More FOLA Information
REGISTRATION AND ORIENTATION | MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS | EXAMINATIONS
GENERAL
The purpose of this program is to enable qualified students to aquire a speaking
knowledge of certain foreign languages not offered in the regular programs
on this campus. It is not intended for students who already have a speaking
knowledge of these languages. The following courses are offered:
FOLA 138- Directed Study of a Foreign Language I (3 credits)
FOLA 139- Directed
Study of a Foreign Language II (3 credits)
FOLA 148- Directed
Study of a Foreign Language III (3 credits)
FOLA 149- Directed
Study of a Foreign Language IV (3 credits)
FOLA 158- Directed
Study of a Foreign Language (Intensive) I (6 credits)
FOLA 159- Directed
Study of a Foreign Language (Intensive) II (6 credits)
It should be understood that the program
is basically self-instructional. It comprises the study of
a TEXT, listening to TAPES, memorizing speech
patterns, going through drills, etc. This
self-instruction is supplemented, however, by practice drill sessions with a
native-speaking TUTOR. The Tutor will generally be drawn from
the international student population and trained by the Coordinator of FOLA.
The Tutor is a non-professional without experience in teaching language S/he
is NOT an instructor. The role of the Tutor is not to ‘teach’ in
the usual sense, but to drill the students, to guide or ‘monitor’
the students through the material in the textbook and on the tapes. The Tutor
will, for example, check the student’s pronunciation, and provide an opportunity
to practice in live conversation what the student has already learned by him/herself
from the text and the tapes. Accurate sentence structure is drilled during the
Tutorial classes.
Practice/Tutorial sessions are not used
for the presentation of new material, but only for reinforcement of what has
already been learned at home from text and tapes. To ensure success in the program
students are required to spend 8 hours a week, outside of class
time, practicing with audio tapes which accompany the textbook. Students unwilling
or unable
to learn in this way should not enroll in the program.
It should be clearly understood that self-instruction is NOT independent study. Attendance at practice sessions (the Tutorial class) is mandatory. Excessive absences will result in the lowering of your final grade.
Grades are based solely on one final examination,
which is mainly oral and should take from 20 to 30 minutes per student. The
examination is administered by outside examiners who are scholars and professionals
in their particular language. The amount of material covered for each credit
level will be determined, in advance, by the Coordinator of FOLA. Students will
receive specific information as to how many lessons they will need to study
and learn for the semester/level.
Students admitted to this program agree to abide by the following conditions:
1. To attend ALL scheduled
Tutorial/drill sessions unless excused for medical or other valid reasons.
2. To use only the target language during drill sessions. (Specific grammar
questions MUST NOT BE directed to the Tutor. General questions,
in English, may be asked before or after class, BUT NOT DURING CLASS
TIME.)
3. To come to class completely prepared for the day’s lesson. (This means
mastering the appropriate tapes and the relevant unit/lesson of the textbook.)
Every time there is class students should be prepared well enough to pass a
quiz /test on the material for the day.
4. To cooperate with the Tutor during drills, i.e. responding as rapidly as
possible IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE and not wasting the time of
fellow students.
REGISTRATION AND ORIENTATION
Admission to the Self-Instructional Language Program (FOLA 138 - 139: elementary;
FOLA 148 - 149: Intermediate; FOLA 158: Intensive Elementary; FOLA 159: Intensive
Intermediate) is by permission of the Coordinator of FOLA. Application and Information
forms are available from the FOLA office: JMZ 1109. (Please note: 6 credit (Intensive)
courses are not available for all FOLA languages)
At the beginning of each semester, an Orientation
and Scheduling Meeting is held for all students in the program. This is a most
important meeting where decisions will be made about class meeting times and
places: it is essential that you attend this meeting. . Class times will
be decided between the Tutor and the students at the meeting. The Schedule for
the semester will be posted on JMZ 1109 once rooms become available through
the Scheduling Office. It should be noted, however, that the responsibility
for finding out when and where the class times for your particular language
is yours and yours alone. It is also important to realize that if there is only
one student registered in a class, that class will most probably be canceled.
At the Orientation and Scheduling Meeting, the following events will take place:
1. Individuals studying the same language
at the same level will be grouped together to form a class.
2. A Tutor will be assigned to each language.
3. The class and the Tutor will get together and decide upon the times of the
drill/practice sessions for the semester.
4. You will receive more information and reminders about the FOLA Program and
on how to obtain audio tapes from JMZ 1109. You must provide a 90 -minute sealed,
audio cassette tape in order to pick up your language tape. The cassette must
be one of the following: TDK, MAXELL, JVC, FUJI, BASF, SONY, SCOTCH. 90 minutes
please.
Please make certain that you are REGISTERED
for your course. The Coordinator of FOLA cannot register you: you must go online
and register yourself for the course. If you do not register for the FOLA course
in question, you will not receive credit for the course.
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MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
In order to receive credit, a certain minimum amount of material must be covered
in a given semester. Each student will receive a Tape Information Sheet from
the Tutor of the class, on the first day the FOLA class meets. The number of
chapters/units/lessons for each level are on
these sheets. Please keep these sheets since they also provide information about
number of tapes, and reminders about the FOLA Program. If you fail to cover
the minimum amount, it is recommended that you drop the course. You will not
be permitted to take the final exam if you have not studied the necessary amount
of material for your course. Requests for an ‘Incomplete” will be
granted only in the most extreme cases and when all the criteria (set by the
University)for an “Incomplete” are met.
A student may ordinarily register for three
(FOLA 138,139,148,149), or six (FOLA158, 159) credits in any one semester, depending
on how many lessons/units of the language s/he has time to cover. In this matter
the student may decide for him/herself, but s/he would do well to heed the advice
of the Coordinator.
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EXAMINATIONS
There is only one examination in each language. The exam is administered by
an outside examiner who is a teacher or scholar in the target language. Examiners
come to campus at the end of each semester and examine each student individually.
These examinations are mostly
oral and last from 20 - 30 minutes each.; the exams are based on the amount
of material the student is required to study. Students studying a language using
a non- roman script will be tested on reading. Students who are not able to
read/decode the script in question, from
the textbook, will be graded accordingly.
Since so many factors are involved - the convenience of the examiners, their work schedules, etc., exam schedules of each member of a particular language class, the preparation of examination appointments for every student is a complex and time-consuming job: your cooperation, therefore, is very important.
Shortly after mid-semester, you will receive
an Exam Form to complete and turn in to your Tutor (or to the FOLA office: JMZ
1109) once the Coordinator receives your Exam Form, the schedule of examinations
will be prepared and posted on the wall next to the FOLA office : JMZ 1109.
Final exams times for your other classes are in the Schedule of Classes, please
consult your exam schedule before you complete the FOLA Exam Form. Once the
Exam Schedule is posted and you have a conflict, you should inform the Coordinator
immediately . You may exchange exam time slots with another student in your
class, and immediately inform the
Coordinator of FOLA, by phone: 301-405-4046 or e-mail: nya@umd.edu Ultimately
the responsibility is yours: for finding out when and where your examination
will be held and for taking care of conflicts.
Coordinator of FOLA: Dr. Naïmé
Yaramanoglu
FOLA webpage: www.languages.umd.edu