Screening of the movie Parzania by Rahul Dholakia next Tuesday (June 02) in amphi Milne Edwards

Dear students,

You are all invited for the screening of the movie Parzania by Rahul Dholakia at La Sorbonne (amphi Milne Edwards) next Tuesday (June 02) at 7pm.

Check the following link for further information on this movie (trailer, articles and other links):

http://m1englishclass.blogspot.com/2009/05/screening-of-movie-parzania-at-la.html

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M1 students: possible early exams for specific students for exceptional reasons

Dear students (M1 groups),

Those students who cannot be there on Friday (June 26) for valid and sincere reasons for the exam are required to email me as soon as possible so that we can find arrangements for them to have an exam some time next week or the following week at the latest.

As I told you yesterday, they have to provide me with their airline tickets and medical certificates or any other genuine documents (research activities, etc.). I have to submit these documents to the higher authorities and the more genuine these documents will be, the easier it will be to schedule early exams for them.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Precisions / Clarifications

Dear students,

There was a mistake on my previous email. The exams must take place on the week starting from from June 22.

As far as we are concerned (HCEAI - M1 students), the exam must take place during the "regular" official" class hour ie on Friday, June 26, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm (first group) and 8 pm to 9:30 pm (second group) except for those students who have a valid and sincere justification and cannot be there on June 26 (for that too I need to get more precisions...).

Like so many students as well, I very much would have like these exams to be held before...but it seems it is not possible as I was told several times.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all sections and groups (M1 and M2)

Dear students,

We will have class tomorrow on our "normal" hours like they used to be before the strikes ie in room F368 as follows:

• M2 group: 5 pm - 6:30 pm
• M1 group: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
• M1 group: 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
  

M1 students:

Because of the latest resolutions and decisions by the highest authorities at La Sorbonne - Paris IV, it will not be possible to have an exam next week (ie on June 05) as I had planned and as I had told you last week. According to these resolutions and decisions (confirmed by Professor Griset), all exams must take place from June 22 to 27.

Since we only have class on Friday, our exam will have to take place on June 27. More precisions on the content of this exam will be given to you tomorrow.

Needless to say that I would have liked everything to be over by the end of next week but, unfortunately, this is not possible at all and this is mainly to avoid students challenging their (low) grades and exam results and also to avoid the exam to be cancelled and rescheduled to September.

Students who cannot sit the exam on June 27, if they have a valid and sincere justification, they will be allowed to have an exam earlier. These students are required to email me as soon as possible before they leave the country (for example) or to set a date for an exam before June 27.

M2 students: Professor Griset has confirmed that there will be no assessment nor grade in English for the second semester. As a result, tomorrow will be their last class.

Very best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Latest decisions and measures by the administration at La Sorbonne

Dear students,

To my utter dismay and anger and disgust, most of the class sessions we have had together in rooms outside our "normal" / "official" classroom, which is F366 at La Sorbonne, are considered as "non valid" (terminology and definition from the latest communiqué by President Molinié and the central committees) and this concerns everything (ie class, tests and exams, etc.) done either in room Chastagnol (teachers' room), at Bibliothèque Boutruche or at Institut de Géographie.

This results from the decisions of our most brilliant, most excellent, most competent and most conscientious top managers and "leaders" at La Sorbonne who held central meetings and committees some time around the middle of the past week. I was then confirmed these decisions by our History department that, as far as we are concerned, everything done outside our "normal"/"official" classroom is "non valid".

Here is a brief (and perhaps temporary...) summary of the decisions taken by the central committees at La Sorbonne by our most excellent leaders:

• the semester is prolonged to June 20
• only the class sessions (and for that matter the tests and exams) that took place and will take place in our "official"/"normal" classroom and with a "significant " ("their" terminology) number of students will count (which in our case was not possible since the rooms were locked during this semester...though we had our "significant" number of students...I would even go further, we had most of the students...)
  
• the rooms are supposed to open "at the latest" (communiqué by President Molinié and the central committees) next Monday, May 25.
  
• the exam will be based on whatever will be done from May 25 to June 20 in our "normal"/"official" rooms
  

As a result, technically speaking, all the grades we have had so far are "not valid" and will not count because they were done in places and circumstances that were not "official"/"normal" ("official classroom", bla bla bla.)

