Vis-a-vis: Beginning French (Student Edition) [Hardcover]

Evelyne Amon (Author), Judith A Muyskens (Author), Alice C. Omaggio Hadley (Author), Judith Muyskens (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072560320 | ISBN-13: 978-0072560329 | Publication Date: July 4, 2003 | Edition: 3

The third edition of "Vis-a-vis" continues the excitement of the innovative second edition with a fully integrated and revised multimedia package and updated cultural information presented in the ""Correspondance"" feature (chapter opening letter, postcard, or e-mail, which is answered in the mid-lesson "Correspondance" cultural spread), and in the new "Bienvenue dans le monde francophone" feature that recurs after every four chapters in the text. The overall goal of the revision remains the same as that of the second edition: to promote a balanced four-skills approach to learning French through a wide variety of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities, while introducing students to the richness and diversity of the Francophone world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith A. Muyskens is Professor of French at the University of Cincinnati, where she teaches courses in methodology and French language, supervises teaching assistants, and is department head. She received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Foreign Language Education with a minor in twentieth-century French literature. She is a coauthor of several other French textbooks.

Alice C. Omaggio Hadley, Ph.D., Ohio State University, is Associate Professor of French at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is Director of Basic Language Instruction. She supervises teaching assistants and is responsible for the curriculum development, testing, and administration of the elementary and intermediate language program. She is coauthor of several French textbooks.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 3 edition (July 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072560320
• ISBN-13: 978-0072560329
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C'est bon, April 7, 2006

By 

Donna Di Giacomo (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vis-a-vis: Beginning French (Student Edition) (Hardcover)

The setup of this textbook is pretty standard for college-level language books. An added bonus would be that the page numbers are spelled out in French next to the numerals (giving the student extra practice on pronouncing numbers).

The language used in the text is clear and simple and, if the student is really determined to learn French, they can do it with this text (or, at the very least, get a working knowledge of the language). You can also get glimpses of French culture from the snippets throughout the book.

The accompanying workbook/lab manual is very helpful in strengthening your knowledge and usage of French through extra exercises and is a must have with this textbook.

Very good course. - Donna Di Giacomo

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great French Textbook-, April 8, 2007

By 

Marianopolita2005 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vis-a-vis: Beginning French (Student Edition + Listening Comprehension Audio Cassette) (Audio Cassette)

Vis-a-vis is a thorough and well-organized beginner's French textbook that can be used for classroom studies or a personal refresher course type of textbook for those who wish to brush up on the essentials of French grammar. It covers grammatical concepts that must be introduced and mastered at the beginner's level in order to move on to Intermediate French. What I also find very beneficial are the linguistic tips throughout the book and special grammar nuances that are emphasized that usually pose difficulty such as prepositions, le partitif, false cognates, il y a (il y a = there is/are which is never pluralized). This textbook will definitely be helpful to those who are studying beginner's French in the classroom and those who are refreshing their knowledge on a personal level (low, intermediate or high beginner) and have a solid grammar background in English or French.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great tool for learning, April 14, 2008

By 

Amanda Fisk (Campbell, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vis-à-vis: Beginning French, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

This set of textbook and workbook is a great tool to help you learn the French language. I find the book easy to follow. It has many great examples and exercises with lots of extra tid-bits and plenty of cultural info. I think this book is much better than the one I used in highschool.
I have used this set for my 1st year of college French.