Designed for classroom teachers or independent learners, the textbook pushes the learner past simple sentences and into understanding the language in larger chunks.
This textbook serves as a great way to delve deeper into French. Designed for classroom teachers or independent learners, the textbook pushes the learner past simple sentences and into understanding the language in larger chunks. It is a great way to start using the language in more practical ways while also providing some great cultural background.
Belleville 2 is the second part of this well-known series and it is aimed at students who already have a basic knowledge of the French language. This is a nice second step into the more complex usages of grammar and it is designed for high-school-aged students and up, as the material covered is more advanced.
Something I really love about this book is that Belleville has really tried to hit all of the modes of communication: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Many language textbooks that I have used usually focus on repetition and memorization exercises, but this book truly strives to teach languages in a more natural way by putting the learning objectives in context.
"I really enjoyed working with this book and I would highly recommend it to those who are already familiar with romance languages, or those that have a teacher to guide them."
The structure of the book is very easy to follow. Each chapter starts out with an overview and then it follows through with a sample dialogue, vocabulary words, grammar points and activities, pronunciation exercises, and several reading activities. There is also an accompanying CD containing dialogues and pronunciation lessons which relate to specific chapters of the book. The book also has a number of listening comprehension sections in each lesson in order to help students get used to the sound of the language from the very beginning. Every lesson also follows a specific theme or topic and students can expect to go over themed units such as “at the workplace,” “describing people” and “marriage” just to name a few.
As far as reading goes, this book provides students with plenty of opportunities to practice their reading skills. Every chapter focuses on a specific reading activity and the students also have the option to follow along with the CD as they read. The reading activities also introduce important grammar points and at the end of the article, plenty of examples and explanations are provided. Each chapter also provides students with interesting cultural notes in order to help them gain a deeper understanding of the language. At the end of each chapter students will also work on chapter review questions in order to help them retain the information they had previously gone over.
Things to consider before choosing this book:
French v. English: The book is completely in French. Even the instructions and explanations about grammar structures are in French. This can be a positive thing for students, especially those who want to be challenged and prefer a more “total immersion” approach. If, however, you aren’t very confident about your language skills or you prefer an English explanation to make sure you understand the points, this might not be the book for you.
Drills v. Context: The textbook itself will provide the learner with enough vocabulary and grammar points to study, but it does not provide more than an exercise or two of practice for each chapter. Another thing that I noticed was that there wasn’t a single verb conjugation chart anywhere in the book. In my opinion, the main goal of this textbook is to provide students with reading and listening practice, comprehension questions, and some occasional speaking activities.
If you are looking for a book that provides lots of drilled practice, you might need to buy the workbook since the course book on its own, does not provide too many exercises. I find the lack of drills refreshing, but if you learn best with drills, this may be a hindrance.
Personally, I really enjoyed working with this book and I would highly recommend it to those who are already familiar with romance languages, or those that have a teacher to guide them. If you’re a teacher and can provide your students with supplemental practice, then I would also highly recommend this book since it is a valuable source of reading activities, listening comprehension, and discussion topics.
