Your grade in the course will be calculated with the following components weighted as shown below. 

HOMEWORK 20%                            

DAILY QUIZZES  15%                                       

4 WRITTEN EXAMS  30%                                 

2 ORAL EXAMS   15%                                      

FINAL EXAM  20%                                            

Final grades will be based on a traditional scale:

A = 90-100

B = 80-89

C = 70-79

D = 60-69

F = below 60 

Course policies

Students who miss two quizzes in a row may be dropped by the instructor. A student at ACC is expected to progress satisfactorily toward completion of course objectives. A student who is not meeting course objectives may be withdrawn from the course at the discretion of the instructor. (See ACC Catalog.)

Minimum standards

Students who miss two quizzes in a row, whose exam average after the first two exams is below 50, or whose homework average is below 60 may be withdrawn from the course at the instructor’s discretion.

Withdrawals

If you decide to withdraw from the class, it is your responsibility to fill out the forms to drop the course. If you do not do the paperwork yourself, you risk receiving an F at the end of the semester. The last day to withdraw is November 21, 2024.

Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in fall 2007 or later at any Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a W) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college career. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are encouraged to carefully select courses; contact an advisor or counselor for assistance.

Due to state law, a charge of $60 per credit hour ($240 for a 4-credit course and $180 for a 3-credit course) will be added to the regular tuition for a course in which you have already been officially registered twice before. You are considered officially registered after the 12th day of classes in the spring and fall, and after the 4th day of classes in the summer. Learning a foreign language requires a substantial amount of time and discipline, and these classes often have high drop rates.  Therefore, it is extremely important that you carefully consider whether you have the time and dedication to successfully complete this course this semester.  Otherwise, make sure that you drop it before the end of the add/drop period.

Missed or late work

Late quizzes are not allowed, but two quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the semester. Late exams are allowed only with proof of a good reason for missing them. No online workbook assignments are accepted late.

Incompletes

If there is a documented extenuating circumstance after the last day to withdraw, then you may be eligible for an incomplete. The student must be in good standing and have a C or higher. The student must consult with the instructor and the final decision will be at the instructor’s discretion.  If a grade of I is given, the remaining course work must be completed by a date set by the student and professor.  This date may not be later than two weeks prior to the end of the following semester.  A grade of I also requires completion and submission of the Incomplete Grade Form, to be signed by the faculty member (and student if possible) and submitted to the department chair.

The faculty member will determine whether the Incomplete is appropriate to award or not.  The following processes must be followed when awarding a student an I grade. 

1.      Prior to the end of the semester in which the “I” is to be awarded, the student must meet with the instructor to determine the assignments and exams that must be completed prior to the deadline date.  This meeting can occur virtually or in person.  The instructor should complete the Report of Incomplete Grade form.

2.      The faculty member will complete the form, including all requirements to complete the course and the due date, sign (by typing in name) and then email it to the student.  The student will then complete his/her section, sign (by typing in name), and return the completed form to the faculty member to complete the agreement.  A copy of the fully completed form can then be emailed by the faculty member to the student and the department chair for each grade of Incomplete that the faculty member submits at the end of the semester.   

3.      The student must complete all remaining work by the date specified on the form above.  This date is determined by the instructor in collaboration with the student, but it may not be later than the final withdrawal deadline in the subsequent long semester.  

4.      Students will retain access to the course Blackboard page through the subsequent semester in order to submit work and complete the course. Students will be able to log on to Blackboard and have access to the course section materials, assignments, and grades from the course and semester in which the Incomplete was awarded.  

5.      When the student completes the required work by the Incomplete deadline, the instructor will submit an electronic Grade Change Form to change the student’s performance grade from an “I” to the earned grade of A, B, C, D, or F. 

If an Incomplete is not resolved by the deadline, the grade automatically converts to an “F.”  Approval to carry an Incomplete for longer than the following semester or session deadline is not frequently granted.”

Quizzes, Chapter Tests, Oral Exams, and Final Exam 

We will use the Respondus Lockdown Browser to take tests and quizzes from your home computer. You can download this browser at the site given below. There is also a video explaining how it works. 

Watch the video about how the Respondus Lockdown Browser works and download the app at:

https://download.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=999134577

To take exams, you will need to have a good Internet connection with a working webcam and microphone on your computer. This program will keep you from using other windows or applications on your computer while you are taking exams. Your webcam will record you, and you will not be able to stop looking at your computer or the keyboard from the time you start the exam, until you finish. It will also record sound, so please try to be in a quiet atmosphere, and nobody should be talking to you. The tests and quizzes will be timed and automatically submitted at the end of the time limit.

IMPORTANT: For tests and quizzes, you will need to open the Respondus Lockdown Browser first, which will take you to a log-in for Blackboard after a system check requiring you to activate your webcam and microphone. Once in Blackboard, you will open our course, find the exam or quiz under the Course Content for the chapter that the exam is over, and then click on the exam to begin. If you open Blackboard without going through the Respondus Lockdown Browser, it will tell you that you need a password and will not allow you to access the exam. Remember that you must continue to look at the screen or your keyboard, and cannot go away until you submit the exam.

Unlike when doing homework in Mindtap where the floating bar with accented letters automatically appears, if you need to type an accent mark when using the Respondus Lockdown Browser, you click on the tab at the top of the screen with a + sign as shown below, then click on the accented letter you need and it will type the letter where the cursor is located.  

Quizzes: There will be a quiz each week that there is not a chapter exam. Since quizzes are timed, you need to know the material well when you take a quiz. You will need to spell answers correctly or the computer will count it wrong. Unlike the homework activities, where you often get multiple attempts, you will only have one attempt for each quiz.

