Showing posts with label french language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french language. Show all posts

L'Essentiel de la grammaire fran?aise (3rd Edition) (French Edition) Review

L'Essentiel de la grammaire fran?aise (3rd Edition) (French Edition)
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This is the best reference grammar I have seen for people who want to truly master the French language. "L'essentiel" discusses all the main topics that seem to plague foreign learners - use of the subjunctive, when to suppress articles, subordinate clauses - and the chapters on a given topic are divided into "Form" and "Use" sections showing you, for example, how to form the conditional tense and then explaining its use in French.
Much mention is made of verbs that are followed by prepositions (eg: commencer a faire qqch, etc), but a more expanded discussion of phrasal verbs would be very useful, as only the most common ones are discussed (eg: en vouloir a, etc).
One area where improvement could be made is in the usage of le passe simple tense. Explanation on this topic is sparse, and the reader does not get an idea of the true difference between the passe simple and the use of the passe compose to express the same idea. Little explanation is also given on how the imperfect subjunctive must be used in cases requiring the subjunctive mood once the passe simple is employed.
But overall, an excellent book for someone who already knows French and wants to move towards a magnus level.

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A clear and concise review of the essentials of french grammar, the workbook compliments the main text.

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Facile à dire Les Sons du fran?ais Review

Facile à dire Les Sons du fran?ais
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I L-O-V-E-D this book. It was required text for a 3rd year university course, and it was meticulous, exceptionally well laid out, and most of the exercises had companion answer keys and explanations. There was companion audio that was accessible only through the university, but my years and years of French study rendered the audio almost unnecessary. I am functional in French, and I pronounce it well, but this book improved by pronunciation by leaps and bounds.
This book is entirely in French, so it's not for a beginner. Prior familiarity with the International Phonetic Alphabet is also recommended, because phonetic transcription is fundamentally what this book is about. I took this class in tandem with an introductory course in linguistics, and approaching the IPA from two languages at the same time helped drive home the lessons in this book. What I didn't understand in this book, I was able to understand in context, and I significantly improved my vocabulary while also learning many rules and exceptions.
It's a wonderful book for an advanced student of French. If you never have to use it for a class, I'd suggest you pick it up anyway for your personal library. Study it. Do the exercises. You'll be glad you did.

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This book helps its users to improve their pronunciation while they learn the basic rules of "standardized"spoken French. To that aim, the simplicity of the French used allows readers to easily grasp the principles of pronunciation and the related terms of phonetics. The book also takes into account the major contrastive features of the sounds of French and English in its presentation, and addresses the particular challenges that North American native speakers face when learning to pronounce French. Chapter topics include detailed treatments of all the sounds of the language, and discussions of the sounds which present the most difficulty for learners—such as nasal vowels, mid vowels, semi-vowels, mute e, and liaison. Coverage also includes the correlation between sound and spelling in the case of all vowels and consonants, and pronunciation and transcription exercises that are based on everyday spoken French. For French speakers who want to improve their pronunciation and use of the language.

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French for Reading Review

French for Reading
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This is a beautifully structured book for teaching yourself to read French (not to write or speak French). It's weirdly expensive, and it needs updating, but it's great anyway. I needed to prepare for a translation exam required by my doctoral program, with a background of a year of French in the seventh grade and enough Spanish and Latin to have a feel for Romance languages. I used this book, making vocabulary flash cards along the way, and I passed my exam.
A tip for choosing a French/English dictionary suitable for beginners: See if there's an entry for "eu" ("had") that at least refers you to "avoir" ("to have"). If there isn't, find another dictionary--one that doesn't assume you know things like entirely irregular past participles.

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Programmed text for acquisition of reading skills for beginning courses or rapid review.

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Le Pont Neuf: French Grammar in Review (4th Edition) Review

Le Pont Neuf: French Grammar in Review (4th Edition)
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Edward Stack has written the definitive French grammar book. With this for structure, and a Bescherelle for the conjugation of more obscure verbs, anyone could master the language. The book is coherently organized to move the student through well-defined subjects in a careful and complete way. Learning tools are imaginative and memorable. (Readers will never forget their "house verbs.") If a book could conquer pronunciation, I'm certain Stack would be the one to write it.

