About the Book
Je parle francais... un peu: Foundations in Beginning French teaches beginning French in a simple, clear, effective way. Many language textbooks focus solely on grammar, and are exclusively academic in focus. This engaging, interactive textbook makes students comfortable speaking and interacting in the target language, and puts them in charge of their own learning. Based on the premise that students best learn a language by using it to communicate with others rather than relying on technology, Je parle francais... un peu purposely steers students away from CDs, DVDs, and frenetic on-line learning. Instead, the book provides numerous opportunities for students to speak and converse with each other through a variety of activities, such as dialogues, stories, cultural readings, tongue-twisters, word games, and famous quotes. Also included are les Conversations fran�aises, which are in-class skits that encourage students to have fun and experiment with the language without feeling intimidated by the need to be grammatically perfect. The book is concise, containing only the amount of material that can be covered in a one-semester course. Tear-out worksheets are built into the text, which are perfect for homework assignments or additional practice, thus making it unnecessary to buy a supplemental workbook for the course. The tone of the book is un-intimidating, and conversational. The ten chapters of the book teach the language through high-interest topics including college life and personal technology. Extensively class-tested, the material in Je parle francais... un peu gives students what they need to successfully master written and spoken French at the beginning level. Je parle francais... un peu is written for French 1 and 2 at the community college or lower division university level. It can also be used in Beginning French at the high school level. Dierdre Wolownick is Professor of French, Spanish, and ESL/EFL at American River College, Sacramento, CA. Since 1971, she has taught five foreign languages to students of all ages in New York, France, California, and Japan. Her credentials include an M.A. in French and B.A. in Romance Languages/Secondary Education (Queens College, CUNY), a D.U.E.L. (l'Universit� de Reims, France), a Certificate in TESOL (UCLA), and many years evaluating international essays for Educational Testing Service. Having learned eight languages, Professor Wolownick knows what one needs to know in order to acquire language.
