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napoleon
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Message 121 of 129

23 July 2014 at 11:16pm | IP Logged

I just finished the final practice-test (Bilan N. 8) of Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant). All but one of my answers were correct (95%).

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Jeffers
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Message 122 of 129

24 July 2014 at 4:14am | IP Logged

napoleon wrote:

I just finished the final practice-test (Bilan N. 8) of Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant). All but one of my answers were correct (95%).

Could you give a review of this book? I've considered buying something from the series, but I haven't quite taken the plunge, partly because I've not seen much feedback about how good they are.
2 persons have voted this message useful

emk
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Message 123 of 129

24 July 2014 at 4:47am | IP Logged

Jeffers wrote:

napoleon wrote:

I just finished the final practice-test (Bilan N. 8) of Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant). All but one of my answers were correct (95%).

Could you give a review of this book? I've considered buying something from the series, but I haven't quite taken the plunge, partly because I've not seen much feedback about how good they are.

I own Grammaire progressive du français : Niveau perfectionnement, and it's an excellent book. Each lesson is two pages long, with clear explanations, well-chosen example sentences, and fill-in-the-blank exercises. It's appropriate for a solid B2 or higher student. The only very slight drawback, for an English speaker, is that it sometimes gives very detailed explanations of things that work the same in both French in English, without pointing out the similarities. But that's unavoidable, given that many people using it will be coming from other backgrounds.

I think the lower-level books use a somewhat different format, and of course you'll need at least rudimentary French to understand even the first volume in the series, because everything's in French.
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Arnaud25
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Message 124 of 129

24 July 2014 at 11:24am | IP Logged

"Grammaire progressive" is a classic. A lot of teachers of FSL use it, so you can't go wrong by choosing it.
The keys of the exercices are not at the end of the books, so if you work alone, you'll have to buy the booklet containing the keys of the exercices.

Another good book for beginners, imho, is "grammaire en dialogues": the dialogues are natural (perhaps a little too fast for real beginners), the keys of the exos are at the end of the book.
But there are less exercices in "grammaire en dialogues" than in "grammaire progressive": only 4 or 5 per chapter, the explainations are short. I think you are supposed to understand the rules more "by context" with the dialogues than by clear explanations.

I think the serial of books "vocabulaire en dialogues" and "grammaire en dialogues" is good: if, like me, you're the kind of person who listen a lot while walking or biking, it's a good way to work passively on what you learn.
Just my personal opinion, of course.

Edited by Arnaud25 on 24 July 2014 at 11:26am
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napoleon
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Message 125 of 129

24 July 2014 at 1:28pm | IP Logged

Jeffers wrote:

napoleon wrote:

I just finished the final practice-test (Bilan N. 8) of Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant). All but one of my answers were correct (95%).

Could you give a review of this book? I've considered buying something from the series, but I haven't quite taken the plunge, partly because I've not seen much feedback about how good they are.

@Jeffers: I think these books would be perfect for you. You're doing the Superchallenge for goodness' sake. :) You should have very little trouble soving them. Get the first Grammaire book (débutant). I'm sure you'll like it, but if you don't, tant pis! You can always try something else.

Before I bought the "Grammaire Progressive du Français" books, I was plagued by a host of questions.
What is so progressive about "Grammaire Progressive du Français"? How do I use these books? Should I buy all four books? Do I have to buy the answer-keys as well?
I scoured the internet for answers and read all the reviews I could find on Amazon.
Now that I've finished the first book, I present to you the Napoleonic F.A.Q. on Grammaire Progressive du Français-

Quote:

F.A.Q. - Grammaire Progressive du Français

What is so progressive about "Grammaire Progressive du Français"?
"Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant)" is an excellent workbook.
It is published by CLE, which also publishes a host of other titles like "Conjugaison Progressive du Français," "Vocabulaire Progressive du Français," and even "Civilisation Progressive du Français."
(I own the first three Grammaire books and the Conjugaison book.)
There are four books in the "Grammaire Progressive" series:
1) "Grammaire Progressive du Français (débutant)"
2) "Grammaire Progressive du Français (intermédiaire)"
3) "Grammaire Progressive du Français (avancé)"
4) "Grammaire Progressive du Français (perfectionnement)

All these books follow the same format:
You have a page of explanations on the left and a page of exercises on the right. These exercises are mostly fill-in-the-gap exercises. There are also questions that require you to transform sentences according to a given model.
You also have several practice-tests interspersed throughout the book.
As the name suggests, the exercises become more difficult as you progress further into the book.

How do I use "Grammaire Progressive du Français"?
The Grammaire (débutant) has 60 exercises and eight practice-tests.
You keep doing chapter after chapter of exercises till you reach the practice-test. You do the practice-test. You check your answers against those given in the key.
If you have trouble understanding a word, use the dictionary. Use google translate if you don't understand a sentence or two.
Then, you keep doing more exercises and more tests till you complete the book.

