Themes, Contexts , & No Grammar Teaching to the New AP French Exam

1. Themes, Contexts, & No GrammarTeaching to the New AP French Exam Chantal Cassan-Moudoud cmoudoud@saes.org St Andrew’s Episcopal School October 2011

2. Why do I like the new format? • AP French Language and Culture course revisions reflect best practices in language education. They are designed to promote fluency and accuracy in the use of language and to enable students to explore culture in contemporary and historical contexts.

3. With what premises are we working? The three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) defined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to the AP French Language and Culture course. The AP course provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in the Intermediate to Pre-Advanced range as described in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K–12 Learners. (AP Course Description 2011)

4. What are the three Modes of Communication? They provide a redefining organizing principle, and an enriched view of language that reflects real communication. The Interpersonal Mode is characterized by the active negotiation of meaning among individuals. Participants observe and monitor one another to see how their meanings and intentions are being communicated. Adjustments and clarifications can be made accordingly. The Interpretive Mode focuses on the appropriate cultural interpretation of meanings that occur in written and spoken form where there is no recourse to the active negotiation of meaning with the writer or the speaker. The Presentational Mode refers to the creation of oral and written messages in a manner that facilitates interpretation by members of the other culture where no direct opportunity for the active negotiation of meaning between members of the two cultures exists. (ACTFL website)

5. What are we teaching/evaluating? COMPREHENSIBILITY: How well are they understood? COMPREHENSION: How well do they understand? LANGUAGE CONTROL: How accurate is their language? VOCABULARY USE: How extensive and applicable is their vocabulary? COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: How do they maintain communication? CULTURAL AWARENESS: How is their cultural awareness reflected in their communication? (ACTFL Performance Guidelines)

6. The new French AP exam

7. Interpretive Communication= 50% • Reading: 4 sets • Reading & Listening: 2 sets • Listening: 3 sets

8. Interpersonal & Presentational Communication = 50% • Interpersonal Writing: reply to a message • Interpersonal Speaking: simulated conversation • Presentational Writing: persuasive essay • Presentational Speaking: cultural contrast

9. COMPREHENSION @ the Pre-Advanced Level • Understand main ideas and significant details on a variety of topics founds in the products of the target culture. • Develop an awareness of tone, style, and author perspective. • Demonstrate a growing independence as a reader or a listener and generally comprehend what they read and hear without relying solely on formally learned vocabulary. • Understand idiomatic expressions. • Use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary.

10. ACTIVITIES to develop reading & listening comprehension

11. ACTIVITY #1: Preparation • Activation of previous knowledge. • Pictures • Forum • Class discussion • Anticipation. • Illustrations • Vocabulary • Context • Reading 1st sentence/paragraph

18. ACTIVITY #2: Reading/Listening

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20. ACTIVITY #3: Going further • Establish contrast/comparison • Replicate author’s style • Continue the text • Refute the ideas presented in the text • Use the ideas from the text to defend a point of view (persuasive essay)

21. RFI

23. COMPREHENSIBILITY @ the Pre-Advanced Level. • Interpersonal & Presentational • Report, narrate, describe, using connected sentences and paragraphs in present and other time frames. • Fully understandable; occasional errors do not impede comprehensibility. • Use of register appropriate to the situation. • Varied and appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.

24. ACTIVITIES to develop interpersonal & presentational skills • FORUM • CLASS DISCUSSION • LINGTLANGUAGE • PENPAL • BLOG • VIDEO • E-MAIL • ESSAY

25. LINGTLANGUAGE.COM

26. VOCABULARY • Glossary • Organized by theme • Organized by parts of speech • Include a definition & synonyms • When reading/listening • Focus on transition words • Focus on lexical groups • Vocabulary wall • “Remue-méninges”

27. FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES • Use of the past tenses • Use of the subjunctive • Use of the relative pronouns • “Motsmagiques” • Students keep track of their progress • Quick review if needed • Grammar wall

