French in Action: A Beginning Course in Language and Culture

by Pierre J. Capretz, Béatrice Abetti, Marie-Odile Germain

The textbook contains the complete script of the continuing story of Mireille and Robert, along with more than 1,000 explanatory paragraphs, drawings, cartoons, and diagrams to explain new linguistic material. More than 200 new authentic documents are provided in the second edition. These maps, charts, literary excerpts, and other documents help teach reading and introduce students to French culture. Also new to the second edition are great learning activities, including writing and reading exercises to expand students' ability to communicate through writing and to understand by reading contextually. Extensive questions for monitoring students' comprehension of the story are are are also included.

Genres: France, Language, Textbooks, Reference, Nonfiction

612 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 1987

Reviews

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yale University Prof. Pierre Capretz understood that language learning requires an immersion experience. As the introduction to French in Action explains, French is not a translation of English. It is a language unto itself, and therefore must be understood in its own context. Consequently, not a word of English is spoken during the dialogues or during Capretz’s entertaining commentary about them.

Meta language learning, or learning about a language instead of learning a language itself, may be of interest to academic linguists, but it fails the reality test. When it comes to foreign languages, what really matters is the ability to understand and communicate.

Sitting in front of a classroom of English-speaking students, Capretz invites them to invent a story about a French student (Mireille) and an American tourist (Robert). (“Pour apprendre le français, nous allons inventer une histoire...”) Their adventures together offer an opportunity to focus on various aspects of French culture, history, geography, and everyday life: working, traveling, dining, shopping, etc. The story is structured as a romantic comedy, featuring an abundance of appealing personalities or, in one case, a menacing one. Capretz’s brilliant sense of humor is an added feature.

The action unfolds in an earlier era—before the introduction of the euro—and the France depicted seems almost too idyllic. But I didn’t mind, and I am following up by reading the original version of Laurence Wylie’s Les Français written in 1970. Both are intellectual achievements that have stood the test of time.

[Susan Haines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure, it's dated, but it's been the best thing I've used so far to help my build from a long-ago foundation of French. I've been watching the Annenberg videos, one per day, followed by the book. It's still very hard to understand French at the normal pace of a speaker, but I can understand a lot as Capretz reviews the videos in a slower pace and with repetition.

[Raul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best language learning method I have encountered so far, even though it was a bit too beginner for me.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the neatest way is to use all three aural systems
a. Pimsleur - French I II III
b. Michel Thomas - Beginner + Intermediate [for the grammaticals]
c. Eyewitness Travel 15-Minute French book [I'm highly impressed with the German one]
d. French In Action / The Capretz Method

If anyone else has books/materials/dictionaries to carry on after Capretz, toss me an private email, I'd like to hear how people got to the next step in fluency.

[Alex]

French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture : The Capretz Method: Textbook by Pierre Capretz (1994)

[Yi An · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant method of learning a new language. Thank you M. Capretz. Je vous remercie toujours.

[Benjamin Bookman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great program! There is so much in here and it all goes together beautifully.

[Angela Randall]

The videos are recommended highly in this article. This is the accompanying book.

[Lisa]

French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture, the Capretz Method: Part One by Pierre Capretz (1997)