Liaisons: An Introduction to French by Wynne Wong, et al. (review)

and pluperfect subjunctive. Students will particularly benefit from the grammar boxes and communicative exercises, while teachers will most appreciate the examples provided , since there is little new as far as pedagogical techniques or grammatical emphases. It should also be noted that Essential French Grammar is designed specifically for Anglophone students of French, not just because the book is written in English but also because grammatical explanations regularly reference similarities or differences between French and English with little discussion of other languages.All in all, Thacker and d’Angelo have provided a useful French grammar that highlights the continued importance of grammar in language pedagogy while also recognizing advances in research on language acquisition and the importance of contextualization and communication. Bob Jones University (SC) Jeremy Patterson Wong, Wynne, Stacey Weber-Fève, Edward Ousselin, and Bill VanPatten. Liaisons: An Introduction to French. Enhanced 1st ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage, 2015. ISBN 978-1-285-43395-0. Pp. 544. $181. Enriching and innovative, this French language and culture program engages beginning students in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and comprehension activities via its accompanying eponymous film. As the cornerstone of the program, the film immerses students in the French language and in Francophone cultures while infusing everyday situations with native speakers into an intriguing, plot-driven mystery. It entails a brief prologue, seven segments (5–8 minutes long), and a short epilogue. Every film sequence touches on new grammatical concepts, vocabulary, and intercultural tidbits, and as students progress through the series, the content and activities become more rigorous. The textbook contains fourteen 3-part chapters and astutely introduces the multicultural tapestry of the French-speaking world through highlights like Liaisons culturelles, Découvertes culturelles, Un mot sur la culture, Un mot sur la langue, Liaisons musicales, and Si vous y allez, short blurbs with annotations highlighting captivating destinations. The program offers a plethora of French perspectives , featuring magazine-like articles on art,architecture,literature,cinema,science, technology, sociolinguistic information, and introductions to major Francophone musicians and their roots. In addition to the film, an outstanding pedagogical feature of this program is its process-oriented approach to writing, which links writing tasks directly to the reading passages. The reading sections include short cultural texts with pre-reading Internet discovery links and discussion prompts, reading strategy boxes and other tips. The specific writing topics and the focus on process lend themselves well to genre-based writing theory, as the readings beforehand serve as model texts. The place the authors accord to peer editing in the writing process is also key and helps students think critically about language, sentence structure, and the sociocultural 296 FRENCH REVIEW 89.4 Reviews 297 aspects of grammar. Students are thus given the opportunity to see how crucial multiple drafts are and to focus on process as much as product. Another definitive pedagogical gem is the dictation at the end of each chapter section. The authors treat pronunciation and phonetic aspects effectively this way, and the dictée is presented as a cultural product in and of itself as well. Helping students discover the link between the exercise and its undeniable cultural relevance is a brilliant coup and embodies precisely the strength of this program and its utterly fitting title.Like so many programs available today, Liaisons implements integrated teaching and learning components such as a premium website and boasts the cutting-edge iLrn™ course management system. This enhanced edition includes several iLrn™-specific updates, which include improved instructor tools, new activities and videos on Francophone cultural and geographic topics, and audio activity revisions. Furthermore, the “Share It!” feature incorporates new functionalities, including discussion boards, audio recording, and access to class-specific statistics. Finally, the enhanced version of iLrn™ integrates new chapter-specific review sections, which provide students with additional study tools, and is now offered via 24-month access codes. This program successfully strives to help students connect language and culture with their fellow learners, teachers and French-speaking communities locally and globally. Elon University (NC) Sarah Glasco ...