

Course Requirements
1. Attendance, preparation, and participation. Attendance and participation are mandatory and will account for 15% of the student’s final grade.  As stated in the student handbook, “Students are expected to attend all classes.  Failure to attend class regularly impairs academic performance.  [Moreover,] absences are disruptive to the educational process for others.  This is especially true when absences cause interruption for clarification of material previously covered, failure to assume assigned responsibilities for class presentations, or failure to adjust to changes in assigned material or due dates.”  If the student misses 10% of the scheduled class meetings for unexcused absences, the instructor reserves the right to lower that student’s course grade by no more than one letter grade.  The instructor also reserves the right to assign a course grade of “F” when a student has missed a total (excused and unexcused) of 25% of the scheduled class meetings.  Absences will be excused only for the following reasons: illness, participation in a university-sponsored activity, religious holiday, or recognizable emergency.  Absences will not be excused for court dates, transportation scheduling, or doctor’s appointments.  For purposes of notation, “participation” is defined as physical attendance, obvious preparation, active contribution to in-class activities (including mini-conversations and labwork), and willingness to speak French.  

2.  Pronunciation exercises.  Three times during the semester students will record their voice as they pronounce 12-15 individual sentences and read a short passage.  These exercises will isolate the linguistic elements discussed in class, such as intonation, elision, and vowel formation.  Pronunciation exercises will not be graded for fluency, but rather as an evaluation of the pronunciation work prepared for class.  Accurate French pronunciation is the objective.  Students may use a CD or an iPod to complete the assignment.  Exercises must be submitted on the day they are due; late assignments will be penalized.

3.  Dictées.  Each week, students will write a 75-word dictée.  The dictée will incorporate the sounds, vocabulary, and spellings of recent chapters.  Students will write exactly what they hear, paying particular attention to letter combinations and silent letters.  With 12 written dictées in all, the 10 highest dictée scores will count in the final grade. During the semester, a student will also read a dictée for the class.  The passage will be written by the instructor, and the student will have two days to prepare to read.  The student will be graded for pronunciation on these spoken dictées.

4.  Phonetics exams.  Exams will be based on work done in class and will consist mainly of transcribing written and oral sentences using the phonetic alphabet.  Occasionally, students may also be asked to explain (in French) particular linguistic theories.  Exams must be taken at the scheduled time, except in the case of an excused absence from class. 

5.  Vocabulary quizzes.  Twice per chapter, students will prepare for a 10-minute vocabulary quiz, which will take place at the very beginning of the class period.  Please be on time: missed quizzes may not be made up.  Quiz dates are indicated on the syllabus.  For each quiz, students will be asked to respond to specific situations using an appropriate conversational element.  To receive full credit, each response must include: (1) the correct spelling; (2) all proper accent marks; and (3) the correct gender, when appropriate.

6.  Final exam.  The final exam will consist mainly of transcriptions similar to those encountered in the phonetics exams.  Additionally, the student may be asked to transcribe a short passage, and respond to various scenarios using the conversational elements learned throughout the semester.

7.  Honor code.  Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the Longwood University Honor Code.  All work submitted for the class must be pledged.

Grading.  The student’s course grade will be determined by the following percentages:

Programme du cours