French Interdisciplinary Studies FINS 2105 Updated Aug 31, 2014

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1 1 French Interdisciplinary Studies FINS 2105 Updated Aug 31, 2014 Instructor: Nandini Sarma nandini_sarma@carleton.ca Office: 1621 DT Phone: ext 2193 Office hours (drop in to 1621 DT): Monday 10:00-11:00 Tuesday 13:30-15:00 By appointment at other times FINS 2105 [0.5 credit] Written Comprehension I Course description: This course is designed to help students acquire the necessary skills in grammar and interpretation of text as well as an extensive vocabulary base, so that they can independently read short and medium sized general articles and expository texts in French. This course is taught entirely in English and trains students in reading comprehension through translation into English. There is NO oral or writing French component in this course. Each week, grammar points, vocabulary hints and strategies will be presented so that students can complete practice exercises to comprehend and translate the different elements of the written language into English. Practice exercises are not graded and do not have to be handed in. Almost all of the grades are accumulated in formal tests or examinations. Weekly reading and vocabulary activities will be offered through the free site VideoTech.ca; c completing these activities is worth 5% of the final grade. A small percentage of the grade (3%) is assigned for ongoing participation (attendance or discussion posts). FINS 2105 is the first of two courses designed to give students (even those starting as complete beginners) high level reading skills so that they can confidently use French documents for their studies work and research. The sequel to this course, FINS 3105, continues to provide further training in reading, particularly in specialized and academic texts. These courses were previously offered as part of FREN and preclude additional credit for that course. Placement testing and permission of the department: You must be at the appropriate language level in order to take this course. Your instructor will verify your pre-registration assessment test and will contact you via e mail if necessary. Please check your s.

2 2 Attendance and homework (CUOL and in-class students) While FINS 2105 is open to beginners, it is also meant for students with some previous background in French. It may therefore challenge some students at first, while seeming quite elementary for others. All students usually find that the course soon becomes rather difficult. As much of the content is self-taught, it is very important to set aside time every day for practice and review of material that has already been covered, as well as to work on new concepts. Please remember that language learning requires a lot of memorizing. Students are encouraged to attend/view class weekly and to work steadily, repeatedly and conscientiously on the material. A very good strategy is to ensure that exercises are completed in writing before the lectures so that students can note down any corrections. This is the best way to identify areas of strength and difficulty. Since students are expected to work without any dictionary or other supports during exams, redoing the exercises and daily practice also help students develop connections between words and their meaning in a text. It also helps each student develop strategies for guessing meaning through context and logic. CUOL students: While it is tempting to put off watching the lecture till next week, it is strongly recommended that you view lectures as soon as they are available. Cramming lectures really doesn t work in language learning. Remember to post in all your discussion group sessions on time to get participation marks. In-Class students: Attending class not only keeps you on track with your work, you get are participation marks if you attend at least 80% of classes. And the bonus is that you help support the distance students by asking questions, giving feedback etc. Good citizens Course objectives: In this course students will learn to read factual documents (expository texts) articles. They will demonstrate their knowledge by expressing the contents in English. They will become sufficiently familiar with commonalities and differences between French and English vocabulary, grammar and syntax to be able to read and accurately communicate all the information in French documents of about words (short articles, documents, short stories, etc.) without using dictionaries or other reference materials. They will be able to confirm or deny any statement attributing information to such a document. Outcomes: Express accurately, in English, % of the contents of a fact-based written document in French without having to use reference materials or translators. Verify if any information that is referenced to this type of document is correct.

3 3 **Students wishing to acquire oral comprehension and expression or writing skills in French should register in FREN 1001, 1002, 1100 or FINS 2205 or 3205 if offered. Required texts: FINS 2105 Course Manual This course manual containing exercises and readings has been prepared by the instructors and is available through the Bookstore (approximate cost : $20.00 or less). Recommended texts: Any adequately-sized (minimum 60,000 entries, more is better) academic version bilingual English-French /French- English dictionary. A good paper dictionary is a lifetime investment. Distribution of Marks Participation Online quizzes Weekly reading practice Written tests (2) Final examination* Section A: 80% in-class attendance OR Section V: culearn: 4 discussion posts Completed on culearn on the given dates (unproctored) Online practice activities (10 reading activities at 0.5% each) On-campus or on-site and proctored Midterm 1 Sunday October 19, 10:00-12:00 Midterm 2 Friday November 21, 18:00-20:00 On-campus or on-site and proctored See final examination schedule 3% 12% 5% 15% 25% 40% 100% Important dates, test locations: Please ensure that you consult the culearn Calendar and your Carleton frequently to check for information regarding test and examination dates and locations, as well as updates to course information. Please make sure you consult your before any test or quiz, any urgent information will be sent to you via if necessary. The building and room allocation for on-campus tests will be specified a week or so prior to the test. Final examination dates and location will be announced

