Describes writing exercises in which students transform a simple text into their own original, more complex production. (EKN)

A variety of classroom activities and homework assignments for French-language learning are presented, including games, word puzzles, television program summary writing, and student-conducted cultural opinion polls. (MSE)

Describes a method whereby students of French apply small increments of grammar and vocabulary immediately in daily 15-minute writing sessions in which they write brief, structurally sound compositions and focus on language use rather than on translation of ideas from English to French. (MSE)

Presents a variety of art and writing activities designed to evoke a new pedogogical orientation and to enable students to use their imaginations. The activities focus on language de-conditioning, observation, timing, transfer of knowledge, and reproduction. They include recipe models, colors, sensation, and feeling; poetry; and creating artistic…

A class exercise is described in which students study the format, style, attitudes, and content of popular romance magazines and, by cutting and pasting or by taking their own photographs, create their own dramas for later discussion and analysis. (MSE)

A productive language exercise that uses the computer and a variation on the cloze procedure by deleting every third word and requiring the student to insert a grammatically and thematically acceptable term is described. (MSE)

A method of second-language instruction that acknowledges and reinforces the connection between ordinary and artistic uses of language is discussed. The theory, rationale, methods, and some sample activities for the approach are outlined. (MSE)

It is argued that most foreign language writing assignments are without meaningful content or context for the student, and directions given by the teacher provide little guidance or impetus for personal investment in the project. Several writing exercises emphasizing these aspects of composition, and criteria for evaluation, are offered. (MSE)

In one approach to French second-language instruction, students use free writing assignments to express themselves in their newly learned second language. The primary objective is to encourage students to use the language in a nonthreatening context; it also offers the teacher insights into student problems and needs. (MSE)

Student teachers at Paris' Alliance Francaise, inspired by three photographs, wrote their own short stories as a writing project. The project was divided into three meetings for the purpose of developing rhythm for writing and providing guidance for the student regarding the form of his or her work. Two of the completed stories are appended. (MSE)

Sixteen vocabulary and self-expression exercises on the word, sentence, and paragraph levels designed to encourage creativity and free expression in writing in French as a second language are described. (MSE)

Discusses the use of student journals in a second-semester university French class. Students write informally in their journals about topics that are of personal interest to them. The instructor then writes comments about the topic and also corrects the vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic errors of each journal entry. (SED)

Discusses the advantages of a microcomputer program that provides exercises for writing practice at the elementary French level at Vanderbilt University. A "computerized workbook" was developed to provide further written practice and to accompany the textbook. The text and results of a questionnaire administered after the computer-based…

Provides several suggestions for introducing a note of humor into the French classroom while at the same time providing writing practice. Suggestions are based on primary source materials, such as newspaper ads, advice columns, graffiti, popular literature, crossword puzzles, etc. (AM)

A variety of formats for writing news articles and announcements on a variety of common topics (current events, cultural events, sports, surveys, interviews, travelogs, and classified advertising) is presented in fill-in-the-blank form. Suggestions are offered for using these formats to teach French usage at all levels. (MSE)