Motifs: An Introduction to French, 4th Edition (Book & 2 CD-ROMs) - Hardcover

Jansma, Kimberly; Kassen, Margaret Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1413029817 ISBN 13: 9781413029819

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2006

Synopsis

By immersing you in French language and culture, the MOTIFS learning program will have you communicating in French with confidence! From the very first chapter, you will learn the structures, vocabulary, communication strategies, and cultural background that allow you to interact with your peers in the classroom and with French-speaking people in a wider context. And to ensure your success, MOTIFS is supported by helpful learning tools that allow you to see and hear French as it is spoken today.

About this title

About the Author:

Kimberly Jansma directs the French Language Program at The University of California at Los Angeles, where she supervises teaching instructors and teaches language, culture, and linguistics courses. She has published pedagogical texts and multimedia materials and presents her research at major conferences. Dr. Jansma's areas of interest include hybrid language instruction, second language acquisition, and sociolinguistics. She received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Margaret Ann Kassen is associate professor and language program coordinator in the Department of Modern Languages at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she teaches undergraduate French and applied linguistics courses, as well as works with graduate and undergraduate teacher preparation. Her research interests include foreign language writing, performance assessment, technology-enhanced language learning, and TA development. In addition to presenting at conferences, Dr. Kassen has published articles on technology and writing and edited a volume on developing self-direction in foreign language learners. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Review:

"I like the topics; they are high frequency and interesting for most students. The grammar topics are well sequenced and coordinate well with the themes overall. The new Reflechissez et considerez sections are a welcome addition! Students are better able to grasp the material (grammar structure) when they can see patterns. I really like the green pages, and I get very good feedback from my students. They find them clear, concise, not overloaded with too much detail or information. The examples that show how the structures are used are generally good. Most outstanding [is the] emphasis on communicative aspect of language, with useful accompanying in-class activities. Also, very accessible, well-organized easy to find and follow grammar structures!"

"The new culture section, Voix en direct, the follow-up questions, and the accompanying activities in the workbook seem useful. I am pleased with the Thème section which seems a bit more focused and helps organizing the structures. I also liked the "Notez et analysez" feature which allows students to contextualize grammar. The revision of Expression ecrite activities seems appropriate and relevant. I love the new role-play activities in the Situations a jouer sections because it wraps up the structure nicely by giving students a chance to practice the materials studied in the structure through a simulation of real-life situations."

"I'm pleased with the Refechissez et considerez sections because they invite the students to reflect on the use of the vocabulary/ grammar learned in context. They also allow students to engage in a comparative study of how the French do/say things versus how they do/say them in their own cultural context. I also particularly liked the introduction of updated vocabulary. In my opinion, the exercises and activities are the strongest point of Motifs. The authors have done a good job creating exercises and activities that facilitate the understanding and application of vocabulary and grammar, and that challenge students' creativity. There is a good balance of listening and speaking activities, and I like the fact that students are consistently reminded what it is they need to pay special attention to, while doing these activities."

"This book is very concentrate on communicative exercise which I love. It is very well done and varies the different exercise. Some of them are just repetition exercise, which is needed at the beginning, and later become more and more creative. I also like the separation of grammar and the rest. I know the students liked it too because, for them, the green pages are references. And students don't like to mess up with a table of content so they go directly to the green [pages]. Motifs is really unique because of that separation between the grammar and the other sections. I really like it because it focused only on one grammar point at a time. I also like the exercises since they are progressively more difficult."

"Motifs avoids the pitfall of many textbooks with regard to the presentation of culture in the sense that it provides a good variety of topics that are current and, in most cases, stimulating. It does not dwell on stereotypes and while it offers its share of traditionally French topics (cafe, food, fashion) it also presents culture "outside the box". The connection between culture/content and grammatical structures is outstanding and maintained throughout the textbook, the workbook/lab manual."

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1413029817
• ISBN 13: 9781413029819
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 544