French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One [Hardcover]

Pierre Capretz (Author), Beatrice Abetti (Contributor), Marie Odile-Germain (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0300072651 | ISBN-13: 978-0300072655 | Edition: 2

Since it was first published, French in Action: A Beginning Course in Language and Culture -- The Capretz Method has been widely recognized in the field as a model for video-based foreign-language instructional materials. This groundbreaking, critically acclaimed approach to French language learning effectively combines video, audio, and text to help students use real, unsimplified French in the dynamic context of actual communication. Designed to be used in conjunction with the celebrated PBS video series (available from the Annenberg/CPB Project), the print and audio materials, which form the complete program, include textbooks, an instructor's guide, workbooks, an extensive audio program, study guides, and a testing program. This second edition textbook is now available in two separate volumes -- parts 1 and 2 -- each covering 26 lessons of instruction. Major funding for French in Action was provided by the Annenberg/CPB Project.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 2 edition (September 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300072651
• ISBN-13: 978-0300072655
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Le cours de langues français le plus complet, December 13, 2005

By 

Stephen Sykes (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One (Hardcover)

"French in Action" is a complete, college-level language course intended for students who have aspirations of fluency. The course consists of five components: video tapes (or DVDs), audio tapes (or CDs), textbook, workbook and study guide. All the components work together and are necessary for the course to be effective. The course utilizes an immersion method, meaning that after the first couple of lessons, everything except the study guide is in French. In spite of its high profile and ready access on public television, I don't think it's a good course for beginners. It moves quickly and would probably be best for someone with previous study in the language. The course would be nearly ideal for a college-level student with at least a year of high school French under their belt.

It's a full meal. There are 52 lessons divided into two, 26 lesson parts. Each part can be purchased separately, but any way you slice it, the entire course is a considerable investment in both time and money. Working about an hour per day, it's paced to be handled at the rate of about a lesson a week. At full speed, you might be able to finish it in a year. Because most of the lessons involve some kind of conversational practice, the course is best taken with a partner or the help of a tutor. Self-study students might be tempted to eliminate the conversational and writing exercises, but doing so would be a mistake. Those exercises constitute at least half of the value of the course.

One of the real strengths of "French in Action' is that it puts an emphasis on the French language the way the French actually speak it, which is quite a bit different from the way American phrase books tend to teach it. Right from the start, you're listening to the language at full speed in all its idiomatic glory. If you're anything like me, you'll have the sense of always struggling to catch up. But, I like the fact that the early emphasis is on listening and getting a sense of the rhythm of the language. Younger students will probably like the fact that after the first several lessons, they will have learned at least a dozen ways to insult their friends.

One of the weaknesses of the course is that the audio tapes really need to be used along with the workbook. Hence, it's difficult (though not impossible) to use them in the car during long commutes. Don't expect a standard presentation, because the material isn't handled anything like standard French textbooks. Tenses, for example, are introduced so matter-of-factly that the very first words you utter are in the future tense. And there is no emphasis at all on word-for-word translation. In fact, quite often you're listening to idiomatic phrases in which the individual words when analyzed don't make much sense, but the meaning of the entire phrase when spoken in context is perfectly clear.

"French in Action" is a real grown-up language course for students with mature study skills and sufficient interest to get through it. I, myself, have taken a couple runs at it over the years and have only recently developed a successful study routine. Though the video program is on public television all the time, it's not a casual course at all. Don't believe the promos that suggest that all you have to do is "listen, watch and get involved". Just watching the shows on TV won't get you very far. You will spend at least 350 hours going through the entire course and probably more like 700-1000. That may sound like a lot, but by the end you will doubtless have a better understanding of French than you would have had from any other commercial package.

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Part one of a two; for the TV series of the same., January 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One (Hardcover)

Updated, but great, companion textbook to the wonderful public TV language show of the same. Just 52 episodes and you'll be on your way to speaking French. One of the easiest and better language courses available for free on PBS. Also published under the same title is the hardcover edition of these two parts in one book. Pick whichever you like - they're identical; two seperate books for lighter carrying or one complete edition for convenience.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful complete immersion in French when used properly, June 2, 2004

By 

Robert Moore (Corvallis, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One (Hardcover)

This video-audio-workbook course is incredible! I took three semesters of college level French many decades ago in a wonderful native speaker tutorial and found on my infrequent trips to France or Quebec that over the years, my quasi-fluency had faded away. I took an adult education program with a competant native speaker recently and found the traditional high school textbook, CD, testing regime inadequate. In all likelihood, Noelle. the High School student from Atlanta who did not like the book, probably was denied the whole package. In fact, the text relies on the PBS TV video or the free broadband video version (...)-AND the 52 Casette Tapes or CD's and workbooks I and II. In order of importance, I would rate the Audio or CD and workbooks I and II above the text and video. Granted, it is an expensive package (...)but it also the closest thing to an immersion program this side of the Atlantic. So, Yale University Press overcharges. But all textbooks are out of line. This package is a bargain amongst bargains. Incidentally, the two Study Guides do very little and may be skipped altogether. However, the rest of the package MUST BE USED TOGETHER as a whole. Capretz, recently retired from Yale, is a rare master teacher and this program precludes the need of an intermediate teacher.