The Summer Language Institute/MA in French Language Teaching has a unique curriculum designed by teachers to maximize your potential as a language teacher. Through courses on language acquisition and pedagogy as well as language and culture courses, you will improve both your language proficiency and cultural understanding while becoming a better teacher. The curriculum has three types of courses:
- Core required courses in areas such as second language acquisition theory, assessment, and teaching for proficiency
- Language and culture electives
- Pedagogy courses which accompany each language or culture elective and focus on practical application of various pedagogical practices.
The descriptions below give you more details on each of these types of courses.
Overview
The Summer Language Institute for French Teachers offers you the opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in French Language Teaching (a total of 48 quarter credits) over three summers. You may earn up to 18 credits each summer.
Five 3-credit required core courses:
- FL 511, Second Language Acquisition: Theory and Practice
- FL 514 Action Research
- FL 512 Teaching for Proficiency: Methods and Strategies
- FL 513 Foreign Language Assessment: Principles and Strategies
- FL 515 Teaching with Technology
A minimum of 29 credits of French Language and Culture courses:
These elective courses vary each summer, providing students with a variety of options. They are designed to build students' linguistic and cultural knowledge and enhance their pedagogical skills. Each of these courses is accompanied by a pedagogy course (2 credits) The following are examples of courses taught in the past.
- Communicative Grammar (3 credits) with Teaching Grammar in Context (2 credits)
- French Heritage Cinema (3 credits) with Teaching Language with Film (2 credits)
- La France et ses immigrés (3 credits) with Teaching Culture (2 credits)
- Le Théâtre du 20è (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Theater (2 credits)
- Expression écrite (3 credits) with Teaching Writing (2 credits)
- Contes et nouvelles (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Literature (2 credits)
- Peinture du 19ème siècle (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Art (2 credits)
- La Phonétique française (3 credits) with Teaching Pronunciation (2 credits)
- Les Régions de France à travers le cinéma (3 credits) with Individual Differences (2 credits)
A minimum of 4 credits Action Research Project:
During the school year prior to your final year in the program, if you are a masters candidate, you will conduct an action research project with your own students/at your own school. You will write a 30-40 page paper (plus bibliography and appendices) documenting the project. The action research project, presentation and paper take the place of a thesis project, and are graded based on the AR project rubric and the AR presentation rubric.
NOTE: Students take the FL 514 Action Research class during the second summer. Beginning with students enrolled in Action Research in Summer 2019, students must enroll for 1 credit per term of FR 503 Thesis while working on their Action Research Project during the following year. During the final summer, they must register for 1 credit of FR 504 Action Research Presentation in order to present their Action Research project. Students who do not finish the Action Research Project during that academic year must register for 1 credit of FR 503 Thesis each term they continue working on the project until it is completed.
Core Courses
Summer Session 1 (June 23 - July 12, 2019)
FL 511, Second Language Acquisition
Provides students with an overview of the most current theories of second language acquisition and the teaching methodologies that result from these approaches. Students will detail differences between and similarities among the various models of second language acquisition as they learn how to identify and integrate them into the foreign language classroom. FL 511 Syllabus
FL 514, Action Research
Introduces students to research methodologies that pursue action (change) and research (understanding) concurrently. Students will learn how to do a systematic inquiry into the teaching/learning environment of a classroom with the goal of developing reflective teaching practices. This course is intended as preparation for an action research project that students will conduct over the course of the following year. Syllabus FL 514
(3 credits) - Dr. Kristin Hoyt hoytk@sou.edu
FR 504, Action Research: Presentation, Session 1
During the school year prior to your final year in the program, if you are a master’s candidate, you will conduct an action research project with your own students/at your own school. You will write a 30-40 page paper (plus bibliography and appendices) documenting the project. The action research project, presentation, and paper take the place of a thesis project, and are graded based on the AR project rubric and the AR presentation rubric. FR 504 Syllabus
(1 credit) - Dr. Kristin Hoyt hoytk@sou.edu
Online Courses
FL 515, Technology in the Classroom (Winter Term)
Transforms knowledge into practice about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and pedagogy, while focusing on the use of technology in the foreign language classroom. Fosters professional development as students formulate critical skills for creating, integrating, and assessing technology into the classroom. Topics may include interactive and non-interactive hypermedia technologies, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), language testing and technology, distance learning, online discussions, and software selection. FL 515 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Brianna Jannsen Sanchez
FR 503, Thesis (Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms)
Beginning with students enrolled in Action Research (FL 514) in Summer 2019, students must enroll for 1 credit per term of FR 503 Thesis while working on their Action Research Project during the following year. During the final summer, they must register for 1 credit of FR 504 Action Research Presentation in order to present their Action Research project. Students who do not finish the Action Research Project during that academic year must register for 1 credit of FR 503 Thesis each term they continue working on the project until it is completed.
