C'est vraiment excellent! BEST language book! | French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and...

Le cours de langues français le plus complet | French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One | Pierre Capretz

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	• French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One Pierre Capretz Yale University Press, 1997 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Very streamlined process

The entire process was simple, clear, and the delivery was within the estimated time frame.

C'est vraiment excellent! BEST language book!

Used in combination with the audio materials, this course promises so much more than the usual (colors, numbers, basic greetings, etc.), and places a strong emphasis on pronunciation and idioms. You finish with a useful knowledge of French--the kind people actually speak. Comprehension is difficult at first because the speakers talk at a normal pace without overemphasizing the words, but it is this technique that leaves one able to know what people are saying without having them slow down.

As for the method of delivery--it's fun! The textbook follows a narrative structure, specifically a story about Robert, an American student in France, and Mireille, a young and witty student at the famed Sorbonne in Paris. There is love, mystery, and lots of important cultural information on the way, as well as an underlying humor that made our class laugh quite often. I recommend it highly for use in a class, and if you are willing to dish out the cash, for independent study as well. It has everything you need to gain a firm grounding in French language, culture, and idioms.

You can buy the textbook with both parts together or separately, but either way, you will want to know what happens with the story, so be ready to order both parts, one way or another.

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Le cours de langues français le plus complet

"French in Action" is a complete, college-level language course intended for students who have aspirations of fluency. The course consists of five components: video tapes (or DVDs), audio tapes (or CDs), textbook, workbook and study guide. All the components work together and are necessary for the course to be effective. The course utilizes an immersion method, meaning that after the first couple of lessons, everything except the study guide is in French. In spite of its high profile and ready access on public television, I don't think it's a good course for beginners. It moves quickly and would probably be best for someone with previous study in the language. The course would be nearly ideal for a college-level student with at least a year of high school French under their belt.

It's a full meal. There are 52 lessons divided into two, 26 lesson parts. Each part can be purchased separately, but any way you slice it, the entire course is a considerable investment in both time and money. Working about an hour per day, it's paced to be handled at the rate of about a lesson a week. At full speed, you might be able to finish it in a year. Because most of the lessons involve some kind of conversational practice, the course is best taken with a partner or the help of a tutor. Self-study students might be tempted to eliminate the conversational and writing exercises, but doing so would be a mistake. Those exercises constitute at least half of the value of the course.

One of the real strengths of "French in Action' is that it puts an emphasis on the French language the way the French actually speak it, which is quite a bit different from the way American phrase books tend to teach it. Right from the start, you're listening to the language at full speed in all its idiomatic glory. If you're anything like me, you'll have the sense of always struggling to catch up. But, I like the fact that the early emphasis is on listening and getting a sense of the rhythm of the language. Younger students will probably like the fact that after the first several lessons, they will have learned at least a dozen ways to insult their friends.

One of the weaknesses of the course is that the audio tapes really need to be used along with the workbook. Hence, it's difficult (though not impossible) to use them in the car during long commutes. Don't expect a standard presentation, because the material isn't handled anything like standard French textbooks. Tenses, for example, are introduced so matter-of-factly that the very first words you utter are in the future tense. And there is no emphasis at all on word-for-word translation. In fact, quite often you're listening to idiomatic phrases in which the individual words when analyzed don't make much sense, but the meaning of the entire phrase when spoken in context is perfectly clear.

"French in Action" is a real grown-up language course for students with mature study skills and sufficient interest to get through it. I, myself, have taken a couple runs at it over the years and have only recently developed a successful study routine. Though the video program is on public television all the time, it's not a casual course at all. Don't believe the promos that suggest that all you have to do is "listen, watch and get involved". Just watching the shows on TV won't get you very far. You will spend at least 350 hours going through the entire course and probably more like 700-1000. That may sound like a lot, but by the end you will doubtless have a better understanding of French than you would have had from any other commercial package.

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Good For Review

The Capretz method is a wonderful learning device, and it provides great review and enrichment for more advanced speakers. However, it is very flawed for high school and even college use. First the videos are dated, so immature audiences are unlikely to take them seriously. Secondly, the workbook and exercises are targeted at beginning French speakers. Yet it is very difficult for a beginner to follow the dialog. If, however, you skip Part I and go to Part II, you may spend a lot of time trying to orient the students to the Capretz method.

My recommendations for intermediate studens is to use the videos and textbook (no workbooks!) to enhance listening and reading comprehension. Then consider the excellent En Bonne Forme book, CDs and workbook as an alternative or supplement.

En Bonne Forme provides actual literary passages for reading and listening comprehension, extensive vocabulary lists, and grammar that will advance every facet of your French language skills.

If you are an intermediate student with limited funds and time, then try En Bonne Forme.

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