C'Est Ca

After a long time of searching for a book that would actually help me, I found this one: a high school textbook called "C'est Ca!". It's very difficult to find non-textbooks that are designed for intermediate or advanced learners of French, so I decided to look into textbooks. I found that "C'est Ca!" is an excellent title designed for intermediate learners and it's easy to follow. "C'est Ca!" is the sister title of "Dis-Moi!" and "Viens Voir!", the ones which, unfortunately, I have not read. However, I can tell you how "C'est Ca!" presents itself. Fifteen chapters comprise the text, each one having its own "theme." For example, Chapter 1 has a theme of the education system of France. The chapter begins with the "Prelude Culturel" (or: cultural opener) that discusses a piece of French culture. For Chapter 1, it discusses (in French, I might add) how difficult the French graduation exam is. In beginning the chapter, many short dialogues are written in a "Contexte Communicatif," which is just a section showing how the new vocabulary for the chapter is used in everyday French. The dialogues generally relate to the theme of the chapter. Several exercises follow to reinforce the new vocabulary. Proceeding is another section that is called "Applications." This section varies from chapter to chapter of being dialogues, or other little things that show the chapter's theme or vocabulary in context. Additionally, questions about the "Applications" follow. For the rest of the chapter, the order can vary from chapter to chapter, but each one is similar in layout. "Explications 1" and "Explications 2" are where the actual 'learning' takes place. New grammatical concepts are laid out followed by the rules and exceptions. They're very easy to read and understand. Several exercises are included with each new grammatical lesson. Additionally, more "Applications" are included to reinforce the lessons. Finally, at the end of the chapter are review exercises of the entire chapter and a page of new vocabulary that should be mastered by the end of the chapter. If you're interested in increasing your French and already have a foundation, "C'est Ca!" is great. It won't get you fluent, but it's still an excellent resource for grammatical review.