When should I buy "Grammaire Progressive du Français"?
I can only speak for the first book(débutant). From what I've seen, the other books in the series have a similar format and these observations would apply to them as well.
These books are not meant for an absolute beginner if he does not have a tutor to help him.
The first few exercises are easy. Then, the exercises become progressively difficult.
This book and others like it (in the Progressive series) are entirely in French.
Yes, you heard that right.
No English. Zilch. Nada.
I'd say, buy the first book after you have been exposed to the language for some time.
By the time you finish it, you will get an overview of French grammar. You won't certainly be elected to the L'Academie Française, but you'll be able to write simple sentences on your own.

What about the other books, then?
I've only done the first book. I don't know enough about the other two books to be able to comment.
Having said that, the grammar explanations in it are excellent. So are the exercises. There is simply nothing else like it in the market.
I think the next two books in the series are equally good if not better.

Should I buy all three Grammaire books?
Yes and no.
I think I read an Amazon review that said that the first two books are so similar in difficulty and content that we could go directly from the first book to the third.
I disagree. These books throw a lot of information at you and it is difficult to remember it all. If I really wanted to absorb everything, I could either erase all that I've written for the past year and redo the exercises. Or, I could move on to book two. As they say, practice makes perfect. The more exercises you do, the better you become at grammar.
So, I'd advise you to buy all three books. But, you could skip the second book if you wanted.

Do I have to buy the answer-keys?
If you have a tutor, you can do without them. But, I'd recommend you buy them nonetheless.

I love this book. Are there similar books for other languages?
I have been searching for similar books myself.
As far as I know, the only language for which a similar series exists is English: Cambridge University Press' "English Grammar in Use" and "Advanced Grammar in Use" are both excellent books. Both are solely in English and have the exact same format with explanations and exercises facing each other on opposite pages.
If you know of such a book for a language that is neither French nor English, do drop me a line.

I have another question.
Ask and ye shall receive. :)
Please ask your question in this thread itself and I shall try my best to answer it.

UPDATE:
I see emk and Arnaud responded while I was writing this. They make very interesting points and I completely agree. CLE's Progressive series is a classic. It's a great aid for self-learners like us.
02/10/2014
Jeffers has pointed out that there are four books in the Grammaire Progressive series and I ave updated my review accordingly. Thanks, Jeffers. :)

Edited by napoleon on 02 October 2014 at 3:46pm
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napoleon
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Message 126 of 129

01 October 2014 at 8:42pm | IP Logged

It's been a while since my last post here. I know I should have posted more often but I didn't because I didn't have anything to report.
The Super Challenge has been going rather well: I've finished about 80% of it.
This has improved my listening comprehension. In fact, it has increased to the point where understanding the gist is no longer satisfying. I understand enough now to realise that I do not understand everything and I cannot tell you how frustrating it gets sometimes.
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Jeffers
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Message 127 of 129

01 October 2014 at 10:43pm | IP Logged

Wow, I missed all those reviews of Grammaire Progressive du Français, and I was the one who asked for them! I didn't see that the thread was updated (either I missed the emails or they just didn't come). Thank you emk, Arnaud and napoleon. Since asking, I've actually gotten the CLE Exercices audio de grammaire, which I've reviewed on my thread here (post 82).

Congratulations on your progress, napoleon! I think you've climbed a steep slope and found yourself on a frustrating plateau from which you can see the mountaintop is further away than you thought it would be. Do you do much listening while following the text or transcript? Or have you tried studying a transcript of a film or TV show, and then watching the film/show? I've found both to be quite effective.

EDIT: one correction to your post, napoleon. There are actually four levels in the Grammaire Progressive series. You missed out the Perfectionnement level (mentioned by emk).

Also, could anyone comment about what's on the audio CDs which come with some editions of Grammaire Progressive?

Edited by Jeffers on 01 October 2014 at 10:46pm
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napoleon
Tetraglot
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Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu
Studies: French, Arabic (Written)

Message 128 of 129

02 October 2014 at 4:17pm | IP Logged

Jeffers wrote:

Thank you for an excellent review. On an aside, I've manged to get my hands on the first Civilisation Progressive book. It seems like a great way to get more insight into French culture. Another good book for this is "La culture générale pour les nuls."

Jeffers wrote:

Congratulations on your progress, napoleon! I think you've climbed a steep slope and found yourself on a frustrating plateau from which you can see the mountaintop is further away than you thought it would be. Do you do much listening while following the text or transcript? Or have you tried studying a transcript of a film or TV show, and then watching the film/show? I've found both to be quite effective.

I haven't used any transcripts although I'll admit to using subtitles on occasion. But that's the thing, many times I understand a sentence without being able to repeat it. Sometimes, I need to listen to it twice before I can say "aha".
Small sentences are good. Simple. I have more difficulty with longer sentences which go on and on, like the Nile meandering its way across Egypt and like the waters of the Nile, in the end, I find myself at sea.

Jeffers wrote:

EDIT: one correction to your post, napoleon. There are actually four levels in the Grammaire Progressive series. You missed out the Perfectionnement level (mentioned by emk).

Thanks. I've updated my review. :)

Jeffers wrote:

Also, could anyone comment about what's on the audio CDs which come with some editions of Grammaire Progressive?

Unfortunately, none of my books came with any CDs, so I'm afraid I can't be of any help in this matter. But I suspect they would contain the audio to example sentences from every chapter. Just like the CD that comes with the Hugo book, for example.

Edited by napoleon on 02 October 2014 at 10:58pm

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