Home > Washington Classes > Languages > French with Madame Simms > French II	Print View

French II

How to add accents with your keyboard (NOTE: "V" = any vowel) Prerequisite:  French I.  French II is a year-long class. Students in French II will continue building their vocabulary skills and sentence structure by using different parts of speech and verbs in the present, near future, and past tenses. Multiple Intelligences, reading and writing strategies, different learning styles and rates are addressed with the use of additional songs, games, and a dance to internalize verb conjugations.  Students continue using technology to do research and communicate with pen pals in France and within our school district which is currently Ramsey Junior High School.  Students  go on field trips in order to practice and experience using the French language and internalizing the cultural aspects of the target language.  Students' final project will be a travel brochure of a country of the student's choice from Francophone Countries or the French speaking world which includes about 55 countries and regions around the world. Students go on field trips that are aligned with the ACTFL Standards, the World Languages Curriculum and Objectives.  These field trips have been selected to  enhance the units being taught as well as to make connections with other content areas and the community.   For example, we go to the Como Conservatory and Zoo for our Unit Henri Rousseau's Secret.  This is an interdisciplinary unit designed and taught using French and Art.   Students learn about this French Artist, French vocabulary such as greetings, colors, the names of animals, vegetation, some history and geography as well as his artistic techniques involving observing  shapes, different shades of green, and proportions.  Students draw and paint jungle scenes which are Rousseau's trade mark.  In addition to sketching, drawing and painting, students use technology to create colorful landscapes with various plants, flowers, clouds, ponds, animals,  weather conditions such as rain and more.   Other field trips include Concordia Language Villages, the Festival of Nations, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for another interdiscipliary unit on Claude Monet and Friends; and "Le Cordon Bleu" a wonderful French Restaurant on the campus of Brown College. WHY SPEAK FRENCH? Based on research, here are ten good reasons: 1.  FRENCH IS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE.  It is spoken in about fifty countries or regions in Europe.  Over 100 million people around the world speak French. 2.  FRENCH IS AN IMPORTANT DIPLOMATIC LANGUAGE.  "French is one of the five official languages of the United Nations and one of the two main languages of the European Union". 3.  FRENCH IS THE SECOND LANGUAGE ON THE INTERNET.  "With French, you have immediate access to Internet sites in France, Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland and French speaking countries in Africa". 4.  FRANCE IS A TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED COUNTRY.  5.  FRANCE IS A LEADER IN THE WORLD OF ART AND LITERATURE. 6.  FRANCE IS A PRIME TOURIST DESTINATION.  Annually, millions of tourists visit France.  Being able to communicate in French enhances vacation enjoyment and cultural experiences. 7.  FOR MANY PEOPLE, FRANCE EVOKES STYLE AND ELEGANCE. 8.  KNOWING FRENCH WILL ENHANCE YOUR ENGLISH. "In 1066, William the Conqueror, a French nobleman, invaded England and became king, bringing with him his court and his language: French.  Today over one-third of all English words are derived from French".  As students study French, they increase their English vacabulary.  The increased vocabulary is correlated with students learning another language out-perform monolingual students on standardized tests. 9.  KNOWING FRENCH WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR UNIVERSITY STUDIES.  "University admissions officers look for candidates who have foreign language skills.  In addition, research by the College Board shows that the longer students study a foreign language, the higher their math and verbal SAT scores". 10.  KNOWING FRENCH WILL BE USEFUL FOR YOUR CAREER.  "Many jobs require the knowledge of another language.  France and Canada are major trading partners of the United States".  A VOUS LA PAROLE (an Oral French Contest) Students in French II will have a chance to participate in this Oral French Contest at the University of Minnesota.  They can either select to recite poetry, do a skit, sing a song or make a video.  With the technology available at our school, students learn literary poetry by seeing it in print, hearing it recited by native French speakers via headphones, being able to translate the poems instantly on-line, recording and playing back their voices to listen to their French accents.  This year,  May 2008, my students rated in the ranges of 1 and 2 on a scale of 1-4 with 1 being the highest.  Based on student feedback, they thought the experience was so enriching because they learned more French, gained a tremendous amount of French vocabulary and self-confidence.  They also enjoyed being with other students learning French, being on campus and seeing college students studying between classes.

Image Gallery: French Post Cards
Click to enlarge