Je vis en France: vingt lectures faciles pour découvrir la civilisation française par Marie Barthe et Bernadette Chovelon (review)

Methods and Materials edited by Frédérique Grim Barthe, Marie, et Bernadette Chovelon. Je vis en France: vingt lectures faciles pour découvrir la civilisation française. Grenoble: PUG, 2016. ISBN 978-2-7061-25270 . Pp. 225. For teachers of French seeking to supplement course materials with a reader, the available offerings can be unsatisfactory. Readings may be too focused on literary texts, the level of language too advanced, or practice limited to comprehension questions with little attention given to promoting language development. Je vis en France offers an interesting alternative to standard French readers, one focused on building students’ cultural competence as well as skills in reading, listening, speaking, and writing in a unique integrated approach. Designed for first-year students (CEFRL A1 level), the book consists of 20 short readings—mostly dialogues or descriptive texts created by the authors—focusing on various aspects of French culture, such as la Fête de la musique, le bac, la baguette, le tutoiement, les gens âgés, les immigrés, la parité des sexes. Readings are short (1 to 11 ⁄2 pages), each preceded by a short introduction and a link to an online audio version of the text. Three distinct sections follow, each with a different focus. Pour comprendre sections focus on comprehension, with input activities designed to facilitate identification and production of the groupes rythmiques of the text, as well as vrai/faux and open-ended comprehension questions. The Pour écrire sections focus on writing, with sentence completion or cloze activities accompanied by a word bank, a crossword puzzle using word bank items, and simple creative writing tasks.The Pour dire sections concentrate on speaking.Questions target readers’reactions to the cultural themes, while encouraging comparisons between French culture and that of the learner. Some readings include additional activities, such as role-plays, and answers for most activities are provided. This book is clearly designed to allow flexibility. Each reading is an independent unit, and instructors can select readings according to their interests, cultural themes treated, and the needs of the curriculum. As such, the book can serve as a supplement to course material or as a source of material for testing and assessment. Indeed, given the design of each reading unit, whose activities progress through distinct phases of interpretative reading/listening, presentational/interpersonal writing, and presentational/interpersonal speaking, readings could serve as the basis for performance assessments, although the interpersonal component is at times lacking,and instructors may need to make modifications for assessment purposes. While the level of language seems at times slightly too advanced for A1-level/first-year students, the readings are interesting, and the activities provide a good number of creative opportunities for students to practice and develop 230 FRENCH REVIEW 91.4 Reviews 231 their skills of written and oral expression, making this a potentially useful resource for teachers of French. University of Arizona Joseph Edward Price Bourgeacq, Jacques. Côte à côte: étude comparative de l’anglais et du français.Virginia Beach: Villa Magna-Virginia Institute, 2016. ISBN 978-1-94-017816-5. Pp. 154. L’introduction définit clairement le terrain où se situe cet ouvrage, ainsi que la philosophie qui participe au domaine de l’étude comparative de l’anglais et du français. Bourgeacq se positionne d’emblée. Ce manuel servira de base aux étudiants de troisième année (et après) dans leur apprentissage du français et de la traduction. Constatant le manque de méthodes pour les étudiants ‘undergraduate’, ce manuel propose de combler la lacune et devancer ainsi le travail qu’il restera à faire dans les études avancées. Côte à côte pourra être utilisé en tant que manuel de base à la traduction, de supplément aux cours de composition de troisième année, ou simplement de révision grammaticale. Écrit en français clair, le livre fournit des exercices et des parties théoriques concises et beaucoup de conseils, avec quelques traductions de termes en anglais. Il sert à développer ‘l’instinct’ de l’étudiant(e), et non à lui donner uniquement des analyses de différences entre les langues. Nous sommes loin de toute mémorisation mécanique...