Chapter Tests:  There are four chapter tests, one after each chapter (Chapitre 4, Chapitre 5, Chapitre 6, Chapitre 7). As with quizzes, exams will be timed and will be timed and taken using the Respondus Lockdown Browser, which can be downloaded at https://download.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=999134577. If there is a technical problem during an exam, please email me as soon as possible.

Oral Exams: There are two oral exams, the first one after Chapitre 5 and the second one after Chapitre 7. They will be taken with me online by appointment using Zoom. You will sign up for an oral exam time slot on a Google Doc, which will be available a few days in advance. I will ask you ten questions based on the topics of conversation we have been studying. You will have a list of questions to use to practice in advance.

Final Exam: The final exam is comprehensive, covering material from all four chapters (Chapitre 4, Chapitre 5, Chapitre 6, Chapitre 7). Testing procedures will be the same as for the chapter tests as described above.

Textbook and Instructional Materials

Unless you opted out of first day access, you paid for access to the online textbook and materials when you paid your tuition and fees for this course. You are not required to purchase any other materials, but if you would like to have a printed version of the textbook along with the electronic textbook, there is a loose-leaf hardcopy of the print textbook available to students in this course at ACC bookstores for $50.00. Horizons 7e (Manley, Smith, McMinn-Reyna, Prévost, Cengage publishing company) Print upgrade (ISBN 9780357092842). 

If you opt out of the first day access, you will need to purchase the access to the online textbook. You can purchase the access from the publisher at https://www.cengage.com/purchase-and-rent-etextbooks/.

Copy and paste the ISBN the Search box to find the option you prefer. If you do not plan to take French at ACC after this semester, the first option is the cheaper option. If you will take French 2311 at ACC, you might prefer to purchase the option allowing access for up to four semesters for only $12 more. 

Option 1: Access for one semester for $88

Manley/Smith/McMinn-Reyna/Prévost - MindTap French, 1 term (6 months) instant Access Card for Manley/Smith/McMinn-Reyna/Prévost’s Horizons, Student Edition: Introductory French
ISBN: 9781337568302

Option 2: Access for one semester for $100

Manley/Smith/McMinn-Reyna/Prévost - MindTap French, 4 terms (24 months) instant Access Card for Manley/Smith/McMinn-Reyna/Prévost’s Horizons, Student Edition: Introductory French
ISBN: 9781337568258 

Registering for materials in Blackboard 

The online course materials are published by Cengage Publishers, who use a learning platform call Mindtap, which you will access through Blackboard. Unless you opted out, follow these instructions to register for the class online in Mindtap through Blackboard.

• Log into Blackboard and click the link for our French 1412 course.
• Select the content area for Horizons Online Textbook and click on the course link with the Cengage icon.  
• If you already have a Cengage user name and password, use them to login. Otherwise create them and follow the directions online to complete the registration.

Note: If you opted out, you will be prompted to insert the access code you received when you purchased the materials. If you purchase the multi-semester access, be sure not to lose the access code since you will need it each semester. If you did not opt out of first day access, you will not need an access code.    

We will cover Chapitres 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the textbook.

Most of your day-to-day learning assignments will be in the online materials for our textbook, Horizons, in Mindtap. To use the materials in Mindtap, you will need to allow pop-ups and cookies for the Cengage Mindtap site.  For instructions to do that, go to https://www.cengage.com/lms_docs/system_check/popupsfailed/popupsfailed_chrome.htm.

In order to see what online homework is due from the Mindtap on certain dates, click on the calendar icon at the top of the screen. There you will see the homework activities due on different dates. You click on each activity on the calendar to do it.

Chapitre 4: 

Chapitre 5

Chapitre 6

Chapitre 7

Course Description and Learning Outcomes

The main objective of this course is to develop competencies that align with the general education goals of critical thinking, interpersonal skills, civic and cultural awareness, personal responsibility, and written, oral and visual communication, in the French language, at an appropriate level. The ability to understand and communicate and comprehend French will develop along with the knowledge of the vocabulary, grammatical structures of the language, and exploration of how culture shapes communication. Two to three hours a day should be dedicated for the study of French (at least two hours outside of class for each hour in class).

At the end of French 1412, students should be able to do the following:

CRITICAL THINKING:

• compare and contrast lifestyles and attitudes in French society with their own
• paraphrase by thinking of alternate ways of expressing meaning.
• plan and predict what might be said in written and listening passages.
• utilize language creatively to talk about familiar topics

TEAMWORK (Interpersonal Skills):

• converse with partners about topics related to them.
• help one another with areas of difficulty.
• brainstorm in groups to organize tasks.
• share resources related to common interests.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Civic and Cultural Awareness):

• discuss the importance of cultural identity in different French-speaking regions.
• compare French values related to daily life such as leisure activities, relationships, and eating habits to those in their own society.
• demonstrate awareness of current events in French-speaking regions.
• discuss implications of changes in French society and compare them to changes in their own society.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:

• show time management skills by successfully completing tasks on time.
• acquire effective study habits for language learning.
• name a variety of resources outside of class to practice French.
• discuss aspects of French language and culture of personal interest.
• state how learning French will be useful to them and improve their lives.
• make appropriate decisions when interacting with people from different French-speaking regions.

COMMUNICATION (Written, Oral and Visual Communication):

• communicate effectively in common situations such as when shopping for clothes, ordering in restaurants, or buying groceries.
• talk about topics such as daily routine, leisure activities, relationships, in the present, the past, and the near future.
• recount stories in the past.
• make conditional statements and hypothesize.
• utilize visuals and context to express or understand meaning.
• utilize organizing techniques and logical sequencing when writing.
• utilize visuals to infer or show cultural differences.