Need suggestions about French curriculum.

[HSMom2One]

A dear friend gave us a complete beginning Power Glide French program, which we are going through now. I am learning with her, and since she is learning at a faster rate than me, she often takes the lead and we are having a great time.

 

P-G French isn't the best program in the world, but it is giving us a good intro to this language. My dd has decided that she wants to go all the way with French, so I'm really excited that she's become this enthused.

 

We'll need to move on to another program within a few months, but I don't have any idea what to choose. We absolutely cannot afford RS, so that one is out at least for now. But is there something out there that is less expensive the RS and would be a good next step for us after going through a basic children's program? I really don't think I want to continue with the same curriculum we are using.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[meet me in paris]

What about First Start French? I haven't used it, but we may use it down the road.

 

I like L'Art de Lire, but it would be a bit young for your daughter.

[Julie in MN]

We're using RS this year, but with my older dd I found that just the available library materials provided a lot of listening and reinforcement. These also are good:

 

- Learnables. This can get expensive, but it isn't bad to try the first listening level. After that, you do the reading & grammar parts.

- Barron's workbook is inexpensive, has answers in the back, and covers 2-3 years of grammar. They changed the name, but I think it's called E-Z French now.

- French In Action videos are great immersion and they are free online now! http://www.learner.org/resources/series83.html I haven't used their other materials but am tempted

- The Easy French, I haven't used it but have the Spanish version & wish my ds would do Spanish instead of French :)

 

Julie

[DianeW88]

Ecoutez-Parlez is good for vocab and an easy introduction to the language. My kids loved it. I speak French, however, so I was able to move them into a more serious, traditional program afterwards. First Start French also looks good, although I have never used it. RS is good for vocab, but not grammar, IMHO.

[HSMom2One]

I'll check these out. Thanks!

 

Any others?

 

Lucinda

[HSMom2One]

Ecoutez-Parlez is good for vocab and an easy introduction to the language. My kids loved it. I speak French, however, so I was able to move them into a more serious, traditional program afterwards. First Start French also looks good, although I have never used it. RS is good for vocab, but not grammar, IMHO.

 

Do you think that FSF would be a good fit for a mom that is also a beginner? Ideally, I would like to have a program that is not too teacher intensive so we can continue to learn together. I really like the looks of the program from what I see on their website.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[couscous lady]

We are living where there are a lot of French speakers (though I am not one of them) so my comments might not be relevant.

 

I have enjoyed curriculum from a French organization named CLE. My 6th and 8th grader were working through Amis et compagnie, but this company also have other curriculums. However it's an immersion experience as it's all in French (Which I love because then they have to dive right in, but it can be more confusing and daunting to teach). The price might be a little high though because it's shipped from France.

 

A supplement that we've enjoyed is by Ana Lomba--Play and Learn French and also Hop, Skip, and Jump

 

Blessings to you,

Alicia

[tjarnold]

Subscribing to this thread as we are also looking for good French materials ...

[Guest CarolineUK]

We're using Galore Park 'So You Really Want to Learn French 1' and have found it to be excellent. I think I've read that there's someone who supplies Galore Park material in the US, but I don't know any details I'm afraid. I'm sure someone on the board will be able to give you details, or maybe you could do a search. I don't know how its cost compares to RS either, but maybe it's worth looking into as it really is very good.

[Luckymama]

We're using Galore Park 'So You Really Want to Learn French 1' and have found it to be excellent. I think I've read that there's someone who supplies Galore Park material in the US, but I don't know any details I'm afraid. I'm sure someone on the board will be able to give you details, or maybe you could do a search. I don't know how its cost compares to RS either, but maybe it's worth looking into as it really is very good.

 

 

We are also using Galore Park's French 1. I do not speak French at all (4 years HS + 4 semesters of college German down the drain ;) ) so I've been learning right along with dd10. We have the student book, the answers book and the CD with the dialogues. Here is the direct link to the book at Galore Park---you can click on the other parts below the book.

 

I purchased mine used through the FS board here but I know you can purchase Galore Park through the Horrible Books website and the Book Depository website. In fact, I'm going to be ordering the more expensive assessment CD, with PDFs and more oral exercises, from www.BookDepository.com (or their UK site, whichever has it for less). Dd10 had asked for tests in French--go figure.

 

We go through a page or two of French each day, even the days we're technically "off school" for some reason. Some days we read/listen to/translate a dialogue. Other days we're just working on vocabulary or answering questions about the dialogue. On Fridays we make flashcards for all vocab words from that week.

