French language curriculum

[OnTheBrink]

Can someone compare First Start French with The Easy French or maybe even some other French language curricula?

 

DD will be in 6th grade, if that helps any.

[Melmc]

I can't do a direct comparison, but I can say I received The Easy French Sampler CD a week or so ago and was not impressed. I was totally confused and baffled by it to be honest and the sound quality was horrible. I do not speak French, but my 10 yo did not like what she saw/heard either. She's had French at the private school she used to attend. I posted about it, but had no replies. I was wondering what I was missing since several here use Easy French and like it.

 

Right now, the plan is to go with First Start French and supplement with conversations with native speakers that I hope to hire to meet us at Starbucks or some place else on a regular basis.

[PeterPan]

I have both the Easy French and First Start French. I took french in high school, so I guess I can be mildly opinionated. I wouldn't even consider using The Easy French with a 6th grader, because it's not age-appropriate. It's totally parent-driven, not enough grammar for that age, etc. First Start French is set up very similarly to Latina Christiana. You could do it, but honestly I'd keep looking, again because of the age. I like First Start French for exactly where we are, lower to middle elementary where all you want to do is take advantage of their ability to memorize. A 6th grader really could use a bit more sophistication. What comes to mind is maybe something from Galore Park. Their Latin Prep is great for that age, so do they have a comparable French program? I think they do, French Prep. Try looking that up and see. A 6th grader is ready to make more connections and have more context, more grammar, more direct instruction. If the French Prep is anything like the samples I've seen of the Latin Prep and gets similar reviews as far as age-appropriateness, then that's where I'd go. You could also take a high school text like the one from BJU and slow it down.

[Jen500]

What comes to mind is maybe something from Galore Park. Their Latin Prep is great for that age, so do they have a comparable French program? I think they do, French Prep.

 

They have So You Really Want to Learn French. I'll probably use it when ds is a bit older.

[OnTheBrink]

They have So You Really Want to Learn French. I'll probably use it when ds is a bit older.

 

Where can I order this in the US? All I'm finding are UK vendors.

[Jen500]

Where can I order this in the US? All I'm finding are UK vendors.

 

You can get Galore Park books from http://www.horriblebooks.com at a good price, but he places orders every few months I think. I'm not sure where else you could buy it. I think you can look at a sample at Galore's website.

[kailuamom]

I got Latin Prep from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk -- you can get the Galore Park books there. They have free shipping, and they shipped quickly. We got it within 10 days.

[abbeyej]

I got Latin Prep from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk -- you can get the Galore Park books there. They have free shipping, and they shipped quickly. We got it within 10 days.

 

I've ordered from BookDepository for Galore Park materials a number of times now, and always had good service / got my books quickly. I've ordered from Ray at Horrible Books too, but if I just want one or two things, it's usually cheaper and quicker for me to use BD.

[Sarah CB]

Can someone compare First Start French with The Easy French or maybe even some other French language curricula?

 

DD will be in 6th grade, if that helps any.

 

I'm using The Easy French right now with my 6th grader. She's doing their 8th grade program (1B) after finishing 7th grade last year. She'll move on to their 9th grade book (2A) next year. Their third level (which should be out soon) should easily get her through high school French and allow her to write the grade 12 provincial exam (we're Canadian).

 

I've had two different French teachers here in Canada look over the new versions of The Easy French and they're both confident that it covers what would be covered in those grades in BC schools (where kids actually begin French in grade 5). The new version of TEF is written specifically for older kids, can be used totally independently, and contains a lot of explicit grammar instruction.

[PeterPan]

Well huzzah, I hadn't kept up enough to know there was a new, upper level version of The Easy French. Cool! Ok, just went over to Timberdoodle to look, and still all I see is a level 1 and a level 2. Are these the new edition you're referring to? I bought TEF early on, and it didn't seem like there were a lot of changes in the next edition. I didn't keep up beyond that to hear about another edition. Are you still working with the tm and printed pages from the cd?

 

Ok, found the answer to this question myself! http://www.theeasyfrench.com/catalog.0.html.1.html They've taken levels 1 and 2 of TEF and broken them down into 1A, 1B, 2A, etc. And from the description, it sounds like they've fixed the things that bugged me most about using TEF as far as the regular level. (The A/B levels are more highly structured, have all the workpages integrated, etc.) Notice Timberdoodle is still selling the regular levels, not the broken down, upper grade, independent-work levels. It's very possible the OP has only seen the regular levels like at Timberdoodle and didn't know about these new ones. They changes they have made look very good and should make it a lot more practical to implement. My criticism of TEF, as in the regular levels, was a structural thing. The dialogues are terrific, the music fun, and the whole approach well-researched. The thing that got me was the structure of it, as in I needed a lot more structure to make it happen. (or else a lot more personal discipline or something? I don't know) It sounds like these upper level books have resolved the things that bugged me in the main levels and maintain the things I particularly liked about TEF. Definitely worth considering!

[OnTheBrink]

OK, I looked further at TEF and the newer, more structured levels. They say they are for 7th and up, so I emailed the author to ask her advice on which level to use on dd.

 

Thanks for all the input! :D

[OnTheBrink]

Ok, I heard back from the woman (Marie) from TEF. I think I'm going to go with Level 1A with Dd. I still think Spanish is a bit more practical, but DD is really excited about French. So, we'll give it a go. I told her that we may go with Spanish in addition to French in another year, but there's a lot of time between now and then!

 

Thanks for all your input and help.:001_smile:

[Sarah CB]

Make sure you join the Yahoo group - it's a great place to ask questions and talk with others who are using TEF; especially as you get started with it.

[PeterPan]

Michelle, be sure to write back after you've done it a while and tell us how it's going! I want to know how dramatic the structural changes are, whether it works out to be pretty independent for you, etc. I think french is a great language for a girl to know, so useful with literary allusions, etc. I'm biased, but I wouldn't make her learn spanish. (I'll shut up now, because it's more of a snobbish or political viewpoint than anything else.) I think language learning is one of those things that is best when following your heart. You never know where learning a language, even a less popular one, can lead you! :)