Goals & Strategies Spring 09
Interpretive Listening & Interpersonal Speaking
I've attached a selection from my Spring 09 Midterm to satisfy the goals of interpretive listening and interpersonal speaking. To attain these goals, I must demonstrate my ability to understand commonly used phrases and vocabulary related to personal relevance, and to communicate in short, direct exchanges on familiar topics and activities. I believe this sample from my midterm fulfills these two goals.
During the midterm, Professor Dembovskaya and I discussed whether I prefer the city or the country and why, the merits of both the French and American health care system and my thoughts on them, and what I do to keep healthy. I usually understood what Professor Dembovskaya was asking me, and was able to answer her questions promptly and correctly. Though my speech is still rather slow, I was able to complete this exchange with little difficulty. There were some times when it was difficult to hear over the computer. If I could not hear the question or did not understand it the first time, I asked Professor Dembovskaya to repeat the question. I've found phrases asking speakers to repeat, slow down, or say something differently to be very helpful in conversations. I feel this sample shows the progress I have made in speaking and listening since last semester. I think I have improved significantly in these areas and feel like I have learned a lot. I know I still have a long way to go towards speaking fluent French, but I am becoming more confident in my speech.
This sample also demonstrates some areas where I can improve my French. First, I still need to work on my pronunciation. I consistently pronounced "je" as "j'ai," and I mispronounced the word "santé" several times as well. I also need to practice forming sentences, as sometimes I still conjugate verbs incorrectly, forget to make sure my adjectives and nouns agree, or just put words in the wrong order.
Interpretive Reading
Attached is a project I did to fulfill the goal for interpretive reading. To attain this goal, I should be able to read short, simple texts and find specific predictable information. I chose to demonstrate my ability to read French by reading and summarizing three articles from three French publications.
The first article is from Le Monde and is titled "Les eurodéputés adoptent un amendement sur la liberté d'accès à Internet." It is about the European Union adopting a law concerning freedom on the Internet and the problems representatives are encountering. This article was the most controversial of the three as it discussed the balance between government regulation and freedom. Personally, I believe freedom of information is a basic right, so the government should have very little control over the Internet. The second article is called "Une voie pour les taxis et le bus entre Roissy et Paris," and it is from Le Figaro. This article is about an experimental French roadway initiative that would encourage people to take the bus or taxis when traveling from the Roissy airport to Paris. I think the roadway is a positive initiative that would benefit both the environment and the French economy, but not everyone is so keen on the idea. The third article, from Elle, is "Cet été, c'est vous le guide!" It is about a unique travel website where travelers can find inexpensive or free tours based solely on their personal interests. It is a creative idea, and going on a tour one is interested in would make a trip much better.
When reading these articles, I first scanned for words I knew and tried to form a meaning using them and context clues before looking up unfamiliar words. This was very difficult with the news articles. They were somewhat complicated and full of words I did not know. Still, I was able to read parts of them before looking up words. The magazine article was much easier to read since it was about travel and the Internet, two topics we covered in depth in class. I was able to understand the basic idea of the article based on my own knowledge before I looked up the unfamiliar words. Though the articles were challenging, I learned many new words and also gained insight into some French current events.
I think exploring the websites for the three publications actually better fulfilled the goal for interpretive reading. The sites were fairly easy to navigate, and to do so I had to read simple texts and find specific information. I was also familiar with more words on the sites' navigation pages than in the actual articles. After reading these articles and visiting the websites, I plan to read these publications regularly to improve my reading skills and to stay informed about French happenings.
Presentational Speaking
Attached is a recorded self-introduction. This fulfills the goal for presentational speaking, which is to show I can use a series of phrases to describe various aspects of my life in simple terms.
In this recording, I introduce myself, then talk about my family, where they live, my education, where I live, what I want to be when I grow up, where I want to live after college and why, and places I would like to travel to. I covered a wide variety of topics and used a lot of vocabulary in this audio sample. I was able to describe everything using simple sentences.
