SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS
What follows is a series of activities, presentations and assignments I have designed for the FREN 350, FREN 352, FREN 375 and FREN 326 courses I taught at the University of Kansas and Washington State University.
University of Kansas
FREN 326 Introduction to French Literature
This is a PowerPoint presentation I created for the comparative study of the play Le Dieu du carnage and the film adaptation Carnage. This presentation summarizes the main points we had been talking about in class and asks students to formulate their opinion regarding the film and its "faithfulness" to the play. In a subsequent assignment, students were asked to write an essay on the similarities and differences between the play and the film. I am also including a sample worksheet for the study of the novel I chose for the course. Since it was the first time students had to read extensively in French, I divided the novel into several sections, with targeted questions for each section. Each class was devoted to the discussion regarding the various questions students had to answer at home, while reading the assigned chapters (see my comments on the teaching of this course in my statement of teaching philosophy). I am also including the documents I give to students when we start the part of the course dedicated to the analysis of a novel. We first spend time discussing what a novel is, then how to analyze it, and finally I introduce them to some of the most important literary movements of the 19th. and 20th. century. This way, students have the necessary background knowledge to analyze the text they are asked to read and to be aware of the different influences that shaped it. |
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FREN 375 Intermediate French Conversation
This is a worksheet designed for the first classroom discussion on the topic of employment in connection with the film Ressources Humaines. I provided students with a list of useful vocabulary (they also had a vocabulary textbook that I selected regarding the topics we were going to deal with in this course) and questions about the film that guided our discussion. The notes they took during the viewing of the film were supposed to help them formulate their ideas/opinions on the day of the discussion. I am also including the link to a website I created for a lab activity in relation to the role of the media in today's culture. I gave students a variety of resources to study and analyze (articles, TV report, images) as well as discrete grammar aspects to study in order to participate in our discussion on the evolution of the media and their role in our society. Click here to access the website. |
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FREN 352 French for Business and Journalism
This document corresponds to the final project students had to work on for this course. This project focuses on the second part of the course, that was dedicated to journalism, and asks students to write a journal article on one of the suggested topics. I chose relevant topics in the fields of economy, business and society, and asked them to do some background research to fleshen out their writing. Prior to this, we had been working on the structure of a journal article and I had provided students with handouts on the matter. |
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FREN 350 Applied French Grammar and Composition
I gave students this worksheet when we were studying "la dissertation". The grammar we had been focusing on was "les connecteurs logiques" and "les expressions pour exprimer son opinion". In this document, I provide them with a step-by-step explanation on how their "dissertation" should be organized and, using a text I created for the worksheet, I give them concrete examples of how to structure their own work. |
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Washington State University
FREN 203 Third Semester French
I created this activity to combine the topic of the chapter we were covering (traveling) with an introduction to the conditional. This activity combines reading, writing and speaking, while allowing the students to learn about the culture of some major Francophone cities. |
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FREN 102 Second Semester French
After each chapter, I created a lab activity where student could practice with the vocabulary and grammar that had been covered in a more practical way, while always introducing them to specific cultural aspects of French society (i.e. entertainment in Paris). Since their knowledge of the language is quite limited, they had the possibility to read some texts in English, but were still required to write in French. |
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FREN 308 Intermediate Grammar and Writing - Fall 2015
This class has been designed around one main project that consists in the writing of a short "polar". To do so, students have to write different compositions, each one based on a type of writing studied in class. Then, they use what they have done during the semester to create a detective story. |
To see how each type of writing is studied in this class, I invite you to access the website I created and that contains all the information and all the documents the students can access to perform each task. You can access the website by clicking here.
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FREN 307 Intermediate Speaking and Listening
This course was organized around different topics connected to contemporary French society. For each topic, students had to watch a film and I provided them with a worksheet where they could find questions that asked them to reflect on specific questions regarding the film itself but also the social and economic issues it raised. I also created a website in connection with the class, where I gathered specific information regarding French culture and society. Each topic was also connected to the review of discrete grammar aspects. On the right column, you'll find the worksheet I created for the film "La Haine" as well as the activities I created to review the subjunctive and a text I asked students to read in connection with immigration and religion. |
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Grading material
What follows are some examples of the grading tables I created for the FREN 350 class (Intermediate Grammar and Composition). These documents are designed to help students gain awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of grammar and stylistic. It also helps me giving them a feedback that is as clear as possible.
What follows are some examples of the grading tables I created for the FREN 350 class (Intermediate Grammar and Composition). These documents are designed to help students gain awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of grammar and stylistic. It also helps me giving them a feedback that is as clear as possible.
Guidelines for composition 1 (Le Portrait).
This is an example of the guidelines I provided students with before each composition they had to write. It summarizes the grammatical aspects we had studied and that they needed to reuse in their composition, as well as the different stylistic elements I would be looking for when reading and grading their work. |
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"Correction mutuelle" for composition 1.
For each composition they had to write, students had one session in class were they exchanged their work with a partner and gave their comments and feedback on their partner's work. I provided them with a worksheet that contained specific grammatical and stylistic points they were supposed to focus on. This helped students making insightful comments on others' work and develop a critical and analytical eye. |
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Grading table for composition 1.
This is the grading table that I used to grade the first composition. I would staple this sheet to the student's composition, so that they had a clear idea of what needed improvement, but also what were the strengths of their work. |
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Below is the grading table I use to assess students' oral abilities for the mid-term exam of my FREN 375 class (Intermediate French Conversation). I designed this table so that I could students an accurate feedback on the different aspects of the presentation I was focusing on (i.e. their control of target vocabulary and grammar structures, their fluency and prononciation and their overall ability to sustain a discussion on a given topic)
Grading table for the mid-term oral exam.
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Below is the grading table I use to assess the oral presentations students have to do in my FREN 120 class (French Culture). Since this course is taught in English, the focus is on students' ability to research, select and present relevant sources that will offer new and pertinent information on topics we have discussed in class.
Grading table for the oral presentation.
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Using Nearpod for grammar reviews
Below are examples of how I used the software Nearpod to review discrete grammar points prior to a quiz. The two grammar reviewed here are (1) Passé composé vs imparfait (2) Indefinite pronouns.
Below are examples of how I used the software Nearpod to review discrete grammar points prior to a quiz. The two grammar reviewed here are (1) Passé composé vs imparfait (2) Indefinite pronouns.
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