3 M English focuses on developing strong reading and writing skills as well as improving your oral English (listening and speaking) in addition to mastering grammar and vocabulary at an upper intermediate level.
Reading
Reading is challenging and will serve to develop your understanding of British and American literature and culture, as well as to strengthen your comprehension, analysis, and interpretation. We will focus on essay writing. Literary topics and issues will enable you to write essays in which you will show your analytical skills.
We will start with
At the age of seventeen she escapes on a Greyhound bus to New York with her older sister; her younger siblings follow later. After pursuing the education and civilisation her parents sought to escape, Jeanette eventually succeeds in her quest for the ‘mundane, middle class existence’ she had always craved. In her apartment, overlooked by ‘a portrait of someone else’s ancestor’ she recounts poignant remembered images of star watching with her father, juxtaposed with recollections of irregular meals, accidents and police-car chases and reveals her complex feelings of shame, guilt, pity and pride toward her parents. The film starring Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts provides an excellent interpretation of Walls’ memoir.
We will go on with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet3 : by way of introduction, we will study some of the most famous Shakespearian sonnets so that you get familiar with his language and watch the film Shakespeare in Love, which gives you a good insight on Shakespeare’s life, albeit slightly romanced. Either tragedy will allow you to practice close text analysis and spot figures of speech by the scores. Acting out some scenes will guarantee us more than our share of fun in class. The edition chosen, No Fear Shakespeare, gives you the complete text on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right. Baz Luhrmann's controversial film will highlight the power of this masterpiece.
Writing
Your skills will be evaluated in all essays including analysis of the novels as well as in the proficiency of your argumentative writing, which you will practice in relation with the main issues the novels deal with. Of course most routine assignments are also ways for you to master and improve your ability to compose insightful, articulate and quality texts. Follow the “how to write a good essay” handout and you’ ll be fine.
The written literary exam will consist of an essay based on topics chosen from the books we will have read by June 2022. You will be allowed to choose one topic out of two. A minimum of 500 words is expected. Take every opportunity to express your writing skills inthe regular assignments I give you while reading both books.
Speaking
Oral expression is worth a good deal of the exam, therefore a strong priority will be given to oral presentations to the class, grammar or vocabulary topic-based role-plays or other research work. We will spend most of our small group classes analysing and commenting newspaper and magazine articles, as well as literary extracts, either individually, in pairs or in groups, debate-style when appropriate .
These practice exercises will prepare you for your individual oral exam, which will last 15 minutes (ten minutes presentation, fiveminutes conversation with teacher/expert). You will be given 30 minutes preparation. You will deal with an unknown text, similar to the ones practised all year long, either a literary extract or a newspaper article, it's up to you, but you must make up your mind a few weeks before the exam.
Grammar
Your third year in high school will be mostly devoted to revisions, as we have already covered most of the grammar topics you should master to be able to write and express yourself fluently in correct English, be it orally or written. If there's anything you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask questions, even elementary ones especially when revising ! I will always be ready to explain again.
Summaries of every chapter of the Grammar Book can be downloaded on Moodle. I also recommend you to visit and practice on the excellent interactive padlet website 4.
Vocabulary5
Your proficiency in English during the written as well as the oral activities will rely greatly on you mastering the words of the Petit Vocabulaire Actuel. On top of the final chapters to be covered, emphasis will be given on phrasal and irregular verbs - you can't do without them, so be prepared !
Listening
Expect quite a few listening exercises and tests , for instance from the BBC, during this school year as a listening comprehension will be included in your final exam. Your listening comprehension exam will take place early June. Watching films like “Shakespeare in Love” which will introduce you to the Elizabethan era,, and films adapted from the works we will have studied, in their original version, will challenge your listening and understanding skills. Mind you, the oral comprehension exam will be audio only.
Reading Comprehension will be tested in your final exam, on at least two unknown texts (~3000 words) on social issues, or a literary extract . It is worth 40% of the written exam and is made up of True/False questions, titles to give, short answers to provide, a,s.o, similar to the reading comprehensions done in class.
Tests and marks
Vocabulary and grammar tests will be grouped and their average, multiplied by 2, will give you 2 full marks, each one equivalent to any other mark you will get in other skills such as reading comprehension, listening... As you will have at least one more test than the required ones, you will be allowed to leave out the worst mark at the end of the school year, provided you have attended all tests. If you miss one vocabulary test, every mark will count. If you miss more than one test, then you will have to redo it in class, provided your excuse has been accepted as valid.
In addition to the vocabulary/grammar tests mentioned above, expect about two tests in each skill ( reading comprehension, writing, speaking and listening).
Teacher’s word
Please be sure to come to class prepared (which means with exercises done and chapters read), with your notebooks, books, cell phones off and an open mind. Should you be absent from school on a quarantine or because of illness, you will find all the material you need on Moodle.
If you find yourself in trouble, academically or otherwise, please come and see me sooner rather than later. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I will make time to see you one-on-one.
I hope this year will bring you a most fulfilling time and lead you to successful exams!
Martine Guignard
my email address : martine.guignard@eduvaud.ch
1 The Glass Castle by Jeann
ette Walls
2 A memoir is an account of one's personal life and experiences
3 Romeo and Juliet, No Fear Shakespeare, Sparknotes edition, 2003
5 Claude Gosset: Petit vocabulaire actuel, edition OPHRYS, 2016 as well as on quizlet
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