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OER & ZTC: Open Educational Resources & Zero-Textbook Cost Classes

A guide for faculty about OER & ZTC at El Camino College.

Textbooks

book coverLiberté: A First Year French Textbook by Gretchen Angelo (2017): Gretchen Angelo. 

Liberté is a first-year college French textbook with a true communicative approach. The book implicitly and explicitly recycles material from previous chapters on a regular basis, so that students can see their learning as a continual progression rather than as a rush from one grammar point to the next. Each chapter is built around communicative strategies. Clearly defined objectives in communication, culture, and grammar are given at the start of each chapter, and summary exercises at the end allow students to measure their mastery of these objectives.


book cover Livre Libre - Beginning French by Diamond Wilson (2020): LibreTexts. 

When I was offered the opportunity to teach French at Spokane Community College, I immediately began looking for an equivalent textbook to Libro Libre in French—a workbook style, communication-oriented textbook with opportunities for exchange of information and task-based activities. While there are other Open Educational Resources available, nothing I found hit all of the points I was looking for in a single textbook. Not only was this book the best compilation of activities and instruction I had used, but it was saving tens of thousands of dollars every academic year. I decided that I had to adapt Libro Libre for French. This is the result of that effort. (Review)


book coverFrançais Interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau & Carl Blyth (2019): University of Texas. 

Français Interactif is the web-based French program developed and in use at the University of Texas since 2004. Français interactif, used increasingly by students, teachers, and institutions throughout the world, includes 320 videos (American students in France, native French interviews, vocabulary and culture presentation videos) recorded vocabulary lists, phonetic lessons, online grammar lessons (600 pages) with self-correcting exercises and audio dialogues, online grammar tools (verb conjugation reference, verb practice), and diagnostic grammar tests.


 book coverTout un Monde: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Intermediate French by Alicia Soueid (2019): Mavs Open Press. 

This book is intended for use with intermediate level college French classes. Its multidisciplinary approach introduces students to topics and vocabulary associated with fields such as medicine, advertising, travel, business, agriculture, and relationships.


book cover Au Boulot! First Year French by David A. Dinneen, Hope Christiansen, Madeleine Kernen & Herve Pensec (1995): KU
   ScholarWorks.

Au boulot! is a two-year college French program consisting of a textbook, workbook and 21 accompanying audio exercises. The text and workbook are shorter and "lighter" than the average first-year texts have become in recent years, at least in part because we want to provide a core of grammar presentation and exercises, both mechanical and creative, while allowing instructors the flexibility to choose their own reading materials, of which there is a variety of excellent ones available.


book coverChapeau! First Year French by David A. Dinneen & Madeleine Kernen (1989): KU ScholarWorks. 

Chapeau! is a first-year college text. Although it may appear, at first glance, to move very fast and introduce a large amount of material early, the vocabulary and grammatical structures that we expect students to control actively by the end of the year are limited in accord with our notion of a reasonable application of the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. 


book coverSons & Lettres: A pronunciation method for intermediate-level French by Stephen Walton (2018): Portland State
      University Library. 

Sons et lettres provides a set of classroom materials to train students to hear and produce the sounds of French and to recognize the regular spellings used to represent those sounds in print. The materials are inspired by a desire to help students feel more confident about their French pronunciation and more at home saying the many French words, familiar and unfamiliar, which they encounter in their studies, in French media and in their travels. These materials are intended to clear away the confusion that English speakers often feel when they see French words with seemingly mysterious combinations of letters.


book cover  Résumer, Synthétiser, Argumenter by Sylvie Clamageran, Henriette Gezundhajt (2019): Sylvie Clamageran, Henriette
      Gezundhajt. 

This textbook, whose title means "Summarize, synthesize, argue," is fully in French and is intended for advanced level French students in their 3rd or 4th year of language learning. The book includes various exercises and presentations on language, in multimedia formats. 

Courses

AP French Language and Culture (edX)

Students who enroll in the French Language and Culture AP® class must be ready to engage right from the beginning of the year in oral and written communication. The basis of the French grammar must be solid and the idea behind this course is to solidify these basis to allow student to enter the class with a strong foundation that will allow them to start communicating from the beginning of the school year, keeping the grammar to a minimal amount of review during the course of the school year.

Elementary French I (Open Learning Initiative)

Elementary French I is a carefully sequenced and highly interactive presentation of French language and culture in a media-rich course environment. The latest update includes a self-paced version of the course with scored assessments for independent learners, and new video shot in France and Québec with young professional actors. It is designed to be used as a full course of study.

Elementary French II (Open Learning Initiative)

Elementary French II is a carefully sequenced and highly interactive presentation of French language and culture in a media-rich course environment. The latest update includes a self-paced version of the course with scored assessments for independent learners, and new video shot in France and Québec with young professional actors. It is designed to be used as a full course of study.

French I (Lumen)

French Online is an interactive video-based course intended for use by university students and independent learners on the Internet. The first-semester course is divided into fourteen lessons of one week duration in a university context, for a total duration of fourteen weeks. This duration can be lengthened by classroom teachers or independent learners, but not easily shortened, given the amount of material covered.

French I (MIT OpenCourseWare)

This course offers an introduction to the French language and culture with an emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. The course is conducted entirely in French, and students interact in French with their classmates from the very beginning. They also receive exposure to the language via a variety of authentic sources such as the Internet, audio, video and printed materials which help them develop cultural awareness as well as linguistic proficiency. There is a coordinated language lab program.

French II (MIT OpenCourseWare)

This is the second part of an introductory course to the French language and culture with an emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. The course is conducted entirely in French and students interact in French with their classmates from the very beginning. They also receive exposure to the language via a variety of authentic sources such as the Internet, audio, video and printed materials which help them develop cultural awareness as well as linguistic proficiency. There is a coordinated language lab program.

Additional Resources

Enhancing French Language Skills (University of Texas)

French a la Mode (University of Kansas)

FrenchPod101 (YouTube)

French Resources (COERLL)

Languages: French (BBC) 

Learn French (learnalanguage.com)

Learn French with Pascal (YouTube)

Memrise: Courses in French (Memrise)

OpenLearn French 

Tex's French Grammar (University of Texas)