I think this piece would be better if I had spoken more slowly, since it is presentational, rather than conversational speaking. My pronunciation still needs some improvement as well. Throughout this recording, I noticed I had trouble pronouncing the letter "r." Though this sound was difficult as first, I am much better at it now; I think I just had a hard time with the "r" sound for this piece due to a sore throat/losing my voice.
Presentational Writing & Personal Goal
Attached is a writing sample I wrote towards the beginning of the spring 09 semester. This sample demonstrates my progress in presentational writing. I chose this sample because I feel it fulfills the goal I set for presentational writing: to incorporate more words into my writing in order to describes things with greater precision and detail. It also fulfills my personal goal, which is to improve my grammar skills and mechanics.
This sample is titled "Ma Famille et Mon Quartier," and it covers a variety of topics. I described my family, the neighborhood where I grew up, and the neighborhood where my family lives now. I discussed my childhood activities and vacations. With my growing vocabulary, I was able to discuss my subject in greater depth than I could last semester. It is also getting easier to express myself more accurately and in a more interesting way. In covering a wide range of topics, I had to conjugate verbs in several ways and make sure the adjectives and nouns agreed. My writing sample includes past and present, first and third person, and singular and plural words. I like writing samples because they provide an opportunity to practice conjugating verbs in different ways and to practice constructing proper sentences, which is an area in which I am not yet completely comfortable.
I think writing samples are an effective learning strategy, especially since we receive feedback on our assignments. When I receive feedback with specific corrections and revise my work, I learn more about French grammar and sentence structure, which helps me become a better speaker and writer.
Social Phenomena & Social Changes
Above is the link to a culture blog post and my comment on it. The post is called "L'agritourisme" and it's about agritourism in Quebec. My comment on this post fulfills the goals for social phenomena and social change.
The post described businesses where visitors can purchase products and learn about the processes that went into making the product. For example, there is a apple orchard where customers can visit the orchard, see where and how products are made, and purchase the products all in one place.
These agritourism attractions are an important part of the ever-growing green movement. Though this specific example is in Quebec, the green movement has taken off in the United States and Europe as well and has become a social phenomenon as celebrities, corporations, and individuals become more and more dedicated to living more environmentally friendly lives. This includes buying local, natural and organic products, such as those sold at the agritourism "museums." Buying locally grown/made food is better for the environment, but I think it is also healthier. Agritourism museums will show people how food and agriculture affects them. Buying locally and being aware of what is going into food is just one change people are making to "go green." In France, Quebec, and around the world, society is beginning to understand the impact people have on the environment and how it will affect us, and people are making changes to their everyday lifestyles to minimize this impact. It is important for people to live greener lives, and it is easy to make small adjustments that add up. For example, using a reusable shopping and buying produce from the farmers' market are easy ways to live green.
Products and Perspectives & Social Values and Behaviors
Above is the link to a culture blog post and my comment on it. This post is titled "Les Facultés en grèves." It is about student strikes in France, and the impact it can have on students' education and on the universities. My comment on this post fulfills the goals for products and perspectives and social values and behaviors.
This post discusses the phenomenon of student strikes in France. In France, strikes are an essential part of the social and political culture. Citizens use strikes to influence the French institutions. Students and faculty often stage strikes when experiencing discontent. There are structured, hierarchical unions to organize student strikes and protect the rights of students and faculty, just as there are labor unions to protect the rights of workers. The French highly value their social and political democracy, and refuse to let it be infringed upon. Sometimes these strikes are successful; other time they are not. Regardless, they demonstrate the passion students have for politics. There are some possible downsides to excessive striking though. Student strikes can last for months, during which time students are not receiving any sort of education, but they still get the credit for classes. As a result, parents are hesitating to send their children to schools with frequent strikes.