(1 credit each)
Summer Session 2 (July 14 - August 2, 2019)
FL 512, Teaching for Proficiency: Methods and Strategies
Explores how proficiency standards can be applied in the classroom in conjunction with state and local standards based on the national standards for foreign language education as established by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Students learn how to integrate the five Cs of foreign language education: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities, with clearly defined proficiency standards for foreign language performance. FL 512 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Sébastien Dubreil
FL 513, Foreign Language Assessment: Principles and Strategies
The goals of the course are to equip participants with up-to-date knowledge of best practices in assessing foreign language development and to provide them with meaningful opportunities to practice creating assessment tools and evaluation criteria in a collaborative setting. The approach to assessment emphasized in this course is multidimensional and Standards-based. Course participants complete a portfolio of assessment tools for classroom use, including an Integrated Performance Assessment. FL513 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Heather Willis Allen heatherwillisallen@gmail.com
FR 504, Action Research: Presentation, Session 2
Presentation of Action Research projects. This course is open to students presenting their final Action Research project. The course should be taken during the session when students present their project. FR 504 Syllabus
(1 credit) - Dr. Kristin Hoyt hoytk@sou.edu
2019 Electives
Students must choose both "a" and "b" of one course-grouping.
Summer Session 1 (June 23 - July 12, 2019)
1a. FR 528, La Bretagne et les Bretons
L’objectif du cours est de vous présenter la Bretagne autrement que par le biais du tourisme. L’enseignant de cours est né et a grandi en Bretagne et a enseigné le FLE pendant près de 15 ans dans différents pays du monde avant de rentrer en Bretagne. Brittophone, il donne à voir la Bretagne autrement en faisant revivre son passé glorieux et en s’interrogeant sur la place de la Bretagne en France aujourd’hui. Quel pourrait être l’avenir de la Bretagne demain, tant du point politique que culturel et linguistique? FR 528 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Jean-Luc Badeaud
1b. FR 516, Teaching Regional Diversity and Identity
In this course students will examine, explore and demonstrate best practices for teaching regional diversity and identity in the French foreign language classroom at all age and proficiency levels. It will incorporate an in-depth investigation of ACTFL’s World-Readiness Standards (the 5 C’s) and the 21stCentury Skills Map and their application to our discussion of cultural pluralism. As part of our quest to move beyond the tourist brochure, each student will select a different region then create and present a Standards-Based Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) unit with overarching guiding questions such as: What does it mean to be French AND Breton or Norman or Alsatian, etc.? FR 516 Syllabus
2a. FR 528, La France et ses immigrés
A partir de textes et de films, nous allons analyser le statut colonial et postcolonial du Maghreb et la situation des immigrés maghrébins et enfants d’immigrés en France des années 50 à nos jours : leur vie au quotidien avec les difficultés qu’ils connaissent à cause de leurs traditions dans leur foyer, à l’école et dans la société en général. Les textes, films et documentaires choisis vous aideront à développer vos connaissances culturelles, sociales et politiques de la France d’aujourd’hui, notamment ses rapports ambigus avec ses immigrés. FR 528 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Marianne Golding
2b. FR 516, Portes d'entrée de l'immigration en classe
A tous les niveaux d'enseignement, de l'école élémentaire jusqu'au lycée, la thématique de l'immigration a sa place. Reste à trouver les portes d'entrée qui permettront de lui faire bon accueil! Afin de sensibiliser les élèves à cette question de société, ce cours vous propose des pistes pédagogiques, des ressources documentaires et des outils de réflexion qui s'appuient sur différents thèmes, parmi lesquels : Soi et les autres : interroger sa sensibilité; La pluralité identitaire à travers les sens; Récits de vie et expériences humaines; Métissages artistiques: une culture partagée?; Ici ou ailleurs, mais pas vraiment chez soi?; Égalité et discrimination en débats. FR 516 Syllabus
(2 credits) - Marie-Noëlle Cocton
