Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148374 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

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 Réfléchissez et considérez 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 écrite activities seems appropriate and relevant. I love the new role-play activities in the Situations à 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 Réféchissez et considérez 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 (café, 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 the Author
Kimberly Jansma received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. She coordinates the French Language Program at The University of California at Los Angeles where she directs TA development and teaches all levels of language, including French linguistics. She has published several pedagogical texts and presented her research at major conferences. Dr. Jansma's areas of interest include content-based instruction, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, technology applied to second language instruction and curriculum development.

Margaret Ann Kassen, who received her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, is Associate Professor and Language Program Coordinator in the Department of Modern Languages at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. She teaches undergraduate French and applied linguistics courses and 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 presenting at conferences Dr. Kassen has published articles on technology and writing and edited a volume on developing self-direction in foreign language learners.

Customer Reviews

A feeble attempt to improve on Deux Mondes
As a textbook, Motifs is not so bad. If you liked the style of Deux Mondes, but got really frustrated with all of the anglicisms, grammatical errors, and misleading or outdated pictures, Motifs might be a decent alternative. Beware, however, of the QUIA program that accompanies Motifs!!! The QUIA program is based on the Motifs workbook and from the first exercise it will lead you and your students into a quagmire of frustration through misleading model sentences and errors. I've used Motifs for two semesters and am in search of a textbook with a better package.

Book does not come with the key for QUIA...
I think this book is terrible and they need to get a different one for French, but that's besides the point because you need it anyway if your college uses it.

One important note though: When you buy this book, know that it does not come with the book key for QUIA (online companion). It does come with the 2 CD's which you never use in class, but can use at home. But if your professor will require you to do the QUIA stuff for homework, which they usually do, this book will not provide the key for it. Usually the one you can buy at your bookstore comes with a key, but is very expensive. What I did was buy a cheaper version on eBay, then bought the book key on the website which is about $90.

Start Here
This is a good book to get if you wish to learn French. Great list of vocabulary at the end of every chapter, the problem exercises are relevant and useful, and the tape that accompanies this book helps you understand the material better. The organisation of it all could stand some improvement, but overall it is a useful and well-constructed language book.