Syllabus

Dr. Dwight Stephens
dstephens@ncsu.edu 
145B, 1911 Building     
Phone:  515-9306  

Academic Calendar for Fall, 2005:  
http://www.ncsu.edu/registrar/calendars/academicfall.html

Adding, dropping, etc.

"By the second class/laboratory period or fifth business day of the semester (whichever comes first) students who have not attended class or contacted the instructor regarding his/her absence may be dropped from the class roll.  This drop will be initiated by the instructor, processed by the department, and recorded in the Dean's Office.  The student may petition for readmission to the class if s/he has been dropped in error, or in the event of students with extenuating circumstances, provided the request is received by the tenth business day of the semester.  Students who intend to drop a course continue to have the responsibility to officially drop and are encouraged to do this on a timely basis, following normal university procedures."
 

Course requirements, before the first day of class:

1.  Bookmark the course syllabus on your computer, and print it as well, so that you can refer to it every day.  Place the printed copy with your French notebook.

2.  Install diacriticals (accent marks) on your computer by following these instructions, then learn how to use them. This must
be done before the end of the first week of class.  Then you will be able to send and receive email in French and write papers with
correct accents. Do not install French as your language. It will alter your keyboard and create French spellchecks
which will drive you crazy in English.  Use my system.

Here's how to do it:

Windows 3.11

1. Click on Control Panel.
2. Click on Keyboard.
3. For Keyboard Layout choose International - US from the menu.
    (You may have to double-click on the existing language to get the other possibilities to appear as a dropdown.)
    You may be required to insert one of your Windows diskettes or CD-ROM.
4. Click OK.
5. When finished, shut down your system.
6. Restart your system.  

Window 95-98, 2000, etc.

1.  Click Start, then Control Panel, then Settings)
2.  Double-click Keyboard icon.
3.  Click on Language tab.
4.  Click on Properties button.
5.  Choose United States - International from the menu.
    (You may have to double-click on the existing language to get the other possibilities to appear as a dropdown.)
6.  Click  OK.
7.  You may be required to insert your Windows CD-ROM.
8.  When finished, shut down your system.
9.  Restart your system.  

Windows XP

1.  Power on and log on.
2.  Click the Start button.
3.  Click on Control Panel.
4.  Click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options
5.  Click Regional and Language Options - a new window will open.
6.  Click the Languages tab.
7.  Click on Text services and Input Languages.
8.  Click on Details...
9.  Window will appear entitled Settings.
10. Under Installed Services, click Add.
11. A new window will open called Add Input Language.
12. Click Keyboard Layout/IME.
13. Scroll down and highlight United States-International.
14. Highlight (by clicking) Keyboard United States International
15. Above, where it says Default Input Language, click on the small arrow to the right of English United States,
    and highlight (choose) English (United States)-United States International.
16. Click OK.
17. Click OK.

Note to XP users: You will now have a tiny  keyboard icon on the taskbar (usually on the lower right side of your screen). To switch between keyboard layouts (in other words, to turn off or on the accents) double-click the keyboard layout icon and then single-click the choice you want, US or International.  Best: just leave it on US-International all the time.
 

Using the International Keyboard

Now, to type the accents: 
        To get acute-accented é,  type first apostrophe, then e.
        To get grave-accented è, or à,  type first the grave accent  `  (upper left-hand corner of the keyboard), then e or a.
        To get circumflex-accented ê, or â, type first the circumflex accent  ^ (shift key plus 6), then e or a.
        To get c-sedilla, ç, type first apostrophe, then c. If you need capital C-sedilla, type first apostrophe, then capital C.
        To get tréma, also called dieresis, the two dots over a letter, type first " (quotation mark, i.e., shift key plus apostrophe),
            then the letter.

Now, to get apostrophes or quotation marks when you're writing, you'll have to use the spacebar after the apostrophe key.  For example, to get j'ai, type first j, then apostrophe key, then spacebar, then a.   A little practice, and you won't even have to think about it!

Final note about XP:  if your computer keeps 'voluntarily' shifting back to English US Keyboard, it's because it hasn't accepted International as the default keyboard.  Here's how to set it:

Open Control Panel
Double-click  Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options
Double-click Regional and Language Options
Single-click Languages
Under Text Services and Input Language,  single-click Details...
Under Settings, look at Default Input Language
Specify English (United States)--United States International
Click OK.

Attendance
You will be expected to come to every class.  Absences other than excused absences for illness will detract from the Participation third of the grade.  Excessive absences and failure to prepare for class can result in an F.  See Drop policy for non-attendance above.

Grades
You will be graded on how much you improve.  If you improve a lot, i.e., learn a lot, you will receive a high grade. How much you improve depends mostly on choosing to be actively involved, choosing to pursue the assignments actively, choosing to perform in class, like Show and Tell.  Performance in class is graded.  How much time does it take to learn a foreign language? I recommend a minimum of 30 minutes per day, and up to an hour, everyday, of simply going over the material.  This should be enough to get almost anyone an A.  It really is only a question of putting in the time daily.  Keep a notebook of grammatical structures.  In general, outside preparation, class participation, Show and Tell, and quizzes account for a third of the grade; the three modular exams (mid-terms) a third; and the final a third.   The mid-term and final will be an opportunity for you to write about the subjects that you've worked on and demonstrate that you've learned new structures and vocabulary.  Your compositions from the beginning of the semester and the end will be compared to see the progress you've made.

