French 2113:
Intermediate French
Three Semester Hours
Exams
This course has five exams, which are scheduled after the completion of
each chapter in this course. Exams are always comprehensive and will include
both oral and written sections. There are exams following lessons 3, 6,
9, 12 and 15. Exam 5 will be the final exam and will be longer than the
others, with a component for lessons 13-15 and a comprehensive component
for the other lessons. Tests 1-4 have a 1 1/2 hour time limit, and test
5 has a 3 hour time limit. You may not use books or notes of any kind. You
will need a good tape player and a TV/VCR to complete the exams.
Each of the chapter tests is composed of four distinct parts, Activités
de Compréhension, Structures, Pratique,
and Interrogation, representing the primary organizational features
of the textbook. They are designed to be administered within ninety minutes,
allowing you some time to review and revise your work before handing it
in.
Activités de Compréhension (approximately 20%)
Each test includes a listening/viewing comprehension component in recognition
of the importance of listening/viewing skills and in support of the laboratory
program. The listening comprehension portion of each test is composed of
two parts (I and II). Part I is either an audio or video segment corresponding
to the themes of each chapter. Part II is usually a passage or series of
questions written solely for the exam to be read aloud by the instructor.
Contrasting scores on the two Listening Comprehension sections provides
the opportunity to observe whether listening comprehension difficulties,
for particular students, are a function of listening difficulties in general,
linked to the specific speaker, or related to the need for additional repetitions
of the listening passage.
Structures (approximately 40%)
The second component of each test highlights the structures presented in
the chapter. The Structures section focuses on the most important
and high frequency grammatical points presented in the chapter. Often several
grammar points are combined in one activity rather than lengthening the
examination by having a separate exercise on each point. The format of exercises
varies greatly, but a direct and clear approach is emphasized.
Pratique (approximately 20%)
The third component of each chapter test is the Pratique section.
As in the textbook, activities in the Pratique section are open-ended
and may range from sentence completions to short paragraphs on topics related
to the chapter theme. It is primarily in this final section that you are
given the opportunity to personalize your responses and to express your
opinions.
The final component of each chapter test is the Interrogation. The
Interrogation is composed of two sections, Structures and
Pratique and is designed to be administered within a thirty-minute
time frame. All of the grammatical points of the chapter are combined in
one Structure section using a "cloze" passage format. This format
consists of one or more contextualized paragraphs for which students must
fill in the blanks using the vocabulary and structures presented in the
chapter. An effective testing strategy, the cloze format requires yiu to
demonstrate understanding of meaning as well as form. A list of possible
elements is at times provided from which you may choose in order to complete
the paragraph(s). The Pratique section of the Interrogation
represents an opportunity for more open-ended responses. The format ranges
from personalized questions to selected essay topics (8-10 sentences) based
on chapter themes.