How to Prepare Your Students for the AP French Language & Culture Persuasive Essay Milton Alan Turner, NBCTSaint Ignatius High Schoolmturner@ignatius.edu http://faculty.Ignatius.edu/turner/

• Introduction to AP French Language & Culture Exam• AP Central Website• Free-Response Section Tasks

• 2012 French Persuasive Essay• Persuasive Essay Rubric• Authentic Resources

• French-language Media Web Sites• French-Language Media Apps for smartphones/tablets

• AP French Language & Culture Facebook Group• Student Activities- Les JT et les Causeries

Overview

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com •Course Description•Planning Guide•Teacher Community•Free-Response Questions•Scoring Samples and Commentary

AP Central

“The AP course provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in the Intermediate to Pre-Advanced range.”

Overarching Premise“When communicating, students in the AP French Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (Connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (Comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (Communities).”

AP French Language & Culture Course and Exam Description Effective Fall 2011

AP French Language & Culture Exam

Les défis mondiau

x

La vie contempo

raine

La quête de soi

La famille et

la commun

auté

La science et

la technolog

ie

L’esthétique

AP Cultural Themes

Section# of

Questions

% of Final Score

Time

Section I: Multiple Choice 95 minute

sPart A Interpretive Communication:

Print Texts30

questions

50%

40 minute

s

Part B

Interpretative Communication: Print and Audio Texts (combined)

35 question

s

55 minute

sInterpretative Communication: Audio Texts

Section II: Free-Response 85 minute

sTask 1 Interpersonal Writing: E-mail

reply 1 prompt

50%

15 minute

sTask 2 Presentational Writing:

Persuasive Essay 1 prompt

55 minute

sTask 3 Interpersonal Speaking:

Conversation 5 prompts

5 minute

sTask 4 Presentational Speaking:

Cultural Comparison 1 prompt

7 minute

s

AP French Language & Culture Exam Format

• Students must write a persuasive essay on a given topic clearly indicating their own viewpoint and defending it thoroughly

• The essay topic is based on three sources1. Printed article2. Printed graph/chart/map3. Audio source (podcast/interview)

• Students have 6 minutes to read the print sources (article and graph) and 6 minutes to hear the audio source twice

• Students have 40 minutes to write the essay

Task 2: Persuasive Essay

• Holistic scoring (“Alan’s shoulders”)• Task oriented• Progressive

• integrates vs. summarizes information• Number of sources referenced• effective vs. suitable vs. unsuitable information

• Multiple ways to successfully use sources• 2012 Scoring samples and commentary available at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/4559.html

Task 2: Persuasive Essay Scoring Rubric

• Regular exposure to authentic resources from Day 1 Level 1• Web sites• Podcasts• Apps• Social media

• Le Grand Concours• Practice Tests

•Course and Exam Description•Practice Test (AP Audit)

Preparation Suggestions

• My AP French Language & Culture Web Sitehttp://

faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/apfrenchlang.htm • Media Web Sites

• Le Monde www.lemonde.fr • Radio France Internationale www.rfi.fr • France 24 http://www.france24.com/fr/

• Smartphone Apps• Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/apfrenchlang/

Authentic Resources

•Les Journaux Télévisés

http://faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/tj.htm •Les Causerieshttp://faculty.ignatius.edu/turner/causeries.htm

Student Activities