Roadrunner Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Has anybody used this series? We are currently using Galore Park and while we love the program, I think my kids need a bit more practice exercises. I have been eyeing this series, but can't figure out what I need and how it fits together. So far I see three books Grammaire Progressive, Vicabulaire Progressive and Communication Progressive for beginning levels. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Progressive+du+francais Do I work on all three of those books at once (one chapter in all three books)? Do all books come with CDs? Has anybody used them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 They look interesting. Giving you a bump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I would just mention that these books are written entirely in French- they are not an English-language to French-language resource, so you need to have a relatively strong French to use them. One commenter indicated 1-2 years of high school French. My husband (native French speaker and a lawyer at that, so very linguistically oriented) has the green grammar book on his shelf from his own school days, so I assume they are VERY rigorous! If you want an all French or "native French" resource that is geared more towards your kids' ages, you might try "BLED Benjamin" - it has a ton of exercises, organized topically, with a little box with a summary of the skill at the top of each two page spread. Again, though, this is a French resource used by native speakers, so not sure if it's appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 DH is a native speaker, and I speak it as well, so all French text isn't a problem. Thanks for Gramnar recommendation. Few samples I can find of Communication progressive also seem very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 If you want an all French or "native French" resource that is geared more towards your kids' ages, you might try "BLED Benjamin" - it has a ton of exercises, organized topically, with a little box with a summary of the skill at the top of each two page spread. Again, though, this is a French resource used by native speakers, so not sure if it's appropriate.Does it have an answer key? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 yes, at the back of the book. I think all the BLED series include answer keys, at least all the ones that I own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 There is an "adolescent" version of that same CLE series: http://www.amazon.com/Grammaire-Progressive-Francais-Pour-Adolescents/dp/2090338660/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393355399&sr=1-1&keywords=Progressive+du+francais+pour+les+adolescents And here's the second volume: http://www.amazon.com/Grammaire-Progressive-Francais-Adolescents-Intermediare/dp/2090338687/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PH85ZJVYNDAPZYCP5BK Those might also be worth a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 There is an "adolescent" version of that same CLE series: http://www.amazon.com/Grammaire-Progressive-Francais-Pour-Adolescents/dp/2090338660/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393355399&sr=1-1&keywords=Progressive+du+francais+pour+les+adolescents And here's the second volume: http://www.amazon.com/Grammaire-Progressive-Francais-Adolescents-Intermediare/dp/2090338687/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PH85ZJVYNDAPZYCP5BK Those might also be worth a look? Thank you! I think I will soon have quite a collection of French textbooks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 If you want an all French or "native French" resource that is geared more towards your kids' ages, you might try "BLED Benjamin" - it has a ton of exercises, organized topically, with a little box with a summary of the skill at the top of each two page spread. Again, though, this is a French resource used by native speakers, so not sure if it's appropriate. I found the sample of the book and it looks like it can work for us. However, the sample shows only excercises and no teaching. I am wondering how the book is set up. Does it teach along with excercises, or is there a different book for instruction. Thanks for helping out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unity Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I actually have been using Grammaire progressive (but an older, 1997, version) to supplement Alex & Zoe 3. I don't know how all the books fit together, but this book, at least, doesn't have an initial dialogue or something like most curricula do. It strikes me as a better supplement than main curriculum. I can say that the reason I use it (and not one of the many other French textbooks I have lying around) is that this one does a very good job of making charts that explain the grammar, and has effective, to-the-point exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 I actually have been using Grammaire progressive (but an older, 1997, version) to supplement Alex & Zoe 3. I don't know how all the books fit together, but this book, at least, doesn't have an initial dialogue or something like most curricula do. It strikes me as a better supplement than main curriculum. I can say that the reason I use it (and not one of the many other French textbooks I have lying around) is that this one does a very good job of making charts that explain the grammar, and has effective, to-the-point exercises.Thanks. I am debating between this and BLED Benjamin. Communication Progressive Du Francais (http://www.amazon.com/Communication-Progressive-Francais-Intermediaire-Edition/dp/2090337265/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1JH3JTXYWQK78MM7H55C) linking intermediate since it has samples, appears very well done as well. How many components are in Alex and Zoe series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I found the sample of the book and it looks like it can work for us. However, the sample shows only excercises and no teaching. I am wondering how the book is set up. Does it teach along with excercises, or is there a different book for instruction. Thanks for helping out. The BLED has a little box that summarizes the teaching, so for example, it might be a box summarizing the conjugation of -er verbs in imparfait, or a box with the definition of a noun vs proper noun, etc. It is more to jog the memory than to teach. The kids in school here use a series called L'ile Aux Mots, which has reading instruction, grammar, conjugation, and spelling. I don't care for it personally, but it is very complete. It just looks like a LOT of handwriting for the age group. Another option is the Belin Francais series. There are two books per level- one for reading/vocab, one for the other LA components. We use the reading one from this series. For grammar, I am sort of inventing my own thing for comparative grammar. For spelling, conjugation, etc, we use La Bonne Methode de Dictée and really like it. I vastly prefer this book to the LA books from Belin or L'ile Aux Mots. Honestly, I use my BLED Benjamin as a reference for what topics to cover in grammar/conjugation, but then pretty much just do my own lessons and exercises integrated with other copywork and other French writing stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 The BLED has a little box that summarizes the teaching, so for example, it might be a box summarizing the conjugation of -er verbs in imparfait, or a box with the definition of a noun vs proper noun, etc. It is more to jog the memory than to teach. Honestly, I use my BLED Benjamin as a reference for what topics to cover in grammar/conjugation, but then pretty much just do my own lessons and exercises integrated with other copywork and other French writing stuff. Thanks Monica. I am starting to think junior level Grammaire Progressive could be a better option for now. So hard to find good samples on any of these books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Alex