Français 101

Automne 1997

Fay

1st Day Introduction ideas

It's nice to use the first day to get to know your students a little bit and to help them get to know each other.  101 students will not be able to do much on the first day, but you can give them a few words and phrases to get them started. This will also clue you in to students who may have had too much French to be in 101. Remember: a student who has had 2 or more years of High School French will not get credit for French 101. Such students should enroll in French 105 or 102. If you're not sure, send them to talk to Cheryl.

--Warm-up in French: just start right in and model expressions such as "Bonjour." "Je m'appelle ..." etc. You'll be surprised how much you can teach them in such a short time. Shake hands with them, and/or get them to shake hands with each other.

--Introduce yourself  and announce the course number and section (some students wind up in the wrong French class and don't realize it right away.) You should also put this information on the board so that students wandering in know that this is 101 and 102. Note: Be prepared for some shuffling around the first day. Students may come in late b/c they couldn't find the classroom, or b/c they were in the wrong class at the start of the period. You may also have students come in who were sent down from 105 or 102. Be patient the first day. Don't take these students to task for walking in late, but make sure the whole class understands your attendance and late policies when you go over them.

--Call roll and establish a waiting list. (I usually pass around a blank sheet and get students' names and their year.) Explain the add/drop procedure very carefully and make sure that the waiting list people understand what to do. If there is a lot of confusion about that (you have 10 people on the waiting list asking questions and freaking out --it happen!-- then ask them to remind at the end of class and you can talk to them as a group so as not to waste class time.) 

--Go over the syllabus and the general course guidelines. It is most important that they understand the attendance policy. Also emphasize the no makeups policy for quizzes and explain that late assignments will not be expected.

-Explain the organization of Voilà; and show them what the cahier looks like. Give them a homework assignment sheet (if you use one) and explain the homework correcting procedure. You can tell them that they will have one drop homework (it is up to each individual instructor) if you have decided to do that.

Note: Students may tell you that the bookstore is out of texts and/or cahiers. Find out how many students need books and tell Cheryl after class. Usually the bookstore goes ahead and orders more books once they are out and they come in fairly quickly. If students are going to be without books for a few days, let me know and I will put a copy of the text and cahier on reserve in Clemons.

--Talk to them about the goals of the course, what they should expect, what they are expected to do, etc. Talk to them about how to study for a language course, strategies, etc.

--You may wish to tell them a little about your background, how you came to study French, etc. Make sure they know when your office hours are and how they can reach you.

--Have them fill out info sheets

--You may wish to spend some time having them brainstorm about France and French culture--find out what they know--perhaps talk about certain stereotypes--Ask them if they know where French is spoken in countries other than France

--End the class with an activity in French: you may wish to start right in with the vocab of Lesson 1 (see pages 4-9.) If enough students have their books, you could do activities from the book, or just have them look at pictures and talk about them. (The bread pictures on page 9 might make a good discussion, but in English.) Whatever you do, try to get them trying out some French again. This will set the tone for the semester. A good idea would be to return to the dialogues that you began the class with: Bonjour, ça va? , see p. 4-5. Have the students stand up and do the dialogues. Practice pronounciation. Teach them how to ask "Vous êtes d'où? Je suis de ... " After a while you could ask, "Qui est de Philadelphie?" After modeling it, students will understand that "Qui" means "Who" and will respond with names. This will also help them (and you!) learn the names of the other students in the class.

--Make sure you give students pages to read in Voilà for the next day.

--Write up your attendance figures on the sheets outside the French dept. office. You should also note which sections of 101 have space if you need to redirect people on your waiting list to other sections.

--read the info sheets! These are just for you. See if any students list that they have had French before and look out for cases that should be moved up to 105 or 102.