 

I'm a little worried about our accents so when dd15 gets home from school we try out our French on her (she's taking high school French 2 now). I caught dd10 speaking two sides of a conversation in French while she was playing one day. I'd say Galore Park French 1 is working :001_smile:

[Gratia271]

Galore Park.

[HSMom2One]

Wow! There is so much more out there than I had even imagined! I'm interested in Galore Park after reading about it, although it is more expensive than FSF. (At least it is much less expensive than RS.) I like it that it has a solid grammar base built into a fun format for kids.

 

And these book sites -- Horrible Books, Galore Park, and The Book Depository -- I didn't know about these at all. Thank you so much for the links to more resources.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Guest CarolineUK]

Another thought, if your DD is interested, DS11 does French at school and uses www.languagesonline.org.uk/ for fun, recommended by his French teacher.

[Luckymama]

Another thought, if your DD is interested, DS11 does French at school and uses www.languagesonline.org.uk/ for fun, recommended by his French teacher.

 

Oh my goodness Caroline, that's exactly the online resource I've been searching for! Thanks so much for sharing :001_smile:

[cschnee]

Just subscribing as well, as I'm always looking for french resources.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Another thought, if your DD is interested, DS11 does French at school and uses www.languagesonline.org.uk/ for fun, recommended by his French teacher.

I will keep an eye on this when we start French.

Thanks,

J

[Cleopatra]

I think Ecoutez Parlez would be too easy for an 11 yo. We tried FSF but it failed miserably ..... I'm not sure why because it looks good and what it covers is excellent, but don't think it's a good program for getting you thinking in French; you always are translating between the two languages.

 

We've been using a variety of things, which I'll list .....

 

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frenchsmart&x=0&y=0

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=grammaire+progressive&x=0&y=0 (immersion but easy to follow)

 

http://www.bayardjeunesse.ca/magazines/item.aspx?c=1&ID=45&T=10 (comes with an audio CD of the main story each month and is great for developing pronunciation)

 

http://www.scholastic.ca/clubs/lecture/ (you can get a variety of easy French readers here)

 

Some CLE books I purchased in France.

 

She's also been using Auralog Tell Me More French which has been good for pronunciation, etc. but needs supplements

 

I have to say, the best results I've seen with my dd is when I simply get her reading in French. Easy French readers (like English readers) repeat words and build vocabulary quickly. I don't worry about verbs conjugations, etc., we just read. It develops the skills of recognizing words in context and, yes, at times having to guess, but your ability to guess correctly improves greatly! We do look up any unknown words at the end to make sure we're learning them properly.

 

I've heard the Galore Park French is a good program as well as Breaking the Barrier French.

 

Good luck in your search! :001_smile:

[Kareni]

Here's a link to Breaking the Barrier French (and Spanish).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[HSMom2One]

Here's a link to Breaking the Barrier French (and Spanish).

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

So tell me about this Breaking the Barrier French. What has been your experience? Why do you like it? Do you find that it helps the student begin to "think" in French? I ask this because a previous poster mentioned some programs hopping back and forth too much between both languages.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Kareni]

So tell me about this Breaking the Barrier French. What has been your experience? ...

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

My apologies for the misunderstanding, Lucinda, but my family has not used this curriculum.

 

Here are some threads in which other users comment:

 

French-Breaking the Barrier

 

What do you use for high School French?

 

Anyone use Breaking the Barrier (French)

 

Any users of Breaking the Barrier French?

 

Rosetta Stone not working out?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[HSMom2One]

My apologies for the misunderstanding, Lucinda, but my family has not used this curriculum.

 

Here are some threads in which other users comment:

 

French-Breaking the Barrier

 

What do you use for high School French?

 

Anyone use Breaking the Barrier (French)

 

Any users of Breaking the Barrier French?

 

Rosetta Stone not working out?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thank you, Karen. The more I check into this, the more I feel that although it looks excellent, it would be a better fit for an older student than my dd. So far I'm pretty much convinced that the Galore Park would be the best fit for our needs -- unless someone else suggests a better option.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[HSMom2One]

I'm still hoping to find other French language instruction programs to compare, so I thought I'd resurrect my old thread. So far, Galore Park looks good, but I'm really hoping that we can come up with more alternatives for a mom and 11 yo dd who barely have their feet wet.

 

Please -- throw some suggestions my way!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Hedgehog]

I'm using Nallenart L'art de Lire with DD11 and DD9. It's quite easy and they are enjoying it as a gentle introduction to French. Nallenart is a Canadian company. The program is not expensive IMO and they have an Audio CD available - always a plus!

