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| Rating |  |
| Type | Paperback |
| List Price | $10.95 |
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| Categories | General AAS French General Paperback Printed Books |
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Description |
A fun and easy new way to quickly acquire or enhance basic reading skills These unique guides are based on the premise that the best way to learn a language is to start reading it, immediately. Suitable for raw beginners to intermediate-level language learners, the new editions of these popular titles feature engaging readings of progressive difficulty that allow learners to rapidly build comprehension. Easy French Reader begins with the adventures of two friends, an American and a Parisian, as they learn about their respective cultures. This is followed by readings on the history of France, from ancient Gaul to the present. The final section features four abridged short stories by famous French authors. Similarly, Easy Spanish Reader begins with the story of two high school seniors involved with their Spanish Club, followed by a history of Mexico, from the Conquistadors to the present, and an abridged version of the classic story of "Lazarillo de Tormes." - Progressive format makes it easy to quickly build comprehension
- Marginal word glossaries conveniently present new words and phrases
- Exercises challenge comprehension and build reading skills
Attractive new editions, fully updated and featuring appealing new artwork and expanded exercises |
Customer Reviews |
 This book is an absolute GEM and great value! 2009-06-29 |
| By Patrick D. Goonan (Pleasanton, CA) |
| This book is one of my favorite French resources. I agree with the other reviewers that it has entertaining stories that help you REMEMBER vocabulary and absorb grammar. It starts out with basic French, but it advances quickly. There is a version of this book that comes with a CD of a native speaker reading the text. This is a VERY BIG value added feature. Interestingly, however, only 2 of the 3 sections are recorded and this is NOT an error. I contacted the publisher and they didn't get around to it! It might be present in future additions, however. Either way, it's a good solid book for the money. |
 An easy overview of French history for students of French and France 2009-06-24 |
| By Monique Adam (Oakland, CA USA) |
| I like the easy and slightly historical study this book offers. The language is simple yet instructive. Its simplicity is an asset. Students are interested and it is very good for reading aloud. |
| Easy French Reader is excellent! 2009-06-19 |
| By T. Biedke |
| I tutor a number of French students of different levels, and they all love this book. It allows the reader to feel successful right away, with little grammer or reading experience. It also encourages growth as the passages increase in length and sophistication. |
| really helpful 2009-02-03 |
| By Richard Almasi (Europa) |
You should only start using this book once you are confident in French pronunciation, which usually means after the first couple of chapters in your regular textbook.
I am one of those people who love learning another language by reading, partly because I enjoy reading and partly because I learn alot about the language this way. I like finding patterns in foreign texts I read and figure out for myself what they might mean, abit like what mathematicians do.
By reading longer texts like this, you get to see the structure in the language, this clarity is sometimes lost in textbooks because they tend to use rows of one-line sentences rather than flowing dialogues.
You can use this book alongside you basic French studies or just afterward, it is also a very good book for revision purposes if you don't want to go through a textbook again.
You don't need to know every word in this book to benefit from it, I for one did not.
If you focus on pronunciation and speech-flow, you will notice that your reading speed will increase significantly even after just the first couple of sections. You also build up an intuitive sense of the grammar and words.
If you want to impress your teachers, then this book is a good investment.
The excercises are mainly comprehension excercises, and they are very well crafted to give you a balanced challenge: not too hard and not too easy.
My only complaint about this book is that the dictionary at the back is really short, so if you are one of those persons who need to learn every single word you read, you should really get a dictionary.
|
 Not Done Right 2008-10-02 |
| By Willy (Nevada) |
I give this 2 stars because the first part is good. They will list 30 to 40 words, with their translations, which are used in the short conversation stories that follow and it works well.
Then in Part 2 they got lazy and stupid. Part 2 is made up of much longer stories but suddenly the amount of words they list with translations goes down to as few as 15. Part 2 is about the history of France. By it's nature, it uses many words that you will rarely come across, and most aren't listed and translated with the story. There is a small dictionary in the back of the book where you can find some of these words but most are missing. Part two is also a dry and boring read because it covers the history of France which doesn't do anybody any good now. Part 3 is even worse than Part 2 with only a handful of words and even longer stories. How about stories asking for directions or where a good restaurant is?
The authors apparently believe in some mystical power that if they teach you a few words, you will magically know all the words in the French language. For beginning French students, they should have used high usage common everyday words. Another stupid thing they did was give you exercises with questions and crossword puzzles but they don't provide the answers anywhere in the book. Laziness.
This is just another example of a person or company out to make a buck. It almost appears like someone started the book with good intentions and then quit, so someone else stepped in and just slapped the rest of it together to get it done. You are better off getting a regular book written in French and using a dictionary to translate, because that is exactly what you will be doing with this one.
For those of you thinking it must be me because there are so many 5 star reviews, go read those 5 star reviews. Most of them say "Great Beginner Book", and then go on to say such things as "I just finished College French 101" or "good if you had French 101 or 102". How interesting. The only people saying it is a good beginner book are those people who aren't beginners. |
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