Customer Reviews

Motifs: An Introduction to French (with Audio CD)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think this book is terrible and they need to get a different one for French, but that's besides the point because you need it anyway if your college uses it.

One important note though: When you buy this book, know that it does not come with the book key for QUIA (online companion). It does come with the 2 CD's which you never use in class, but can use at home. But if your professor will require you to do the QUIA stuff for homework, which they usually do, this book will not provide the key for it. Usually the one you can buy at your bookstore comes with a key, but is very expensive. What I did was buy a cheaper version on eBay, then bought the book key on the website which is about $90.

As a textbook, Motifs is not so bad. If you liked the style of Deux Mondes, but got really frustrated with all of the anglicisms, grammatical errors, and misleading or outdated pictures, Motifs might be a decent alternative. Beware, however, of the QUIA program that accompanies Motifs!!! The QUIA program is based on the Motifs workbook and from the first exercise it will lead you and your students into a quagmire of frustration through misleading model sentences and errors. I've used Motifs for two semesters and am in search of a textbook with a better package.

At 64, I decided to learn French. I have a collection of CD French courses, and beginnng French textbooks. Finally, I enrolled for a class at our local university. Unfortunately Motifs is the textbook we are using, but fortunately I have an excellent instructor. The authors of this text should have given up rather than try to update it to a 4th edition.

The book is divided into modules. Each module has several themes (too many with useless and dated topics). The end of each module has the structure for each theme. You wear out the book by constantly flipping back and forth between a theme and the structure section. The structure informaion is minimal. What is written is often confusing. The exercises are sometimes vague and can have multiple correct answers. The book is slow to introduce useful conversational verbs. It is frustrating to try to speak when the only verb you know is the etre form. Module 4 finally gets around to introducing some useful verbs. The online Quia workbook is even more confusing. Often I resort to using one of my other textbooks to try to understand what Motifs is trying to present.

If you are looking for a beginning French textbook, do your students a favor, and skip this one.

The attempt to categorize verbs according to themes is commendable but there should be exceptions among irregular verbs like avoir, etre and aller. These verbs are too important to postpone conjugations in later chapters. Also, it seems that the previous edition was more sufficient than this edition as there were some mistakes in the answer key.

This is a good book to get if you wish to learn French. Great list of vocabulary at the end of every chapter, the problem exercises are relevant and useful, and the tape that accompanies this book helps you understand the material better. The organisation of it all could stand some improvement, but overall it is a useful and well-constructed language book.

This is a good textbook which is at the same time fun, a bit whimsical, and culturally relevant. This book has some good contemporary reference material, and as presented provides for a fun French class.

I was shocked to see on page 7 of the 5th edition this horrible mistake: Une poignet de main=a handshake. Yikes!!!! Didn't make me want to read any further... Doesn't a real person check the book before it goes to print? A computer spell checker would not have picked this up...
On a more positive note, the book seems well organized and explanations are clear. However, the pages are very densely packed with lessons and drills. Visually, it could be a little more appealing.

Book was in great condition and was sent very quickly. The problem is that I wanted a nice text book to learn French on my own. This book was an instructor's version which did not help me at all.

Customer service was very helpful in ensuring I would get this book before I left for France, despite a major blizzard in the DFW area that could have delayed its delivery until the following Monday. The packaging was good. I am very happy with my buying experience.

Just whay I needed for way lower than the price offered at my schools bookstore.