4 4 through Carleton Central and Scheduling services. Distance students writing off campus should receive notice of location from CUOL and from their proctoring centre. PMC students should check their test times and locations via their portal. Students MUST write a test in order to get a grade for that test. Students MUST write the final examination in order to obtain a grade for the course. Reading activities. A reading activity based on authentic texts will be available each week on the site video-tech.ca. You will need to create and account with Videotech and join the FINS 2105 class. The activity will be available for the entire week, and you may attempt it multiple times. Your best score will be recorded. At the end of the week the activity will close and correct answers will be posted. Each reading activity will be worth 0.5% You must attempt the activity during the allocated time frame to get a grade. There will be NO make-up activities for anyone who does not attempt any of the weekly activity. Online quizzes. Online quizzes will be open for a single attempt between Sunday at noon (12:00 hrs) and Monday at 6 pm (18:00 hrs). You may start the quiz at any time within that period. There is only one attempt allowed; you must complete the quiz in one stretch and submit it before the time runs out (usually minutes). Answers will be made available when the quiz closes to all students (after 18:00hrs on the Monday). You must not discuss the quiz or its contents with anyone until the quiz closes. Participation. This is an all-or-nothing item. In-class students must attend 80% of classes. Online students must make a total of 4 posts, (one every 3 weeks). Participation regulations Section A (in-class students) 80% attendance in class is the requirement. Attendance is counted as of the second day of class in September. The bonus is an all-or-nothing 3% added to your final grade. There will be no part marks for attending a few or even % of classes. Section A students are strongly encouraged to also participate in the discussion group on WebCT, as it is very informative. However, if you are registered in Section A, only your in-class attendance will count for participation. Section T (CUOL students) Postings are to be made at least once in each posting group (Discussion1, 2, 3, 4) in order to receive the participation mark. Posting dates are clearly indicated on the group topic. The bonus is an all-or-nothing 3% added to your final grade. There will be no part marks for posting just a few times. Participation in these groups has two goals

5 5 1. To keep the instructor in touch with your progress in the course, to find common threads so as to ensure that all lingering questions are answered directly, in the main discussion group posting or in the lectures. 2. To give the CUOL students a chance to communicate with each other and with students in the in-class sections, to allow all of you to share your discoveries and frustrations with regards to the French language, to answer each other s questions and to learn more about the language and about language learning by doing so. What to post? Most of the following: A direct response to the discussion topic as indicated in the instructions for each post and/or 1. which sentences or points (of the exercises assigned up to the date of the posting) were problematic for you and why; 2. a mnemonic hint that helps you remember a word or grammar point taught in the course 3. words/points that you found interesting or bizarre; 4. comments/questions on the grammar or other portions of the lecture; 5. anything else you want to say about French or language learning: French movies, French on your cereal box, poems, songs, your alien French teacher in grade 3, you pet peeves in language learning 6. a detailed response answering another student s question on course content You may also post (not for marks): 7. other information about life at Carleton or life where ever you may be in CUOL land, etc. There is more than just the course material that is of interest to students and to myself You are encouraged to respond to the postings of other students in your group or in the general discussion group. As Instructor, I will be reading all the postings and will respond to all the issues that are raised either directly, in a group posting or during the lectures. It is expected that the language used and ideas presented will be respectful and considerate of other members of the group. In case of a problem, the instructor will issue a warning and may request that the individual stop participating in the discussion group.

6 6 Guideline for homework preparation for the term. N.B. THIS IS ONLY A GUIDE. The specific exercises to be covered will be announced in class one week in advance. Students are expected to follow the lectures and complete the homework assigned for each week in writing. The exercises and readings will be corrected and discussed orally in class during the week for which they are assigned. There are NO grades for doing the exercises, but doing them will help teach you what you need for the quizzes and exams. Week 1 Week 2 Introduction, grammar overview Exercise 1, 2, 3, 4 (to prepare for self-correction in class) Week 3 Exercises 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,; Online reading activity 1* Week 4 Exercises 10, 11, 12, 14; Online reading activity 2 Week 5 Exercises 13, 15, 16, 17 + readings; Online reading activity 3 Week 6 Exercises 18, 19, 20, 21 + readings; Online reading activity 4 Week 7 Exercises 22, 23, 24, 25 + readings; Online reading activity 5 Week 8 Exercises 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 + readings; Online reading activity 6 Week 9 Exercises 31, 32, 33, 37 + readings; Online reading activity 7 Week 10 Exercises 34, 35, 36, 38 + readings; Online reading activity 8 Week 11 Exercises 39, 40, 43, 44 + readings; Online reading activity 9 Week 12 Exercises 45, 47 + readings; Review, Online reading activity 10 Week 13 Optional class if needed for: unfinished or supplementary exercises + review

7 7 Plagiarism Students are warned about plagiarism. Be aware that in addition to general plagiarism rules, in language courses, the following are considered to be acts of plagiarism: 1) copying and pasting from any source (paper or electronic) including online translators; 2) paraphrasing from any source (paper or electronic) including online translators, without appropriate referencing; 3) having someone else compose all or parts of your assignment/test; 4) passing off someone else s assignment/presentation as your own. This course has proctored tests and examinations which must be written without dictionaries or reference materials. It is in your own best interests to learn how to identify and solve problems on your own in the low-stakes unsupervised online tests. Please consult the following sites to help you understand the consequences of and to avoid plagiarism. Academic accommodations You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an accommodation request the processes are as follows: Pregnancy obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website Religious obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course must register with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) for a formal evaluation of disability-related needs. Documented disabilities could include but are not limited to mobility/physical impairments, specific Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological disabilities, sensory disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic medical conditions. Registered PMC students are required to contact the PMC, , every term to ensure that I receive your Letter of Accommodation, no later than two weeks before the first assignment is due or the first in-class test/midterm requiring accommodations. If you only require accommodations for your formally scheduled exam(s) in this course, please submit your request for accommodations to PMC by the deadlines published on the PMC website: