French curriculum for high school

[BeatleMania]

I will be a Junior in High School and need a French I and French II program. I like textbook/workbook/worktext style.

I know the basics:
1-100
animals
colors


Any good textbook programs that don't cost an arm and a leg?

[BeatleMania]

If I used First Start French which is for 3rd-8th graders, would it really matter?

http://www.christianbook.com/first-start-french-book-with-pronunciation/danielle-schultz/pd/636900?item_code=WW&netp_id=516224&event=ESRCN&view=details#curr

[jld]

A lot of moms here seem to like Breaking the Barrier French, with the CD, tigersgrowl. I've also read that some have their children watch the French in Action shows, which are available for free on the internet (is that correct, ladies?).

Man, I remember when they were on PBS a few nights a week (20 years ago or so), lol! Getting old here!:D

You know, if your background in French is pretty weak, you may want to consider Spanish instead. There are surely many free or low-cost resources available for Spanish all over the USA.

[Nan in Mass]

I think the full French in Action program would be hard to put together on your own, but the videos are good to watch as a suppliment. There are lots of free French programs online that would give you speaking/listening practice. You could work your way through the French the Easy Way book for grammar and writing. It seems to start assuming that you have had some exposure to a little French. It is cheap. It is a workbook that you could write in. Then you could watch the French in Action videos for listening practice and check out something like Live Mocha for practice speaking. I haven't tried Live Mocha myself but the other two I have had experience with. Another way to get listening/speaking practice is to get the Pimsleur CDs from your public library. That is a series of 30 half hour lessons meant to be done every day (including weekends). Some days you would need to repeat. You have to answer about 80% of the questions right to go on to the next lesson. With what French you have had, that should work fairly well for you. I would do that first, renewing it from the library until it is done, then get the French the Easy Way workbook from a bookstore (Borders might have it) and divide up the excersizes so you know how many you need to do each day to finish by the end of the year. Continue speaking practice each week with something online like Live Mocha or with a cheap CD for your computer like the ones you get from Staples. Have you found the thread with all the free online curriculum listed yet?
-Nan

[matroyshka]

I think the full French in Action program would be hard to put together on your own, but the videos are good to watch as a suppliment. There are lots of free French programs online that would give you speaking/listening practice. You could work your way through the French the Easy Way book for grammar and writing. It seems to start assuming that you have had some exposure to a little French. It is cheap. It is a workbook that you could write in. Then you could watch the French in Action videos for listening practice and check out something like Live Mocha for practice speaking. I haven't tried Live Mocha myself but the other two I have had experience with. Another way to get listening/speaking practice is to get the Pimsleur CDs from your public library. That is a series of 30 half hour lessons meant to be done every day (including weekends). Some days you would need to repeat. You have to answer about 80% of the questions right to go on to the next lesson. With what French you have had, that should work fairly well for you. I would do that first, renewing it from the library until it is done, then get the French the Easy Way workbook from a bookstore (Borders might have it) and divide up the excersizes so you know how many you need to do each day to finish by the end of the year. Continue speaking practice each week with something online like Live Mocha or with a cheap CD for your computer like the ones you get from Staples. Have you found the thread with all the free online curriculum listed yet?
-Nan

:iagree: with Nan. I haven't used the French, but I used Spanish the Easy Way with my kids and was quite happy - or you might want to try French Now! (http://www.amazon.com/French-Level-Christopher-Kendris-Ph-D/dp/0764135600/ref=dp_cp_ob_b_title_0) which is very similar but I think comes with a CD - if you're learning on your own, that would be a plus. You can get it a Border's or B&N (and get a 20% educator discount) for very little money - you could look at both and see which one you like better. French in Action (http://learner.org/resources/series83.html) would be a great supplement for comprehension and you can watch it free at learner.org. Other free online supplements are Coffee Break French (http://radiolingua.com/2010/05/introducing-coffee-break-french-step-by-step/) and the French programs (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/) at the BBC.

Breaking the Barrier (http://www.tobreak.com/the-program/the-french-series) also looks great - and it goes up through Level 3, which is a huge plus. A big problem I've found in language programs is that they only have the first level or two and then drop you. The explanations in BtB are very clear (I've got the Spanish). The third level says it will get you ready for the AP exam.

Practice Makes Perfect books (also available at B&N/Borders) are great for extra practice where you need it.

If you can get yourself reading, it will really help pull things together. I'm usually not a big fan of the bilingual texts, as it's to easy to just read the English, but if you yourself are motivated to really understand the French, they might be a good jumping in point. Another good option is to get a children's book you're already familiar with in English and read that in French - B&N has some French language books for kids. BtB does assume you'll be doing extra reading in addition to what's in the text.

This may not be as hard as you think. Once you know one Romance language, the others become a lot easier to learn.

[BeatleMania]

Thank you everyone!

I am going to use Breaking the Barrier for now, and supplement with workbooks as I go along.

Thanks.