National French Contest - Les Dernieres Nouvelles!

2016 Contest registration is now available

The on-line store to order materials for the 2016 Concours is not yet ready but we are beginning to take orders and will process manually. We will post a follow-up message once the on-line store is ready. If a teacher registers now, it is not necessary to register again in the on-line store when it is available.

A noter:

1.      We are extending the deadline for registering for the paper and pencil test until  December 22, 2015. Beginning December 23, 2015 you may only enroll students for the on-line version of the Contest.

2.      Registration for the on-line test will be accepted until January 31, 2016. Starting February 1, 2016 registration will be available but a $2.00 per student late fee will apply.

3.      AATF Membership must be paid in full at time of order to take advantage of the member rate.

4.      We have created an on-line registration form. Teachers may complete and submit this form, we will send you an invoice via email reflecting this order. Payment may be made by check or credit card. Information will be sent with invoice.

5.      Payment may be sent after the deadlines listed above. Paper and pencil test materials and on-line access codes will NOT be sent until payment in full has been received.

6.      Please review our Policies carefully.

Cost:

The following fees represent the National expenses, for basic test and audio recording development, duplication, and distribution; administrative costs; computer scoring/on-line testing; publicity; and awards. Chapters may add a charge to these fees to support local Contest expenses.

Base cost per student (before February 1):

·        AATF members: $3.50*

·        Non-members: $7.00*

*Chapters may add additional fees to support local Contest expenses and awards.

The cost per student is the same for both on-line and paper and pencil testing.

Teachers choosing paper and pencil testing will incur additional expenses:

• Listening Comprehension CDs @ $7.00 per CD ordered
• Shipping/handling charge of 10% of order/$10 minimum

Sample on-line test

A quick 12 question sample is available here. There will be some formatting changes in the final version, but this will give you a good idea of how the on-line version will work. Please try it out on different devices to give you a good idea of how the on-line Contest will function.

The Grand Concours 2015!

French teachers,

It is time to register your students for the Grand Concours.  2015 marks a special anniversary for Le Grand Concours as we will be celebrating the 80^th edition of the exam!  Since 1935, when the Concours began as a local test sponsored, written and scored by AATF Regional Representatives, to 2015 where the Contest reaches nearly 95,000 students all across the country, AATF continues to recognize student and teacher success.  In our 80 years, we have added levels and divisions to accommodate all learners who wish to participate in the Contest and we are continually improving to follow trends in teaching and learning to make sure that we best meet the needs of French students and teachers.

There will be a few changes: over the past several years we have made great strides to include authentic materials in all levels of the Contest, including podcasts from France, Canada, Belgium, etc.  This year podcasts will continue to be featured in Levels 4 and 5; conversations will return to the exam in Level 3.

Here in the Southern California Chapter, you will be able to administer the Grand Concours (Middle and High School) from March 4 – 11, 2015, which I hope will give you as much flexibility as needed.  FLES (Grades 1-6) contest dates are February 14-28, 2015.  As in the past, the test will be administered in your school. As always, arrange for testing in school through a school administrator, guidance counselor or another (non-French) teacher.  French teachers are not allowed to administer the test to their own students.

The Southern CA contest director will send the test materials and proctoring information directly to your test administrator the week prior to the test. The national Office insists that no French teachers be present in the room while their students are taking the test: however, at least one French teacher will need to verify that the CDs actually have the test on them and that no defective CDs will be used. The designated test administrator may be a guidance counselor, a school administrator, or another (non-French) teacher. No photocopies of answer sheets will be scored.

If you are interested in participating in the FLES contest, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can make arrangements.  If you need information about the specifics of the exams and each level, please visit http://frenchteachers.org/concours/Resources/Resources.html

As with last year, the cost of each student for AATF-SC member is $5.00/ for non-members, the cost is $6.00/student, with CDs at each level available for $7.00.  If you have not yet renewed your AATF-SC membership, there is time!  There are also incentives from the National for those who are joining AATF for the first time and also for current members! http://frenchteachers.org/concours/Resources/gc_membership.html

 

Please feel free to copy and forward this information to anyone who you think might be interested in participating. In addition, please keep me informed of any addition or changes to the French staff at your school.

  

The registration deadline is Friday, January 9.  All registrations must be accompanied by a check (written to AATF-SC) and the student eligibility form.  Contact the Dir. of the Grand Concours for mailing infomation:

socal.grandconcours@gmail.com.  

Thank you in advance for respecting these deadlines.  The entry form and eligibility sheets are attached.  If you wish to send the eligibility forms electronically, feel free to use the email address above, which also works

  

There are some changes in the awards process!

The names of the awards will be changed for the 2015 contest.  There will be a Platinum medal and plaque awarded to students earning a national first place rank.  Gold recognition goes to students in the top 95^th percentile; silver recognition to students in the 85^th and 90^th percentile; bronze recognition to students in the 75^th – 80^th percentile and Honorable Mentions for students in the 50^th – 70^th percentile.  The same number of awards will be handed out, just the names are changing.

Take a chance to win the French Embassy Academic Prize!

For the third time, the French Embassy will award the French Embassy Academic Prize to a student who will enjoy a 2 week stay in France! The winner will be selected by a random drawing among the gold medalists of Le Grand Concours 2015, from Level 3, 4 or 5 (divisions A, D or E). If there is no gold medalist eligible, the Committee will then draw from the pool of silver medalists.

http://frenchteachers.org/concours/Resources/FEAP.htm

The AATF High School Commission needs YOU!

 

The AATF High School Commission is creating a pedagogical manual to provide resources to do the following: (1) integrate the 3 modes of communication into lesson planning, (2) prepare students for 21^st century skills, (3) align their curriculum with the Common Core, (4) articulate curriculum from levels 1 through AP using the AP themes. 

 

We are soliciting lessons, teaching strategies, units, and resources from talented and creative middle school and high school French teachers for this project.  Obviously teachers would receive credit for their work and would be considered a contributing author. Since we are coming to the end of the school year, think about which teaching strategies, lesson or units worked best for you and share them with us!

 

I will be at the AATF conference in New Orleans during the month of July and teachers could bring submissions to our session at that time.  However, since many members may not attend the conference they can submit lessons to me at any time before July to the following email address:  annejensen@att.net