FOLA (Critical Languages)
School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures
Self-Instructional Program
1109 Jiménez Hall
Telephone (301) 405-4046 /nya@umd.edu
Fax (301) 314 9928

IMPORTANT REMINDERS TO ALL FOLA STUDENTS

FINAL EXAMS for FOLA Language Courses will take place in approximately 1.5 months.

Please remember that:

* All students will be required to show their photo ID to the examiner at the time of the Final Exam.

* MOST FOLA Final Exams will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2009. Information on dates/times will be distributed by in an Exam Letter by e-mail.

* The Final Exam will cover sentence structures, vocabulary, expressions, grammar points, etc., pertaining to the TEXTBOOK and the Audio materials /CDs. You are responsible for the material covered in the designated chapters in your TEXTBOOK and on the Audio materials/CDs.

* Please respond promptly to the Exam messages that I have sent or will be sending you. Students who do not respond risk being "bumped" from the Final Exam Schedule to accommodate those students who have responded. All your other finals are already on TESTUDO: please check and verify.

* The FOLA Final Exam Schedule will be POSTED (end of November-early December) on the Wall next to the FOLA office (JMZ 1109): please check for Date/Time/Room number.

* PLEASE DO NOT address questions about the Final Exam to the Tutor. S/He is unauthorized to respond to such questions. ANY questions regarding the Final Exam must be directed to Dr. Naime Yaramanoglu in JMZ 1109, or call: 301-405-4046/e-mail: nya@umd.edu. All the Tutor knows is what you know: the Final Exam is from the Textbook/Audio Materials/CDs.

* The Tutor is in class to practice the language with you, not to teach it! Please avoid the impulse to ask your Tutor for grammatical explanations and linguistic insights. Explanations, which would have to be in English, take time away from the learning process and from hearing the target language and practicing the target language.

* FOLA Language Courses are Self-Instructional: the burden of learning is on YOU. It is essential to listen the audio materials SYSTEMATICALLY (8 hours per week) and to practice the dialogues and exercises that you hear on the tapes. During the Final Exam you will be required to respond to questions with complete and grammatically correct/accurate sentences: it is therefore to your advantage to learn complete sentences instead of memorizing lists of vocabulary.

* Do NOT procrastinate! Experience has shown that "catching up", "cramming" on CD (listening, repeating) practice and studying does not work. Never give up on a CD that you do not understand. Try listening to it several times without the text in front of you. If it is still unclear, refer to the text for an explanation.

* In order for the language you are studying to become automatic or instinctive, you must repeat all taped material numerous times, until you reach the point at which the dialogue, exercise, or drill is over learned.

* Your final grade depends solely on your performance during the Final Exam, except that the final grade will be lowered for poor or tardy attendance in class. The Tutor does NOT assign grades : his/her job, in this respect, is to report the student's attendance and preparedness and progress to the coordinator.

* Class attendance and coming prepared to class are part of the requirements for FOLA Language Courses. If you are unprepared or if you have more than two absences, you have not fulfilled the requirements of the course in question: your final grade will be lowered.

* Students who are studying Armenian, Hindi, Urdu are responsible for being able to read the script in these languages. During the final exam you will be required to read from the examiner's textbook. Students who are unable to read will not get an A. If you are unable to speak with complete and accurate sentences, you will not receive a passing grade.

* University Policy: Final Grades will NOT be posted. Please check TESTUDO for final grades after your Final Exam. UMBC students must wait for this information to reach them through the registrar's office at UM