COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course you will undertake the study of a language that is the vehicle of communication of one of the world's great cultures. You will learn to communicate in basic French and to read simple French texts. Even if French is not your major or even your minor, this course can be of great benefit to you. You may use it in your business, in your personal life, or as a research tool in graduate school.  A study of French entails not only knowledge of the language, but an awareness of the history, culture, and literature of France and the Francophone world.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The primary purpose of this course - followed by its 102 sequence - is to develop, through comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and the exploration of cross-cultural interconnections, similarities and differences, your ability and confidence to communicate at the basic level in the French language and to give you a solid fundation for the intermediate level.

The specific objectives for French 101 are as follows:
Speaking: To control vocabulary necessary to express elementary, task-oriented needs and basic courtesy formulae;  To be able to ask questions and make simple statements; To talk about past, present and future events.
Listening: To be able to understand uncomplicated sentence-length and paragraph-length statements ranging contextually from social conventions and routine tasks to cultural topics.
Reading: To be able to read with sufficient understanding to follow a sequence of events, to extract information and to identify main ideas in a variety of short texts.
Writing: To be able to write short messages and letters. To be able to create statements and questions within the scope of familiar topics.
Culture: To become acquainted with the French-speaking world and its cultures. To explore a series of interconnections, similarities and differences central to inter-cultural understanding.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
A. ATTENDANCE AND CLASSROOM COURTESY:
Class begins promptly at 11:00. Attendance is mandatory and it is your responsibility to be punctual. Unavoidable or emergency absences will be considered on an individual basis. 
N.B.: Please avoid coming to class late and leaving early as it is a distraction to the rest of the class. Cell phones will be turned off before class begins. 

B. EVALUATION:
  There will be a short test every week. Eight (8) out of a total of eleven (11) will be counted as part of your final grade (80%). There also will be a final comprehensive examination (20%) taken on the scheduled date. As you can miss (not recommended) without penalty as many as three (3) exams, there absolutely will be no make-up tests allowed. For those who take the 11 exams (higly recommended), the 8 best ones will be counted toward the 80%.  
Grading - Numerical range: 95-100=A; 90-94 =A- ; 87-89= B+; 83-86=B; 80-82=B-; 77-79=C+ ; 73-76 =C; 70-72=C- ; 67-69=D+; 63-66=D; 60-62=-D; F<59. 

C. OFFICE HOURS:
Regular Office Hours - COBURN 113D:  M 1:00 to 3:30; T 2:00 - 6:00 ; R 2: 00 - 3:30  
Office Phone (Voice Mail): 978-934-4297
Email: joseph_garreau@uml.edu

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: (for both semesters)
DÉBUTS (2nd edition) - An Introduction to French 
RECOMMENDED FOR TRUE BEGINNERS: Workbook, Part I 
Textbook Website: http://www.mhhe.com/debuts
A Helpful Website for Beginners: http://www.frenchlesson.com/index.htm