[HSMom2One]

I'm using Nallenart L'art de Lire with DD11 and DD9. It's quite easy and they are enjoying it as a gentle introduction to French. Nallenart is a Canadian company. The program is not expensive IMO and they have an Audio CD available - always a plus!

 

Where did you find this program? Is there a website? I'd like to learn more about it.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Hedgehog]

Where did you find this program? Is there a website? I'd like to learn more about it.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

A Canadian homeschooling friend recommended it to me last year. Not sure how to create a proper link here, but the main website is http://www.Nallenart.on.ca . They also have another website for downloading materials, and that's http://www.Nallenart.org .

 

There are three sections to the program; L'art de Dire, for K-g3; L'art de Lire, for g3-g8; and L'art d'ecrire, for g8 up. Although I would imagine those grade guides are flexible to your child's ability.

 

HTH!

[HSMom2One]

Thanks, Hedgehog! I'll check into this program as well.

 

Are there any other suggestions out there? Surely, there are more French language learners on this board!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[anabelneri]

We use the Learnables mostly. It was fine at first, but I really wish it were an interactive DVD instead of the book-and-cd format. The way it's set up works well for carschooling, but we're not doing much of that at the moment.

 

Honestly, the best thing for us overall has been to listen to French kids' music nonstop. We spent at least 2 years with nothing else playing in the car -- I even tracked down kids' French Christmas music to stay seasonal! The most useful CD was Lyric Language. It's really corny, but since the lines are all translated immediately we learned a lot of vocabulary.

 

Good luck!

Anabel

[Sahamamama]

I'm not sure this is a complete French program, but it might be worth looking up at your library as a supplement (or you could request that your library purchase it, which is what we did).

 

http://www.songsthatteach.com/french.html

 

Here's another set of French resources from Sara Jordan that we ARE using and enjoying.

 

http://www.songsthatteach.com/english-french.html

 

We seem to learn so much from singing, and this natural approach helps us to "think" in French. HTH.

[Cleopatra]

I haven't read the whole thread but has anyone recommended Alex et Zoe?

https://www.eurobooks.co.uk/languagebooks/series/FRE/m1/c1/3/ALZO

 

You can also get the books on http://www.amazon.ca

 

I believe this is the program that Alliance Francaise uses.

[Debbie in OR]

Have you looked into BJU French? When we were looking a while back, this was recommended to us. I don't know anything about BJU but this looked very thorough and perfect for someone without any French background. There is even a dvd.

[Julie in MN]

Have you looked into BJU French? When we were looking a while back, this was recommended to us. I don't know anything about BJU but this looked very thorough and perfect for someone without any French background. There is even a dvd.

 

The problem I had with BJU and ABeka and textbooks like that was that by year 2, the teacher materials were all written in French. Not sure if there are more options now?

 

Julie

[Debbie in OR]

The problem I had with BJU and ABeka and textbooks like that was that by year 2, the teacher materials were all written in French. Not sure if there are more options now?

 

Julie

 

Interesting! I only looked at year 1 materials. They must assume you are fluent by the time you get to year 2? Or year 1 is grammar/vocab and year 2 is immersion? I'll have to check it out when we get closer to starting. :001_smile:

[Julie in MN]

They must assume you are fluent by the time you get to year 2?

 

The feeling I got was that they expected the teacher was a French teacher. It seemed like the teacher materials were written for "French teachers" and not for homeschool moms :)

 

My dd was doing French 2 at home, so I ended up using a workbook from Barron's (I think now it's called E-Z French). It had answers in the back in English :tongue_smilie: I had a French teacher evaluate her at the end of the year, and she felt this book covered all of French 1 & 2 grammar, without even finishing the last third of the book.

 

I just couldn't work with any of the textbooks I looked at for french 2, because I couldn't help my dd know whether she got things right or wrong. But that was back around 2002, so things may have changed.

 

Julie

[HSMom2One]

I made a decision to give Galore French a whirl after we complete our current Power-Glide Children's French, but after talking to a homeschooled friend who is now in college at a party last night, I am torn once again. My friend explained in detail how Rosetta Stone works, which really set my mind going in another direction. If I can possibly swing the cost of it, I think we just may go with Rosetta. Otherwise, I do believe that Galore Park would be an excellent alternative.

 

:lol: Oh, the choices we have!! Sometimes I wish we had fewer options to consider!!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

Edited December 19, 2010 by HSMom2One