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

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

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The third edition of Vis-à-vis includes a fully integrated and revised multimedia package, as well as updated cultural information presented in the "Correspondance" feature (chapter-opening letter, postcard, or e-mail message that is answered in the mid-lesson "Correspondance" cultural pages) and in the new "Bienvenue dans le monde francophone" feature. The overall goal of the text is 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.

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: 455 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 3rd edition (June 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072935324
• ISBN-13: 978-0072935325
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,203 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor organization at its best, March 7, 2006

By	James Allen "James" (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This is the most poorly organized textbook I have ever read. Each chapter is divided into sections that jump around from instruction to practice questions to fake conversations between the poorly developed characters that follow you through the entire book. The instruction, for which one purchases a textbook, is lacking. Many chapters and sections begin merely with practice exercises following a passage about the characters; there is no instruction or explaination about the topic at all! Almost every chapter appears to cover some aspect of French grammar, but this is misleading: most topics are merely covered by asking practice questions. Worst of all, the practice questions that constitute the instruction have no answers available to students!

The structure of this book is clearly designed as an inspiration to French Instructors who lack creativity and diversity in their lectures. The garbage inserted to break the monotony is designed to add culture and flavor to the text. It fails to do so, however, and instead results in an incoherent text that provides no definitive treatment of many essential aspects of learning a forein language.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to learn French, this is the book series to use., November 30, 2008

By	Alicia Tabor (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was my college text book a couple years back. I was never the best at actually MAKING it into class all the time, but this book was straight forward enough that I was always able to catch up, or even keep up on my own.

Whether you want to get this book to give it a go on your own, or if it's required for a class, you won't go wrong.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book to learn french for beginners, January 30, 2006

By	air90210 - See all my reviews

This book combined with its corresponding work book and CD are very useful for a novice to learn french