French Now: Level 1

Rating:
Summary: a really EXCELLENT French book - 10 stars
Review: An excellent book! Much better than Decouverte Et Creation. It actually makes learning French FUN and SIMPLE! I'm taking a college French course and I wish they had assigned this book to us. Not only is it hundreds of dollars cheaper than all the text, workbook, and tapes they tell us to buy, it is 10 times more helpful.

This book will slowly yet effectively build your confidence as you progress from lesson to lesson. It helps you to integrate learned words by actually using them in effective exercises. The lessons flow perfectly. You will learn BY DOING, both in writing and in speaking what you write (or in speaking before you write). It is not at all boring, I promise I never once yawned while I breezed through the first two sections.

Another great thing about the book is its format. Vocabulary words pertinent to the exercise will be on the same page or the next, in addition to the dictionary at the back of the book, so that you don't lose concentration by flipping through pages to find the meaning. Instructions are in English but it doesn't take away from the learning. This is a great self-teaching book.

With it, I recommend a CD-ROM program called "Smart French." It's helped me to understand spoken French and to improve my accent and conversational skills. I'm only a beginning French student but I've never been this interested in learning a language before.

Rating:
Summary: A workbook without the answers? Worthless!
Review: Barron's should be ashamed of themselves, foisting a language workbook with no answers in it on an unsuspecting public. Because it's impossible to check if your answers are right or wrong, this book is totally useless for self-learners. Should be sold only with a giant sticker on the cover stating: "WARNING! NO ANSWERS PROVIDED". Blurbs about the book on web sites (are you listening, Amazon?) should not fail to state the same. Then at least people would know what they are, and are not, getting. Heartily NOT recommended.

Rating:
Summary: a really EXCELLENT French book - 10 stars
Review: I'm homeschooled, so there is no one really to teach me but the book. I tried SEVERAL different French book and tape combinations, but this is the only one that has worked! I don't even need to listen to the tapes, I can understand French just from the books dialogue and speak it just hte same. Highly recommended for a beginner, and those learning on their own.

Rating:
Summary: Great for learning on your own!
Review: I'm homeschooled, so there is no one really to teach me but the book. I tried SEVERAL different French book and tape combinations, but this is the only one that has worked! I don't even need to listen to the tapes, I can understand French just from the books dialogue and speak it just hte same. Highly recommended for a beginner, and those learning on their own.

Rating:
Summary: A great selection for grammatical instruction
Review: The French Now! Level 1 book is a great book to have for grammatical instruction. There are short stories at the beginning of each chapter with each one having a bit of an ironic twist. It helps you to understand those difficult issues like reflexive verbs and passé composé and even the partitive article. 4 stars you ask? Well, like most language acquisition, it is always good to be in a classroom with lots of motivated people just like yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book to Learn French!
Review: This workbook is a very good book for a beginner. It teaches you French grammar very well. There are dialogues at the beggining of every chapter that has new vocabulary words for you to learn. This workbook was set up very well and teaches you all the basics of grammar and vocabulary, and a little beyond. I think you should buy this book if you really want to learn good French.

Rating:
Summary: A Useful Workbook -- but No Answers Provided!
Review: This workbook is great for drilling basic vocabulary and crucial concepts of grammar into one's head. I love having plenty of space right in the book to fill in the answers.

But unfortunately, there's a big problem: the answers to the exercises are NOT PROVIDED in this book! This can be a real headache -- what if you are drilling and drilling, unaware that you are repeating the wrong usage over and over?

According to the book's Preface, "A separate teacher's manual is available from the publisher." However, no such manual exists, as I found out by checking the publisher's web site. A separate "French Now Answer Key" is listed here on Amazon, but is described as Out of Print and is in fact unavailable anywhere.

Instead of this book, therefore, I recommend "French the Easy Way" by the same author. It's another workbook using the same format; in fact, the identical stories are used, as well as most of the same exercises. But that one DOES supply an Answer Key in the back.

Of course, if you are using this book in conjunction with a class and/or a teacher, it might still suit your needs, since the teacher can point out your mistakes. But for independent learners, I cannot recommend it.