To avoid our semester course in English being canceled and/or challenged by some students (specially those who had or could have very low grades), this explains why we could not have an in-class exam yesterday (May 22) because the content is based on something done outside our "official"/"normal" classroom which is room F366 at La Sorbonne.

• Since the rooms will be opened or are supposed to be opened "at the latest" (communiqué by President Molinié) next Monday, May 25, we will have class at our "normal"/"official" room for a couple of weeks (if not more...) and the exam will be based on whatever will be done during that time and it will be held some time in June (or the end of June...) since the semester is now prolonged till June 20.
• So far, I have decided that we will have class at La Sorbonne next week (May 29) and there will be an exam the following week (June 05) based on whatever will be done next week (May 29). I hope that this will not be challenged by the administration...
  

Needless to say that all this angers and upsets me tremendously about how out top administrators and so-called "managers" and so-called "leaders" at La Sorbonne have handled this situation and have then decided all these measures and instructions.

During that very tense and stressful period, it was so difficult to maintain a modicum of class sessions, finding rooms after hours spent on the telephone, getting harsh and mean remarks either by some strikers (students as well as teachers) because of my maintaining the class sessions wherever it was possible to have them, provided they could be held in decent places and conditions (either at Institut de Géographie or in the History Department's Director's room or in the Teachers' room for example). But I made sure that we would not have to resort to have class in the corridors or cafés or Jardin du Luxembourg or Arènes de Lutèce, etc.

So far, despite all this, along with a handful of other teachers, I was able to have most (if not all) of the class sessions of this second semester and I could have class sessions, exam papers and tests held in decent places, all this now is considered as "non valid" ie totally useless, just good for the dustbin...Needless to say that after all this, I am exhausted and completely disgusted...

In case these rooms do not open from next Monday, then it is possible that your semester will be gone or cancelled or rescheduled to September or later...if we are still around, if there is still a place called Université de La Sorbonne...

Very best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

For next week (May 22) / Training Exercise on Listening Comprehension

Dear students,

Here is an audio report to work on as a mock test/ training exercise for next week. We will do something similar next Friday and it will be graded but, of course, it will be another report and on something different.

M2 students will hear it twice and M1 students will hear it three times. I will pause for one minute between the listenings. Do not spend more than 20-25 minutes for this exercise. Try to do this in same conditions.

Only check the transcript after the exercise is finished. There are more instructions on the file "Australia Stolen Generations Questions".

Here is the link for this training exercise:

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send it by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

As said before, there will be a vocab test and there will a few questions on the Present Perfect/Preterit (see revision program below).

Revision Program (reminder) :

• Vocabulary from "Government and Politics" (5 pages - the entire handout except the "sentences")
  

• Vocabulary from "The Brain Drain from Africa"
  

• Vocabulary from "What Clash of Civilisations"

• Present Perfect / Preterit (grammar)
  

• Listening comprehension: a short unknown report (like the one given here)

Reminder: Next week (May 22), we will have class at Institut de Géographie in room 402.

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
  

Reminder: The Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm, this explains why both M1 groups will have class together.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all groups / May 22 class and test

Dear students,

For very different reasons, several students have asked me to postpone to next week the test scheduled for today.

As a result, we will not have a test today but next week (May 22) at Institut de Géographie (same hours as today) in room 402.

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
  

Reminder: The Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm, this explains why both M1 groups will have class together.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all groups : next Friday (May 15)

Next Friday (May 15)

Dear students,

Since the situation at La Sorbone remains very unstable and the rooms very often (if not always...) locked, we will have class at Institut de Géographie in Nouvel Amphi (ground floor) as follows:

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm

M1 groups: it was not possible to have a room after 8 pm since Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm. As a result, both groups will have class together.

M2 group: (Reminder of the previous message)

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report twice and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

M2 group: (Reminder of the previous message)

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report three times and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

Reminder: Should you be absent that day, to avoid getting a zero, you are required to provide me with a valid and sincere justification.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

PS: Since I do not have all the students' email addresses, could you please quickly inform the rest of your classmates and friends about this? Thanks in advance!