28. “Motsmagiques” • ET = ET • Use of past tenses: • QUAND + PC + Imparfait • PENDANT QUE + Imparfait • PARCE QUE + PqP • Tous les jours… + Imparfait • Un jour + PC • Si + imparfait + conditionnel • SI + PqP + conditionnel passé • APRÈS + infinitif passé (mais AVANT DE + infinitif;AVANT QUE + subjonctif) • Use of future tenses: • QUAND/DÈS QUE/ AUSSITÔT QUE

29. Evaluating the students’ progress • IPA • Integrated Performance Assessment

30. What is an IPA? • The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) is a cluster assessment featuring three tasks, each of which reflects one of the three modes of communication--Interpretive, Interpersonal and Presentational--as outlined in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners (1998) and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards for Foreign Language Education Project, 1999). The three tasks are aligned within a single theme or content area, reflecting the manner in which students naturally acquire and use the language in the real world or the classroom. Each task provides the information and elicits the linguistic interaction that is necessary for students to complete the subsequent task. IPAs are designed for students at the novice-, intermediate-, and pre-advanced levels of proficiency. They are standards-based; performance-based; developmental in nature; integrative; designed to be used with scoring rubrics that rate performance in terms of whether it meets expectations, exceeds expectations, or does not meet expectations for the task; and valid and reliable. • (ACTFL website)

31. Let’s get started! • 1. Interpretive • Read • Listen • 2. Interpersonal • Speak/Listen/Respond • Write/Read/Respond • 3. Presentational • Speak • Write

32. Select a topic….

33. INTERPRETIVE MODE • Preparation • Select 2 written documents • Select an audio • Identify one or two questions to be used for the presentational essay/oral • Have students read/listen to documents • Students are evaluated on: • Answers to list of questions (multiple-choice/ open-ended) • Summary of main ideas & supporting details

34. INTERPERSONAL MODE • After INTERPRETIVE ACTIVITY • Students discuss the documents • Identifying the main idea • Evaluating the authors’ position • Comparing/contrasting with their own culture • Students are evaluated on: • Discussion participation • Quality of questions asked/answers given • Relevance; Depth • Language (Comprehensibility/Comprehension/Use of idiomatic expressions) • Communication strategies • Acknowledgment of classmates ideas: agreeing/disagreeing • Self-correction • Asking for clarification

35. PRESENTATIONAL MODE • Persuasive essay & oral presentation • Use the three documents from the interpretive activity • Answer the initial question/s • Essay: need to present their point of view • Oral: need to establish a cultural comparison • Students are evaluated on: • Treatment of topic, including supporting details and relevant examples. • Clarity of expression • Use of vocabulary • Selection of appropriate register • Organization; effective use of transitional elements or cohesive devices • Pronunciation/Intonation/Pacing

36. Creating Rubrics • Exceeds/ Meets/Working toward/ Does not meet Expectations • Select the particular points on which you want your students to focus • Establish what MEETS YOUR EXPECTATIONS at the time of the evaluation • Use the AP Scoring Guidelines or the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for guidance • Have students create their own rubric (class/individual)

37. When do you start teaching to the AP exam? NOW!!! • Familiarize students with the three modes of communication. • Have students practice the different types of activities. • Use the ACTFL performance guidelines for evaluation. • Use the IPA.

38. Useful links • AP CENTRAL: apcentral.collegeboard.com • Course description; Practice exams; Study guides • ACTFL: www.actfl.org • Standards; Proficiency guidelines; 2012 Conference in Philadelphia • NCLCR: http://nclrc.org/ • Language resource center; assessments; newsletter; webinars • AATF: http://www.frenchteachers.org/ • LINGTLANGUAGE: www.lingtlanguage.com • Create your own interpersonal activities (recording &+) • SCHOOLOGY: www.schoology.com • Online discussions • ePALS: http://www.epals.com/ • Penpals; class projects • Edublogs: http://edublogs.org • Blogs • RFI: www.rfi.fr • Radio France International; many activities • TV5: www.tv5.fr • International French TV; videos, broadcast; documentaries; interviews