Summer Session 2 (July 14 - August 2, 2019)
3a. FR 528, Guerre et Mémoire
On déplore la force destructrice de la guerre. On manifeste contre. On peut même, de nos jours, faire appel à la justice pour ses victimes. Et pourtant, on chante la guerre, on la commémore de façon monumentale, intime, ou banale. On parle de sacrifice, de gloire, d’honneur. C’est la guerre qui fait des héros, qui fait des nations. Dans ce cours nous examinerons ce paradoxe à travers la littérature et les films français qui traitent des guerres du dix-neuvième et vingtième siècles. FR 528 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Susan McCready
3b. FR 516, Lieux de mémoire et compétence symbolique dans les cours de FLE
“In order to understand others,” écrit Claire Kramsch, “we have to understand what they remember from the past, what they imagine and project onto the future, and how they position themselves in the present. And we have to understand the same things of ourselves.” Ce cours examinera comment on peut envisager le travail de mémoire en cours de français langue étrangère (et non pas le devoir de mémoire), travail nécessaire à la compréhension de la culture française. Nous examinerons en particulier comment des événements importants comme les guerres structurent une certaine mémoire ou un imaginaire collectif qui informent le présent. Nous partirons des travaux de Pierre Nora sur les Lieux de mémoire et de Claire Kramsch sur la compétence symbolique pour construire des interventions pédagogiques qui incitent les étudiants à comprendre les phénomènes culturels dans leur complexité. FR 516 Syllabus
(2 credits) - Dr. Sébastien Dubreil
4a. FR 550, French Héritage Cinema
Dans les années 1980, on a vu un renouveau cinématographique en France du film en costumes connu dans le monde anglophone sous le nom de « Heritage Film ». Ce genre, nommé en France « fiction patrimoniale » ou « films de patrimoine » reflète une nostalgie du passé ou une volonté de le reconstituer, une inquiétude de l’identité changeante de la France, et un désir de célébrer la grandeur littéraire française. Dans ce cours, nous analyserons des films de patrimoine du passé et du présent pour en explorer les dimensions culturelles et identitaires dans le contexte de la France de l’époque, et dans le contexte du débat actuel sur l’identité nationale en France. Nous verrons aussi comment ce mouvement continue aujourd'hui à influencer le cinéma français. FR 550 Syllabus
(3 credits) - Dr. Daniel Morris
4b. FR 516, Teaching Interpretive Communication through Audio and Video Texts
This course focuses on the development of interpretive communication by K-12 foreign language learners of French through the use of audio and videotexts. In particular, the course addresses challenges related to grounding instruction and assessment in authentic audio and videotexts and proposes strategies for the use of these documents. The course focuses on both informational and entertainment genres (e.g., podcasts, music, web documentaries, and film). Key concepts to be explored in the course include listenability factors, scaffolding, multimodality, and digital literacies. The major course requirement is a three-part portfolio that will include one instructional component, one assessment component, and contributions toward an annotated, collaborative digital archive of audio and videotext materials in French. In-class workshop time will be provided to facilitate design of each portfolio component. Course participants will also complete brief discussion forum postings, some reflective (two total) and some related to assigned readings (two total, includes one to be completed by Day 1 of Session 2). Class sessions will be conducted in French. FR516 Syllabus
(2 credits) - Dr. Heather Willis Allen
Optional Courses
Summer Session 1: FR 511, Advanced French Grammar
Addresses selected topics in French grammar, with particular focus on grammatical difficulties for English speakers in the goal of helping students improve proficiency in the language. Course conducted entirely in French.
(1 credit. Up to 3 credits may be applied to degree requirements.)
Angers Faculty
Summer Session 2: FR 510, Advanced French Conversation
Designed to improve French conversational skills by focusing on linguistic functions appropriate to student levels. Students will narrate and describe, state and support opinions, and hypothesize using current events and topics from contemporary French culture as the content of discussion.
(1 credit. Up to 3 credits may be applied to degree requirements.)
Angers Faculty