I feel this is a valid concern of parents and students alike. With so much time spent on strike, students are graduating not fully prepared for the workplace. French students usually attend universities that are close to their homes, but with increased striking– and therefore less time spent in the classroom– students will likely become more selective when choosing their colleges. French students and parents clearly value their education as well as their political rights, and a quality education is now necessary to compete in today's job market.
Culture Blog: Comment 2
Above is the link to a culture blog post and my comment about it. To view the post, copy the link and paste it into the search box on your window.
This blog post is called 'Catholicism in France.' It is about the shrinking role of religion in people's lives, the decreasing church membership, the reactions of religious leaders, and possible reasons for this change. I commented on reasons I think this is happening. I chose this blog post because it describes a major change occurring in France.
The blog post described tensions between two major French institutions: the church and the government. I would also say it described the conflict between religious and social values, and differences between older and younger generations. This movement away from religion and towards more personal freedom and choice is not isolated in France; it is occurring in countries all over the world, including the United States. (Goal 1)
The older generation's values are shown by the fact they continue to attend church regularly and consider themselves to be very religious. Religion is an important part of their lives and they were raised with it. Religion was never as important to the younger generations. They did not endure the same hardships as previous generations, and they have been raised to turn to technology, not faith, for comfort and help. In addition, younger generations tend to place great importance on freedom, choice and independence, and the church may appear to them to be limiting these with its traditions. (Goal 2)
I think this change may be occurring in large part because the church has chosen to stand by its old traditions while the rest of the population, especially the young people, are modernizing. A similar reason that was mentioned in one of the articles said declining church membership amy be due in large part to materialism. People are becoming more materialistic, and finding refuge in stuff rather than faith. This is another product of the generation gap. (Goal 3)
The major changes discussed in the culture blog post are the declining church membership, the shrinking role of the church in social and political issues, and the decreasing importance of religion in people's daily lives. I think this is in large part a generational phenomena. The current generation has somewhat different values than the previous generations. (Goal 4)
Culture Blog: Comment 1
Above is the link to a blog and the comment I wrote about it. To view, copy the link and paste it in the search box on your window.
This blog entry is called 'La Blogosphère Française.' It describes the growing phenomenon of blogging in France; why it is so popular; who's doing it; and what makes French blogs unique from American blogs. I commented on how French blogs seemed to be used more so for political purposes than American blogs, and they were used by all ages, where in the U.S. younger people are more likely to be bloggers.
I chose this comment because I think it meets the goals for the culture blog posts, I feel it contains a lot of important information about French culture, and I find it interesting. The first goal of the blog posts is to identify, discuss and analyze intangible aspects of the culture. This post about blogging is about the social institutions of France. The French have long gathered in coffee houses to discuss politics, etc– this is the techy form of that. Being able to express opinions and unhappiness about authority is very important to French culture.
The second goal of the blog posts is to give examples of social behaviors that express the culture's underlying values. The French clearly value their freedom. This is shown in their blogs about politics and society, their political debates, their frequent strikes, and their infamous street riots.
The next goal of the culture blog post is to interpret social phenomena within the context of the target culture. The phenomena of blogging is, as I said, a convenient alternative to the coffee houses. Blogs are always available, and can reach millions of people. It is a way for French people to spread their ideas and make their opinions heard.
The final goal is to describe instances of major change within the culture. I do not think blogging denotes a major change. The French are still doing what they've always done– be politically and critically outspoken– they are just doing it in a different venue.
French Midterm
I was very nervous about the midterm. I was nervous to take the test out loud with someone I'd never met and I was nervous to take the test over the computer. I think I forgot some things or was not thinking as clearly as I should have been because of this. When I watched the midterm video again, I saw that I stumbled over things I knew. It was also difficult to hear over the computer. The sound was scratchy and broken, so I had to ask Mme Dembovskaya to repeat herself several times.
That being said, I think the midterm went better than I expected. I feel I was able to answer most of her questions and have a comprehendible conversation. It also went by very quickly. When I watched the video, I realized I had a tendency to leave out verbs when describing things. I also used the informal rather than formal 'you' form, which was also noted in my evaluation. For my final, these are two things I will work on, along with my accent. I will also work on sentence structure. I think this will be easier now that we have learned more about it.
