Easy French Reader, Second Edition

Wow, I haven't even thought about this book since I started studying French with it when I was a little kid. I can't say I'm surprised it's still so popular - the book works. What made this book so great was you're learning about French culture and history and literature through the language, so you're not just learning straight vocabulary. At the top of each section is a list of new words, and at the end are reading comprehension questions. In the beginning of the book, the lessons are extremely simple and geared toward the absolute beginner (the equivalent of things like: Christine is American. Charles is French. Christine has a little dog named Chou-Chou.). As you progress, the sections become more involved, finally evolving from short skits involving fictional French and American students to short summaries about French history. Finally, you'll have actual short tales from French writers like Maupassant (whose "The Necklace" is still one of my favorite stories for its wicked humor). Through the progression of the textbook's three sections, the reading comprehension questions get progressively more advanced as well as the vocabulary. All told, this is a great book for beginning to intermediate students. This book may be a little beneath advanced students, who would only find the last few stories to be at their level. In that case, I would recommend Wallace Fowlie's "French Stories/Contes francais" (a dual language book), which is a very nice compendium of Voltaire, Balzac, Gide and other great French writers and at a level appropriate for the advanced student. It should be noted that, in addition to French history and culture, this book is about building up vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. That's it. If you're really serious about your French proficiency, you're going to need to apply yourself to learning grammar and conjugation, and those things are not covered in this text. So in conclusion, this is a great book, but it should just be a supplement to your learning arsenal. Just a tip: a book that I STILL own, because it's the best French resource ever, is "The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practice" by David Stillman. Whereas already-conjugated verbs just appear in the Easy French Reader with no explanation, Stillman's book offers three-hundred pages covering every aspect of grammar, from the basics of conjugation all the way up to proverbs and figures of speech. Well-worth the investment.

This book has worked well in my effort to study French at home, without taking a class, with zero background knowledge. It is much more entertaining than memorizing vocabulary and studying grammar rules. The language is presented in context and the gradual progression seems to purposefully expose you to passages where you must use your brain to intuit meaning, just as you will in a real situation. I go to french.about.com for grammar explanations

A graded reader for beginners. The vocabulary and (especially) the verb forms are strictly controlled. This makes it a good way to start noticing agreements, prepositions, and so on without running into a lot of unfamiliar grammar. The readings are fairly interesting too!One of the best NTC lnguage books.

Whether you are studying French in a formal course or learning at home with CDs, this book is a GREAT resource for learning to read French. It is made up of three parts: a clever dialogue section to get you warmed up, then some interesting (really!)readings in French history, finally ending with French literature (slightly simplified & with a few translations in the margins). A person beginning French from ground zero, with no more than basic (subtitled French movie) knowledge, will find him/herself reading and understanding pages and pages of French after a few nights' read. Amazing! I'm ready to move on to France Soir or Le Figaro -- with the help of a decent dictionary bien sur!

I really enjoy this book. The texts are fun to read as well as easy to absorb. In a short time, i feel that my reading comphrehension skill level has shot up dramatically. There are a few reasons why this book is successful:(1) Unlike other language programs which gives you set conversational pieces (which quickly becomes boring and too regimental), the stories in this book built on each other. Key phrases are repeated in different chapters to reinforce learning.(2) the stories are memorable and fun to read. I've also found that in a very short time i've become very familiar with how phrases/sentences should be put together - something i had not experienced with other French learning materials. This teaching method is remarkably effective.(3) Because the stories are so interesting, i want to read them over and over again. I would also recommend that you should read them aloud. (4) Finally, it teaches you a lot about French culture and history. You will learn about all the important periods in French history, French kings, famous French authors and their works.All in all, it is a very good book to supplement your French studies. Bonne chance, mes amis!!