AP® French Language & Culture

All-Gender Course; Prerequisite - Successful completion of at least three years of high school French required, suggested four years of high school French or three years with an immersion experience;  Full-year course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
AP® French Language and Culture is designed to provide deeper understanding and broader application into the French language. By the end of this course, students will be able to interpret and discuss historical and cultural topics, as well as current events pertaining to the various communities that exist in the Francophone world. Students explore six themes throughout the course: personal and public identities, families and communities, global challenges, science and technology, contemporary life, and beauty and aesthetics. Students use information from a wide range of sources to engage in learning, discussion, and analysis activities as they deepen their understanding and confidence in the grammatical structures of the language. Throughout the year, students engage in reading, writing, speaking and listening activities and assessments. Students are expected to delve deeply into the topics, take AP®-style assessments, and prepare for the AP® French Language and Culture Exam. 
WHAT STUDENTS SAY

“I enjoyed the opportunity to apply something I value, a feminist representation, to a French topic, the French film Van Gogh, and I felt our work was thorough and interesting.” ​

​“I feel like I’ve definitely begun to understand French language and culture more in-depth. Notably, learning about social issues such as immigration and racism has helped me draw parallels between French culture and American culture as well as understand French society.”

“I think I’ve improved my listening to French and writing long paragraphs in French, which I’d never done too much of before this class. Listening especially used to really overwhelm me, but I don’t even think twice about it anymore.”

WHAT STUDENTS DO
Learning is an active process at One Schoolhouse. Students design, create and apply. And, they engage with classmates and connect with their teachers through discussions, video conferences, and projects. Specifically, in this class students will:
  • Set goals that drive their learning. Students reflect regularly on their growth, and meet on video chat with their online teacher to review progress towards their goals.
  • Have choice in how they learn new content and practice new skills. Students are given agency to determine the best ways for them to learn.
  • Apply what they are learning to the real world. Learning is meaningful and connects to concepts outside the classroom.
  • Practice constructive engagement in a diverse and changing world. Students interact with classmates from across the country and around the world.
  • Gain academic maturity. Online learning takes greater discipline and independence than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Teachers support students to build this skill.
MEET A TEACHER FOR THIS COURSE
SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES
​Examples of signature activities and projects for this course are:
  • French Film Study: During the first semester, students will have the opportunity to watch a French-language feature-length film and complete a creative project to share their understanding and review of the film.
  • Invention Project: During the second semester, students will have the opportunity to learn about recent finalists in a French invention competition and then they will get to create their own invention that addresses a problem or need they have identified in a Francophone region of the world though their coursework earlier in the year.
  • Small Group Conversation: Throughout the year, students will have regular opportunities to meet in small groups via Google Hangouts for French conversation and to build connections within the class. ​
​OUR RESEARCH-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING LANGUAGES ONLINE
​One Schoolhouse designs competency-based courses with the student-teacher relationship as the cornerstone of our personalized pedagogy.  While students excel in our language AP courses, for many years we did not offer full sequence language courses because there was little research to support the efficacy of online language learning at the early levels.  The research shows that fewer than 1% of Americans are proficient in the language they studied in traditional classrooms. Not wanting this outcome for One Schoolhouse students, our goal is to inspire deep learning so we strive to ensure that the online learning experience increases the effectiveness of second language acquisition. In recent years, we have honed our approaches to delivering the four language competencies – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – in the online space, and have therefore endeavored to build out our Chinese, French, and Latin sequences.  The limitations of other online language programs are mitigated by the centrality of the student-teacher relationship, including interactive sessions where students speak, listen, and translate with their peers and teacher, at One Schoolhouse.  J.C. Narcy-Combes’s research on second language learning online shows that, “meaningful interaction will trigger learning processes,” which we know to be true anecdotally, and that, with intentional design, students can be taught to learn language effectively online.  Carrier et. al. have more recently shown that educational technologies and online learning are rapidly transforming second language acquisition, and that intentional practice can create a highly effective digital experience.  Because One Schoolhouse students have pathway options where they can practice in the target language at their own pace, get feedback from their teacher, interact with peers from around the country, and demonstrate their mastery through both traditional assessments and creative projects, students have the full complement of research-based learning activities in their online courses that you would expect to find in any independent school language program.  Additionally, our language teachers have advanced degrees from American universities, are trained in both their language and the best pedagogical practices for delivering language online, teach in independent schools around the US, and are AP readers.  
COURSE APPROVAL
This course is approved by the College Board and the NCAA. 

One Schoolhouse is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges through December 1, 2025; we are an approved online publisher for the University of California. ​
Elizabeth Caldwell
she/her/hers
Languages Teacher
BA Lafayette College
MSEd University of Pennsylvania