Having a review sheet before the test helped so much. By having it, I can become familiar with phrases I may not have used for awhile and practice ways to answer.
Online Project
Above is the link to my project. To view my project, copy the link and paste it into the search box in your window.
For this project, I created an online book using the Bookr website. My book is called C'est la Vie, and it's about a young French student in Paris. This project relates most closely to the course goal for presentational writing. I think this project shows how my writing has progressed from my writing sample. The sentences are more in-depth, I have a wider vocabulary, and I wrote about more subjects. This project also gave me more practice writing with correct tense, conjugation, gender, and number. I think I used these grammar aspects well in this project. The project is also somewhat related to my personal goal of learning more about French culture. I wrote about two French cities, the University of Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. Though I didn't include a great deal of information about these in the book, I looked them up on my own to learn more about France.
When creating this book, I tried to use what I learned in the online French lessons. As such, I wrote about many different aspects of life, like family, activities, school, rooms, and music. However, I did not discuss time at all in this project. I used time a lot in my second project, but I think it would have been good to include it in this one as well. This project gave me more practice writing, which is always helpful.
I liked doing this project and using the Bookr website. I found many of the other websites to be frustrating though. Several of them required registration and a password, so when I turned the project in, Dr. Marston was unable to access it and I had to redo it. I had a small problem with Bookr as well. When I first made the project, the site would not allow me to put accent marks on the page. I was able to fix the problem the next week in the lab, but it was something I could have fixed myself had we not had to use websites to create the project. Basically, though I liked creating the book on Bookr, online sites can be difficult, especially since I am not very computer savvy if a problem arises.
Audio Sample
I created this audio sample using the QuickTime Player application. For this sample, I was supposed to repeat a conversation from an online video. As such, I think it emphasizes a few skills. First, I had to listen to the sample to understand it, then I wrote everything down. This portion of the assignment relates to the interpretive listening goal. I had to listen to the piece several times in order to write it down accurately. This assignment also relates to the goal of presentational speaking. I had to speak slowly and clearly enough for someone to understand what I was trying to say.
I think this audio sample shows my understanding of French pronunciation of words and sounds. In French, the ending of words is usually not pronounced, and some letters, like 'n' or 'r' are not pronounced or are pronounced with a special sound. Forming the words and sounds correctly is still difficult for me sometimes, because many of the sounds do not exist in English. It can also be difficult to pronounce a word I am reading correctly if I have not heard it before because so many letters are silent. This piece shows my understanding of this part of the language, but my French accent is still off. Adrien says I sound more Canadian than French, so I have to work on that.
Audio samples are okay learning strategies because you practice speaking more quickly and correctly. I prefer speaking with a person because he or she can correct me if I make a mistake and I will know exactly what I was doing wrong so I can fix it. However, I like being able to hear myself speak with the audio sample so I know how I sound and pronounce words.
Writing Sample
This writing sample reflects my ability to form sentences in French using correct grammar and punctuation. I chose this sample because I feel the piece as a whole is more comprehensive and flows better than my other sample. This sample relates to the course goal for presentational writing. It is a short, simple text, but it conveys many personal details that are useful when introducing myself.
I feel this sample could have been improved by going more in-depth, perhaps by talking about my family and who I live with in Beecher and at Drake. In my future writings, I think I should include information about other people, places and things. By writing about others rather than just myself, I will practice forming sentences using the other verb tenses and matching gender, adjectives, nouns and numbers.
I think creating writing samples is a useful learning strategy, especially if we receive prompt and very precise feedback. By doing this assignment, I practiced conjugating different verbs and had to consciously ensure all words had the proper gender and number for each phrase. It's difficult for me to choose the right adjective and ending for different words based on gender because this is something not present in English. However, by getting specific feedback and editing the sample, I can learn how to write well in French.