Contacts: Langue et culture françaises 8th edition [Hardcover]

Jean-Paul Valette (Author), Rebecca Valette (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0618395784 | ISBN-13: 978-0618395781 | Edition: 8

Applauded for its superior grammar sequencing, four-skills presentation and practice, vocabulary control, and supportive pedagogy, CONTACTS remains one of the most popular Introductory French programs available. Now in its Eighth Edition, the program continues to reflect the realities of the contemporary French and Francophone worlds and to serve the communication needs of the new millennium. Its hallmark strengths--highly effective logical progression, clear organization, and supportive pedagogy--which have served more than half a million CONTACTS users.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 531 pages
• Publisher: Heinle; 8 edition (May 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618395784
• ISBN-13: 978-0618395781
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > French > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what you think your getting--Check carefully!!, September 5, 2011

By 

Ye.Old.Scholar - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Contacts: Langue et culture françaises 8th edition (Hardcover)

If you are purchasing this for a class, I highly recommend that you purchase the package from the schools bookstore. I tried to purchase all of the "parts" on amazon and because the discriptions are sketchy I ended up spending more trying to get all that I needed for the class than I would have. For instance they split the CD that normally comes with the book seperatly, and they split the SAM CDs from the student manual. When the SAM CDs arrived they had been opened and were missing half the CD's (ordered from Amazon), although Amazon is fixing it with no fuss, the shipping time means that I will not have the CD's in time for class, and I have to HOPE the next ones they send are complete!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent online resource, poorly written textbook., June 21, 2011

By 

James Gawley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contacts: Langue et culture françaises 8th edition (Hardcover)

When combined with the accompanying "quia" book key, this book can be a powerful tool for french learners. The recorded pronunciation and automatically graded exercises are valuable to the solo learner. Unfortunately, the actual book's organization is poor. For example, the vocabulary appears haphazardly throughout. Occasionally words are used in reading passages which will not be defined until later chapters; in many cases, words are not defined at all. Cognates are relied upon heavily, and sometimes pictures are supplied in place verbal definitions, presumably based on the assumption that language students are visual learners. Additionally, the future tense and subjunctive are not introduced until the last fifty pages. More practice with these common constructions would be beneficial.

But more frustrating than any of the above is the book's poor presentation of grammar. For example, the explanations of words like "en" and "y" are weak. The authors are either attempting to avoid advanced terminology, or do not know how to describe complex grammar. If you can guess what is meant by "a pronoun with adverbial force," then you don't need the authors' ponderous, inaccurate explanations or the pages of example sentences they employ in order to avoid the short, precise phrasing above. These problems are not insurmountable, but after months of working with this book, I found the accumulated frustration to be distracting. I wish a better textbook could be paired with the powerful "quia" online tool.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners, April 28, 2011

By 

princess25 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contacts: Langue et culture françaises 8th edition (Hardcover)

As a beginning French student, this book helped me a great deal. There were numerous exercises, and it was laid out in such a simple manner. The only thing I didn't like was that it saved some more important lessons for later chapeters(for example, the words to show ownership weren't introduced until chapter 9), but other than that, it was a great book. I definitely learned alot, and it made me want to continue with my French lessons.