Teachers: Joelle Reilly, Margaret George, Elizabeth Hollow
Course description:
"L'Enfer c'est les autres."--Jean-Paul Sartre
This is an advanced English course, the equivalent of an American Advanced Placement Course.
Works studied are prescribed by the OIB examination at the end of the year. Students study a variety of literary genres, from short story and novels to plays and poetry.
This course completes a two-year program of preparation for the International Option Baccalaureate exam at the end of Terminale. Works studied in Premiere are part of the list of texts presented for this examination. The OIB program is selective, and students are admitted based upon their abilities in spoken English, English composition, and reading abilities. Admission to the OIB program takes place in either 10th grade or in 11th grade. Students may not enter OIB in 12th grade if they have not satisfactorily completed the 11th grade program.
This year, students will explore the theme of otherness. What defines the mainstream and how does this mainstream dictate to others? What does it mean to be marginalized? How has the mainstream impacted the world of ideas across the centuries?
Course objective:
The OIB English class in Terminale offers a competitively rigorous course designed primarily for students who wish to work in English in a manner similar students at other American independent schools. The aim of the course is to help students achieve independence as they learn how to read critically and articulate their findings in both written and oral work Students are expected to learn to participate in active class discussions about literary topics, and they hone both oral and written skills required for the Bac examination.
The course helps students acquire tools necessary for literary analysis, expands their vocabulary and enriches their writing skills.
Throughout the year, students should expect written and orals examinations in preparation for the final baccalaureate examinations in June.
There will be one round of mock orals scheduled in March.
Examinations:
The OIB examinations in English are comprised of both oral and written examinations and are conducted and graded by outside examiners who have not previously taught the students (usually they have been AP English readers and table leaders appointed by the College Board)
The written exam is a four hour essay exam on which the students are asked to apply their knowledge of literature and their critical analytical skills (especially using the works studied in class over the previous two years). The examination requires two extended essays of literary analysis, either both in response to general questions, or one general question and one analysis and close reading of a literary passage that the student has not prepared in class previously,
During the oral examination, the student demonstrates knowledge of a specific passage from a shorter list of works prepared during the senior (Terminale) year. Students are given 30 minutes to prepare and thirty minutes to present the examination in dialogue with an outside examiner.
Works Studied:
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye.
Barbara Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible.
Virginia Woolf. Excerpts from A Room of One's Own.
Martin Luther King. A Letter From Birmingham Jail.
Henry David Thoreau. Civil Disobedience
Euripides. Medea in Euripides Ten Plays. Signet. Paul Roche trans.
Tennessee Williams. A Streetcar Named Desire. Signet.
Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness.
William Shakespeare. Hamlet. The New Folger Library/Folger Shakespeare Library
Emily Dickinson. A selection of Poetry.
Class Expectations:
In class writing:
In preparation for these end of the year examinations, students will have regular in class exercises of two or four hours.
Reader Responses:
Students will be expected to read assigned material and to prepare reader responses before class discussion.
3.Oral work:
Students will be expected to contribute in seminar fashion to class discussion and may be asked to conduct discussions periodically. Students will have two formal oral exercises before the end of the year exams.