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Faisons le point Discussion et refléxion Review

Faisons le point Discussion et reflandeacute;xion
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This book is by far the best French book that I've read. I have taken French from Ms. Harrington and the way that teaches using the book is extraordinary. I recommend it to all teachers, college and high school alike.

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Faisons le point has two complementary goals. First, as a collection of texts drawn from the popular media, it is a conversational tool that will encourage students to use their basic knowledge of French to discuss timely events, thereby strengthening their confidence in the use of the French language. Second, it will enable students to discover the intricacies and delights of French culture and society. The text's primary means of attaining these goals is to apply contemporary culture to the practice of reading, writing, oral and aural skills.

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Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections Review

Réseau: Communication, Intandeacute;gration, Intersections
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I think the book is very helpful for learning the french language at an intermediate level. It revisits a lot of the stuff you learn at the beginners level, and tries to build upon it. Thus broadening one's knowledge and understanding of the french language. The book also presents the french culture to the reader in an impressive fashion, thereby satisfying the reader's curiosity as well as shedding more light on socio-cultural issues the citizenry of france face on a daily basis. Some of these issues are similar in more ways than not in most countries, as such, the reader can relate to them and try to discuss and share opposing viewpoints with his or her class mates. I found a few ambiguities with the way in which the book explains some grammatical rules, but all in all this book is an excellent work of art.

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Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections is an exciting and innovative intermediate French program based on the notion of linguistic and cultural intersections. This new text introduces students to the diversity of the French speaking world via well chosen readings and discussion topics designed to encourage critical thinking within a language learning context.The second year of foreign language study can be difficult for both students and teachers. Today's college students struggle with authentic readings and preparing quality written work, which leads to many of them avoiding advanced classes. Based on the authors' 25 years of combined teaching experience, Réseau is designed to address these issues by providing students with the tools to be successful at reading and writing. In keeping with the National Standards' "Five C's," Réseau is rich in oral and written communicative activities, cultural information, comparative reflections on both linguistic and cultural elements, communities both within the classroom and extending into the global arena, and connections to knowledge beyond that of the anglophone world. Compelling, authentic readings both motivate students and serve as models for the different genres of writing they will be asked to produce. Through the tight integration of the vocabulary and grammar activities and the reading selections, students are encouraged to stretch themselves intellectually by practicing the four skills in increasingly complex and cognitively challenging contexts, preparing them for advanced courses.FEATURES:Integrated grammar presentations Réseau alternates between grammar presentation and readings in order to break up the monotony of potential grammar overload that can arise when students are asked to deal with one point after the other. From a pedagogical perspective, this alternating format also creates a more content-rich environment for the presentation of grammar. Focus on foreign language writing skills Whereas the vast majority of intermediate-level textbooks ask students to produce experientially-based descriptive, narrative, and expository essays, which from a cognitive perspective are relatively easy to produce, Réseau specifically targets the argumentative essay, incorporating both process and genre-based approaches so as to best prepare students for advanced-level literature and culture courses. Use of the L1 and the L2 Based on the philosophy that both L1 and L2 learning are necessary for maximum student learning and retention, Réseau explains French grammar, with its many English cognates, in the target language. The all-French grammar presentations are simple, yet not simplistic, and include built-in activities intended to help students focus on the differences between English and French and solidify their knowledge.Cultural diversity, globalization, and identity Réseau incorporates themes that will provide students a multidimensional view of French and Francophone culture. Through the careful selection of cultural and literary readings, Réseau presents a strong thematic articulation between the two readings that unifies each chapter and presents opportunities for students to discuss topics from multiple points of view.Critical Thinking and Language Learning Réseau seeks to encourage students to probe the "why" and "how" of relational, sociological, cultural, political, psychological, and literary issues. Accordingly, questions are sequenced from easy to more complex to accommodate students of different skill levels who are in the same class. Moreover, activities are designed in a variety of formats so as to provide instructors with a wide range of resources from which to choose in order to tailor their classes individually according to the levels of their students.

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