Lee-Scott Academy
French Level 4
Course Description
The Course
French Level 4
at Lee-Scott Academy is mainly used to prepare students to take the AP
French Language Exam in the spring (May) or the SAT II Subject Test in
French. The course is not an AP Course;
however, students may choose to take the exam in hopes of receiving
college credit for their studies. The content presented in the
exam can be equated to third year courses at the college level.
Students who enroll in French Level 4 should already have a good
command of French grammar and vocabulary and have competence in
listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Although these
qualifications may be attained in a variety of ways, it is assumed that
most students will be in the final stages of their secondary school
training and will have had substantial course work in the language.
The course will emphasize the use of language for active communication
and help students develop the following:
A. the ability to understand spoken French in various contexts;
B. a French vocabulary sufficiently ample for reading newspaper
and magazine articles, literary texts, and other nontechnical writings
without dependence on a dictionary; and
C. the ability to express themselves coherently, resourcefully,
and with reasonable fluency and accuracy in both written and spoken
French.
Course content will reflect intellectual interests shared by the
students and teacher (the arts, current events, literature, sports,
etc.). Materials will include audio and video recordings, films,
newspapers, and magazines.
The courses seeks to develop language skills (reading, writing,
listening, and speaking) that can be used in various activities and
disciplines rather than to cover any specific body of the subject
matter. Extensive training in the organization and writing of
compositions will also be emphasized.
The
Exam
The AP French Language
Exam is approximately two and one-half hours in length. It is not
based on any particular subject matter but instead attempts to evaluate
the student's level of performance in the use of the language, both in
understanding written and spoken French and in responding in correct
and idiomatic French. Listening and reading are tested in the
multiple-choice section; writing and speaking are tested in the
free-response section. The portion of the exam devoted to each
skill counts for one-fourth of the final grade.
With the exception of directions, French is used exclusively both in
the exam materials and in the student responses. Use of
dictionaries or other reference works during the exam is not permitted.