Contacts : Langue et culture françaises

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating.
Review: Ditto "ashamed" previous. The workbook is difficult to use, and filled with errors. The tapes are frustrating and uneven, switching from too-difficult narratives to too-easy exercises. I've been through 18 chapters and 9 tapes, and can't speak. The textbook itself is better than the workbook and tapes. It is heavy on grammar and verb conjugation.

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating.
Review: Ditto "ashamed" previous. The workbook is difficult to use, and filled with errors. The tapes are frustrating and uneven, switching from too-difficult narratives to too-easy exercises. I've been through 18 chapters and 9 tapes, and can't speak. The textbook itself is better than the workbook and tapes. It is heavy on grammar and verb conjugation.

Rating:
Summary: The best I have found
Review: From the moment I married a French woman, the need to actually speak the language became obvious...easier said than done. After flailing about with inferior texts for about two years, I finally happened on Valette et Valette's Contacts. True to the title, they skillfully prepare a cocktail of language instruction and cultural information - which entice the learner through a difficult subject. I would recommend it without hesitation; in fact, I am in the process of ordering a new hardback to replace my current edition (which now resembles a pack of cards).

Rating:
Summary: The best I have found
Review: From the moment I married a French woman, the need to actually speak the language became obvious...easier said than done. After flailing about with inferior texts for about two years, I finally happened on Valette et Valette's Contacts. True to the title, they skillfully prepare a cocktail of language instruction and cultural information - which entice the learner through a difficult subject. I would recommend it without hesitation; in fact, I am in the process of ordering a new hardback to replace my current edition (which now resembles a pack of cards).

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for self-study
Review: I am using Contacts, 7th ed., along with the workbook/lab manual. I also purchased the CD set, which contained 14 CD's with about 40 minutes on each. I have enjoyed these materials immensely. Since I am studying on my own, the CDs have been a key part of my training. This book covers the equivalent of two semesters of college French. The pages are colorful, with many descriptions of contemporary French life. For those who are using it in a classroom setting, many of the exercises creatively get partners to have dialogues. I highly recommend it for self-study, study with a partner or in a classroom.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for self-study
Review: I am using Contacts, 7th ed., along with the workbook/lab manual. I also purchased the CD set, which contained 14 CD's with about 40 minutes on each. I have enjoyed these materials immensely. Since I am studying on my own, the CDs have been a key part of my training. This book covers the equivalent of two semesters of college French. The pages are colorful, with many descriptions of contemporary French life. For those who are using it in a classroom setting, many of the exercises creatively get partners to have dialogues. I highly recommend it for self-study, study with a partner or in a classroom.

Rating:
Summary: Contacts: Langue Et Culture Francaises
Review: I have this book in a beginning college level French class. The book is excellent. Use of the lab manual and cassette tapes is a must with this test. The lab manual and the cassette tapes compliment the text and makes a difficult subject fun.

Rating:
Summary: Contacts: Langue Et Culture Francaises
Review: I have this book in a beginning college level French class. The book is excellent. Use of the lab manual and cassette tapes is a must with this test. The lab manual and the cassette tapes compliment the text and makes a difficult subject fun.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Textbook - Easy to Understand
Review: This is the favorite French textbook I have ever had and I have been studying French for um... 6 or 7 years. It is well-written and easy to understand. The chapters are well-organized and I think the best part is how the authors explain verbs and verb conjugations... there are so many ways, ugh! However, there is a new 7th edition out now, so if you need this textbook for a class check to see which edition you need before you buy this textbook. Also, this book is geared toward beginning students so it may not be too helpful if you already know a fair amount of French.

Rating:
Summary: They should be ashamed
Review: This lab manual, to be used with the accompanying recordings, is of extremely low quality. The mistakes are so frequent that you cannot use the material for effective feedback. I am about two thirds of the way through this course and, if anything, the errors are getting worse and more frequent. I am required to finish the material for a class, but am considering not doing any more of the lab work to focus on higher quality audio learning sources. This is my third foreign language and I have never seen such an incompetent attempt to throw together materials. Do yourself a favor and go with French in Action - it is in every sense a superior system of learning french.