French

[ColeBj]

My daughter is in 8th grade and would like to start French.  I would like it to be high school level so that I can give her credits for it.  Does anyone of any recommendations for any?  We would prefer something that is not online but with a CD and secular.  Thank you!

[Roadrunner]

Do you speak French? 

There are ton of textbooks with CDs written for high school audience. Take a look at Vista Learning for example. I think if you speak French, you can easily buy those texts with CDs and work them at home.

If you don't speak the language, I would look at something intended for homeschoolers. Breaking the Barrier seems to be popular. 

[Amateur Actress]

Breaking the Barrier

[BJCole]

Thank you for replies.  I will look at Breaking the Barrier.  Has anyone tried public school text books like "Bien Dit"?

[MamaSprout]

Bien Dit didn't review well when I checked into it. I had a cheap copy and found it confusing. Have a question about pretty much French curriculum, and I probably have it on my shelf. We've used parts of most of the available grammar workbooks that are written in English and Tex's French Grammar.

Along with a workbook that's written completely in French, we're using Language City Academy's self paced side (http://www.languagecityacademy.com/).

I like that he's a native speaker, and I do have dd print out the worksheets and I check them. I don't think working through it all on the computer is enough reinforcement on it's own. It is an improvement over Breaking the Barrier by itself. We've done the first year of Breaking the Barrier. We did use the iBook for the flash cards, the workbook and the tests.

I would get started in Breaking the Barrier then start Language City. Breaking the Barrier assumes a teacher is reviewing with the class, and the Language City would fill that need. We've found some formatting problems with Language City, but Alex was quick to address them.

We also use a few other things for reinforcement as I find them. Currently the free stuff from here: https://www.commeunefrancaise.com/start-here

I know a retired couple whose son lives in France, and they track dd down at the library when they know we'll be there to practice because they want to get better. I need to create some practice prompts for them to use. Generating conversation is hard, but probably the best practice.

Edited October 15, 2018 by MamaSprout

[yvonne]

We used Bien Dit 2 for a year with my sons because it was what the local high school used and I wanted them to be able to go directly into the high school's French 3 if they wanted to go that route for 9th-12th. I also figured that, since it was used in the local high schools, it would be easier for me to find an effective/efficient local tutor, if necessary. 

Bien Dit was easy to use. We were with a charter at the time, so we got all the parts... student text, teacher text, audio/video, test booklet, workbook. All we  ended up using were the student text, test book, and workbook. If I hadn't had some background in French, we would probably have used the audio/video component. The text and workbook can be found used online fairly cheaply.

French 1 & 2 are pretty standard across the board; they all teach certain basic vocab and basic grammar. Other than Rosetta Stone, you probably can't go wrong with whatever you use, as long as you can get the audio/video support you need if you don't have any background in French to draw on.

[BJCole]

Thank you for the info.  When you say workbook for Bien Dit, do you mean the 2 Cahier books?  Are the answers to the Cahier books in the teacher's text?

[8filltheheart]

My Dd taught herself to fluency using Breaking the Barrier, French in Action, and reading children's books in French that she was familiar with in English (Chronicles of Narnia was the first. She watched the daily news in French and progressed to the French flash news (super fast news blurbs). TV Monde 5 had a lot of resources.

[MamaSprout]

Radio France has lots of good resources, too. Journal in francais facile is "easy" French with a transcript to read along. There are quizzes and other materials there, as well.

One thing I've noticed about American French textbooks is the way they teach nous vs on. I really had difficulty with spoken French long after I could reliably read it, and that is one of the reasons. I guess the best way to avoid textbook bias is to use multiple resources.

ETA- We've used and liked French in Action, too, but make sure you can track down the audio files before purchasing the books. It works best if you have all the parts.

Edited October 16, 2018 by MamaSprout

[BJCole]

Can anyone tell me how the cds are for Breaking for Barrier?  I heard the sample that is on their website and wasn't sure what that was supposed to be.  There was no pronunciation just people talking and music.

[8filltheheart]

2 hours ago, MamaSprout said:

Radio France has lots of good resources, too. Journal in francais facile is "easy" French with a transcript to read along. There are quizzes and other materials there, as well.

One thing I've noticed about American French textbooks is the way they teach nous vs on. I really had difficulty with spoken French long after I could reliably read it, and that is one of the reasons. I guess the best way to avoid textbook bias is to use multiple resources.

ETA- We've used and liked French in Action, too, but make sure you can track down the audio files before purchasing the books. It works best if you have all the parts.

I purchased ours from Annenberg yrs ago, but I just looked and they aren't selling them any more.  I just looked and they are available through Yale University Press and Amazon. I didn't look beyond that.

[yvonne]

16 hours ago, BJCole said:

Thank you for the info.  When you say workbook for Bien Dit, do you mean the 2 Cahier books?  Are the answers to the Cahier books in the teacher's text?

 

Yes, the cahiers are the workbooks. 

I was able to correct the exercises on my own, so I'm not sure where the answers were. Sorry!  You could take a look at the series on Holt's site. I did that first and then went looking for the pieces I wanted.

Just fyi.... you'll see the "One Stop Teacher Planner DVD" on the site & it will look tempting, but it isn't necessary. I only got it bec I could get it the charter bought it for me, but I could never get any of those to run on my Mac. I think they'd be more of a distraction than a help, anyhow.

[MamaSprout]

5 hours ago, BJCole said:

Can anyone tell me how the cds are for Breaking for Barrier?  I heard the sample that is on their website and wasn't sure what that was supposed to be.  There was no pronunciation just people talking and music.

We never used them. I suspect it is the same material that is in the iBook. ETA-the audio material that is in the iBook.

Edited October 16, 2018 by MamaSprout

[Roadrunner]

If you do decide to go with French in Action, I think it would be best to get some background first (maybe Breaking the Barrier 1). I know the program is designed for beginners in mind, but I know way too many kids who were lost when attempting it as their first French program. (I was in college when French in Action was the choice of French curriculum in college classrooms.  ) It works well though once you have some basics. It is also a bit outdated, which might or might not be an issue for your student, and the cost of audio is insane even though the books are cheap.