et Zoe has several parts: a pupil book, a workbook, a reader, CDs, and a teacher book, as I recall. La Librairie des Ecoles (publisher of the dictation book Monica has linked) has good samples on their site (the whole book, in some cases); in addition to the dictation book, there are books for Lecture and Grammaire also. Here's a link to the second grammar book sample, for instance: http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/medias/flipbooks/8/GRAMCM%20PAGEFLIP/index.html Here's one of the reading books (may be too simple for your kids): http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/livre/la-bonne-methode-de-lecture-ce1,48 I'm sure you know about CNED, but I will add the link for future readers: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/default.aspx I find that website a bit tricky to navigate, but there is so much there that it is well worth persisting! Here's a sample of the CE2: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ressources/5/FFE2/AL5FFE2TEWB0110-Sequence-01.pdf (I learned about CNED here from Cleo in QC in the first place, so many thanks to her!) Hope something there helps--bonne chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerilynn Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I just wanted to pop in to say I am a little jelly of everyone who is able to themselves or has a native speaker in the home to share and teach French to their children. I so want my son to have a good grasp of the French language (his Father is French, ds was born in France, his father lives in France and he travels to France every summer for visitation with his father and to enjoy his French family as well). I'm trying to put together a plan for a French tutor for ds next year, but getting his Dad to get his some formal beginning lessons this summer is like pulling teeth. I feel like it is more important for me than him for ds to grow up with a firm grasp of the French language. *sigh* Rant over. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Alex et Zoe has several parts: a pupil book, a workbook, a reader, CDs, and a teacher book, as I recall. La Librairie des Ecoles (publisher of the dictation book Monica has linked) has good samples on their site (the whole book, in some cases); in addition to the dictation book, there are books for Lecture and Grammaire also. Here's a link to the second grammar book sample, for instance: http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/medias/flipbooks/8/GRAMCM%20PAGEFLIP/index.html Here's one of the reading books (may be too simple for your kids): http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/livre/la-bonne-methode-de-lecture-ce1,48 I'm sure you know about CNED, but I will add the link for future readers: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/default.aspx I find that website a bit tricky to navigate, but there is so much there that it is well worth persisting! Here's a sample of the CE2: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ressources/5/FFE2/AL5FFE2TEWB0110-Sequence-01.pdf (I learned about CNED here from Cleo in QC in the first place, so many thanks to her!) Hope something there helps--bonne chance! Oh no. I don't know about CNED! How did you get to the page for the materials??? I am lost on their site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 I just wanted to pop in to say I am a little jelly of everyone who is able to themselves or has a native speaker in the home to share and teach French to their children. I so want my son to have a good grasp of the French language (his Father is French, ds was born in France, his father lives in France and he travels to France every summer for visitation with his father and to enjoy his French family as well). I'm trying to put together a plan for a French tutor for ds next year, but getting his Dad to get his some formal beginning lessons this summer is like pulling teeth. I feel like it is more important for me than him for ds to grow up with a firm grasp of the French language. *sigh* Rant over. ;-) Skype conversations with his dad in French! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 It's tricky to get around on that site! It took me quite a while to figure it out (and there may be more there that I don't see!) So, from the main page I linked originally, hover over the school levels on the left (I'm assuming you'll want Ecole at this point). Find the grade you want (CP, CE 1 or 2, CM 1 or 2). I'll go through one possible path: OK, so I'm hovering on CE2, and a menu of subjects opens, I'll click on French. http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ecole/SommaireConcepts.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5FFE2 Now there is a list of 12 topics; I'm going to go to number 9 about conjugating verbs. http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ecole/RessourcesInformatives.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5FFE2&CONCEPT=AL5FFE2-INTR-220813-1 Now I have a page with some explanation, and three choices across the top (I'm already on #1). If I click #2, I get some practice questions. http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ecole/Exerciseur.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5FFE2&EXERCICE=AL5FFE2-EXER-220121-1 If I click #3 ("Pour aller plus loin"), I get a menu for a workbook: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ecole/Ressources.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5FFE2&CONCEPT=AL5FFE2-INTR-220813-1&EXERCICE=AL5FFE2-EXER-220121-1 (This is how to get to the PDFs.) Click on each chapter title on this menu separately to access those pages. This is the link for the first chapter: http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ressources/5/FFE2/AL5FFE2TEWB0110-Sequence-01.pdf I hope that helps! There is also (I think free) Belgian curriculum online; I will hunt around my links and see if I can find it. Edited for clarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Got it, but his do you find PDFs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Here it is, I think; I've never used this one: http://www.ead.cfwb.be/index.php?id=54&idForma=1&buttonForma=Voir%20les%20détails Somebody on the bilingual board at one point was using, or thinking of using, EAD distance education materials, I think. There might be some old threads worth reading over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Got it, but his do you find PDFs? On the page with the three choices, click on #3, "Pour aller plus loin". That takes you to a list of chapters; click on the chapter name to get you to the PDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Got it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Great! Have fun--there's a lot of good stuff there. (And free is always nice.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Tell me about it. I have been planning for next year's French for two weeks and this just complicates things in a good way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerilynn Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Skype conversations with his dad in French! Hi Roadrunner, thanks for replying. Yes, my son already does skype with his Papa on a regular basis, but his Papa insists on speaking mostly English with my son (much to my chagrin) because that is what my son speaks/mostly understands on a daily basis. I understand where he is coming from, but not only does he model poor English grammar, but my son doesn't get consistent exposure throughout the regular year to French. Every summer he spends several weeks in France and is immersed, but, then he comes home for the rest of the year with none. My French is horrendous, so I don't want to give that as a model to my son. Also, ds will need some formal lessons eventually, and it would be great if those could start...in France, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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