Did anybody use BJU French? What do you recommend for French?

[MBH]

I am thinking about BJU French, but the thing that scares me is that their Geometry didn't explain things very well. I felt the same way about their Biology.

Please let me know what worked for you. I am in Wisconsin.

Thanks.

[Laura Corin]

We own (and I expect to start teaching in January) So You Really Want to Learn French, from Galore Park. I've heard great things about it, and it looks interesting and rigorous to me (I have a degree in French). It's designed for beginners, and used in the UK for middle/high school level. For high school, you might want to do the three books over two years.

Best wishes

Laura

[Kathleen in VA]

We used BJU French - for a few months. The deal with BJU is that their textbooks are designed to be used in the classroom. They have a teacher's manual, a student text and lots of peripherals. It takes a lot of time and energy to coordinate all that and teach it. It is really meant to be used by a teacher who doesn't teach anything else.

We switched to First Start French by Memoria Press because it can be done independently by a high schooler. It is laid out more simply and my daughter does not need me in order to use it.

I would think Rosetta Stone is that way as well - meant to be used independently, I mean.

I also tried BJU in other subjects and it is just too overwhelming to try to coordinate all the books. For science I ended up using Apologia because it teaches directly to the student. For history we are using Notgrass because it teaches directly to the student. I avoid anything for any grade that was designed to be used in the classroom now.

[Sarah CB]

My dd has worked through The Easy French 1A, 1B, and is now doing 2A. It correlates to Canadian second language grade levels which tend to be higher than US because we start French earlier. So, 1A says it's grade 7, 1B grade 8 and 2A grade 9 - but you couldn't start 2A with a beginner.

I love the approach that The Easy French takes. It is very Charlotte Mason and also teaches the French phonograms. There is explicit grammar instructions in revised texts (1A, 1B, 2A) and it's definitely a well rounded program that teaches in small, manageable steps but also gets somewhere by the end of the book.

The Easy French is well suited to independent learners.

www.theeasyfrench.com

[PamJH]

My daughter did very well with that program for her first high school French class. I had her meet with a tutor once a week since I don't speak French and when I try, my accent is deplorable. The tutor was impressed with the program and set its set-up is far better than most textbooks.

Now my daughter is taking first-year French at our local private college. It's a very beginning class, so she feels confident and is doing well. I credit the tutor and galore park.

[ksva]

We tried BJU French (and Spanish) years ago. Too scattered, little substance, not much methodical grammar instruction, seems to need a teacher who knows some French. Better as a supplement to a 'real' program. (Note: I consider something like Henle Latin to be more of a 'real' program. Plenty of solid grammar instruction and drill.)

17yod pursued the French and sifted through tons of programs by checking them out from the library, buying some, etc. I can ask her what she liked best. Only thing I can remember right now is the French Bible-on-Tape, which she still listens to; but I know she has other stuff on her shelves.

It may help you to reserve tons of programs from the library (for free!) and compare features, grammar presentation, etc., to decide exactly what it is you want in a foreign language program ... before spending all your money on anything.

[Katia]

You also might want to look at French in Action. This is an immersion program that uses textbook, CDs, and video. You can download the video portion for free from the Annenberg website. Even with the free video, the program is pricey but very, very worth it.

My dd used this program completely on her own and tested out of her first two years of college French at Hillsdale, plus the French professor there said she had a terrific accent. She only ever spoke French back to the CD, so I think that is high praise for the French in Action program.