Course Syllabus
AP French Language and Culture
Madame Jones
Course description:
Advanced Placement French Language and Culture is a course designed for highly-motivated fifth-year students who desire to gain proficiency in speaking, reading, writing and listening in French. This course will help students gain proficiency in interpersonal, interpretive and presentational communication skills. Students will expand their comprehension and appreciation of the French speaking world and its different forms of media, customs and traditions, and values and beliefs. The following themes will be highlighted in the various activities throughout the semester: global challenges, science and technology, contemporary life, personal and public identities, families and communities, and beauty and aesthetics.
This class will be conducted solely in French and students are expected to communicate in French at all times with their classmates and with the teacher. A variety of texts, literature, newspapers, magazines, podcasts and websites will be used throughout the course. Students are encouraged to be active learners and to spend time each day listening and reading French and utilizing the vast array of resources available to them.
(Units for Families and Communities and Beauty and Aesthetics were examined during 1st semester.)
Unit 1: Global challenges
- “Les Bijoux de la Castafiore” by Hergé; History of the Roms; News story from TF1 about the expulsion of Roms in France.
- “Le racisme expliqué à ma fille” by Tahar Ben Jelloun; Write an interview based on Jelloun’s dialogue with his daughter. Students can choose from the following topics: la laïcité, la diversité, la liberté de parole and la tolérance.
- Students role play a scene where they have witnessed discrimination. Then discuss with classmates the basis of this discrimination, how to properly react if every in a similar situation, and what can be done to create tolerance and understanding.
- Le port du voile en France: news articles from Le Monde. Students debate the issue and form their own opinion on the topic. Compare and contrast American and French reaction to the display of religious symbols in school and public places.
- Song: Ma France à moi by Diam
Unit 2: Contemporary Life
- “Les petits enfants du siècle” by Christiane Rochefort and “L’Enfance” by Nathalie Sarraute. Compare and contrast the the lives, families and residences of the two main characters.
- Audio passage: Students identify the narrator’s reasoning about the importance of one’s house and the sentiments that one attaches to it.
- Students describe the floor plan of their house to a classmate giving details about size, shape, doors, windows, furniture, fireplaces, etc. Then they evaluate their classmate’s drawing and explain what is accurate and what needs to be modified.
- Each student plays the role of a real estate agent and finds the ideal home for a family according to its needs and budget. Then the agent needs to persuade the family to purchase it by stating the positive qualities and benefits of the property.
- “Qui sont les SDF”. Discuss how a residence affects the quality of one’s life and how one is judged by where he resides. Compare and contrast how Americans and the French respond to those who are homeless and the help that they offer. Determine reasons that cause homelessness.
Unit 3: Personal and Public Identities
- “Schizophrénie linguistique” by Jean Arceneaux. Discuss the superiority and dominance of the English language. Compare this situation in Louisiana with other areas of the United States and in France where there is a strong immigrant population and/or another language that is prevalent. Write an essay based on the idea of “la schizophrénie linguistique aux Etats-Unis”. Research the organization CODOFIL and its objectives.
- “La dernière classe” by Alphonse Daudet. Comprehension questions and discussion about the dispute over the region Alsace-Lorraine.
- Podcast about becoming a French citizen.
- Brainstorm a list of words associated with patriotism and create a poem by using them.
- Create a video with subtitles to a Francophone country’s national anthem.
Unit 4: Science and Technologie
- “La mauvaise surpise Kindle”; Explain the motive for all the gadgets that society demands and how it affects our lives.
- “Tricher au bac comme un geek”; How have moral choices changed from the 20th to the 21st century? Compare the cheating scandals in France to those in the U.S.
- Audio recording: Discuss the history of the internet and how its usage has changed over the last ten years.
- Students create an infomercial for a new invention that will improve one’s life. They explain how the gadget functions, the benefits of owning one and use a strong sales pitch. Classmates respond positively or negatively to each commercial and justify their reaction.
Primary Resources
Delfosse, Geneviève. Thèmes. Vista Higher Learning, 2016. Print.
Dietiker, Simone Renaud. En bonne forme United States: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Ladd, Richard. Allons au-delà! United States: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Ladd, Richard. AP French: Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination. Unites States: Pearson, 2011. Print.
Supplementary Texts and Materials
Herbst, Henry. Une Fois Pour Toutes. Longman, 1992. Print.
Saint-Exupéry. Le Petit Prince.
Course Summary:
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