The Language Lab
http://fllab.chass.ncsu.edu/
Located in the second level of the Laundry Building.  Here you can practice with various audio materials and resources, or explore internet French learning sites.  Ask me for suggestions.

The text book
Each chapter of Deux Mondes is divided into blue pages, which explain the grammar, and white pages, which offer activities for using the structures learned.  I recommend reading the blue pages first very carefully, thinking about what you've learned, and then trying the activities.  Then try to apply the structures you've learned to real situations involving your own life, and be ready to try these in class.

The vocabulary for each lesson is given at the end of the white pages, so in the middle of the lesson, and a special effort should be made to learn it.  Presence in class alone will not be sufficient to learn the vocabulary.

Appendix A, p. 425,  explains spelling changes in certain verbs. 
Appendix B, p. 426, gives some common verb and preposition combinations which are not like English.
Appendix C, p. 427-434, deals with general verb conjugation.
Appendix D, pp. 435-443, gives answers to all the grammar exercises.

Finally, the very last section of the book is a French-English glossary and an English-French glossary, which you should use often.

How to learn

If you'd like to take a look at yourself really objectively and learn how to become a real student, a real scholar, a real success at university, see this: 
http://www.studygs.net/index.htm

Foreign languages are not learned the same way other subjects are.  Read this text and think about changing your habits and tactics:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~dfstephe/secrets.html

• Have goals and review them daily.  Plan to gradually be able to perform in certain situations in French.  Start small, but plan how you will increase your proficiency. This takes place slowly, by baby-steps, but if the tiny steps are not taken, the big ones will not ever happen. You have to start by producing a single sentence at a time, and then more, and then more.  You have to discipline yourself to do this step-by-step work every day.  Take responsibility for it.  Practice the structures and learn how they work.  Imagine the grammatical structures in a real situation and practice the real French performance until much of it is acquired and can be reproduced in class.  It is absolutely essential that all students do this preparation for each class and they will be graded on the quality of their preparation. Learn the grammar first--the structures--then try to apply them to real situations.  Keep a notebook of grammatical structures and examples.  It's not just repeating; you have to think, too.  There is an underlying structure to language, an algebra, a pattern, and recognizing it will cause the parts and the whole to make sense.  Practice writing sentences using the new structures you learn.  When learning a new structure, alway ask yourself how you will be using it, and then invent situations for it in which to practice.

• Learn at home, practice in class.    Learn the grammar at home and come to class ready to perform with the structures which were assigned.  Don't expect me to feed you with everything you were supposed to have learned at home.  Have a contribution to make to each class (Show and Tell, see below).  This is your responsibility.  Work outside class with classmates on using the structures.  Know your classmates, have their email addresses in an email address book and phone numbers, get together with them to practice, participate in email discussions, and make regular meetings to prepare presentations.  A little forethought and some preparation will make a great show and tell presentation.

• Be well organized.  Keep a notebook of everything that happens in class, with all the structures and vocabulary, all the quizzes and assignments, and review the notebook regularly, especially the morning after class. Learning a foreign language is not mysterious; it requires repetition and review, in addition to organization.  Simply sitting in class and listening will most definitely not do it.  Read the assigned pages in the text carefully, look up words you don't know, analyzes structures, and translate.  In particular,  identify the grammatical structures for which you will be responsible. Print the syllabus, keep it with you, and go to it every day to see what you are responsible for.  Do a little work each day.  Making mental pathways works better if you do it a little each day, rather than once in a block.

• Consult with me regularly and make an appointment for at least one scheduled conference during the semester.  At the conference we will look at your class notes, your quizzes and exams, and your workbook.  Don't suffer in silence when help is so close by.

Show and Tell
Show and Tell means just what it did in Kindergarten.  You bring something to class, show it, tell what it is, tell a story about it, tell what it means, tell why it's important.  In human intellectual evolution, there is a progression from the concrete to the abstract.  Since our knowledge of French is at the Kindergarten stage, it's natural to begin with physical objects. You can begin with physical things that are important to you, for example, a photo of your boyfriend, girlfriend, dog, cat, motorcycle, family.  Talk about the people, describe them and their personalities, tell what's dear about each. Tell a story about one of them. Later, as your skills become more sophisticated, you can bring something abstract to class, in your head, for example, a poem, a thought, an impression, a feeling, a memory, an anecdote, a joke, an event you witnessed, a revelation.  The main thing is that it be something that you chose, that you collected, that you decided was of importance, and that you share it with the others.  It comes from you, not from me or the other class members, and you tell why it's important to you.   Competence in a foreign language is passive: you reproduce what is important to others; performance is producing your version of the world.  This is our eventual goal : your new perception of the world in the French conceptual framework. Your initiative to participate in this activity will bring both performance proficiency in the language and a high grade in the course.