Alter Ego, A2: Methode de Francais

Having previously reviewed the first book of the Alter Ego universe, the time seemed apt to do the second text a bit of justice by explaining my understanding of what its merits (and detriments) happen to be, what it tries to achieve, and finally, what are some alternative resources you can try if you are unsatisfied with this particular item for self-study (I find this to be the biggest/most common criticism of the series).Alter Ego is not designed for self study. Period. If you are interested in learning French in an auto-didactic fashion, you are simply wasting your time (and money) by purchasing this item. This is the current textbook for the Alliance Francaise, a language-school located throughout the world. The material in the book is going to appear absolutely bonkers if you don't have an experienced, native, fluent professor guiding your through the various chapters. I strongly disagree with the statement that the book is rather randomly strewn together - in reality, there is a surprising amount of structure and logic to the way in which the material is assembled, but I will agree that it is unconventional, especially if your frame of reference is something like a conventional grammar exercise workbook or course textbook.Each "lesson" covers a specific topic - the topic is then supplemented by a lot of different types of images, passages, quotes, posters, etc. that deal in some way with the subject matter. Generally speaking, the book is designed to stimulate interaction/provide discussion material, while working on the core competencies of any language - reading, writing, speaking, oral comprehension and grammatical understanding. This is why the book comes with a CD - it is for the listening exercises, which are designed to enrich your vocabulary and test your capacity for understanding native speakers in conversations of progressive complexity. Are you going to encounter words during this process that you are not going to find useful? Absolutely - the beautiful thing about language, any language, is that every person utilizing it has a unique way of speaking; we all have phrases and linguistic tendencies - certain words simply will not form a part of your vocabulary because they will not resonate with your personality. This holds true for native English speakers, I think it would be ridiculous if it didn't apply to anyone in their French studies.In all honesty, the GENERAL setup/layout/structure of AlterEgo 2 is identical to AlterEgo 1. The BIG difference between the two books is this - the material that you have to read and work with is more complex. The grammar that you are going to learn is MUCH more complex. The A2 level that this book covers is quite challenging, and it also tends to be where a lot of people quit the program (I am not the owner of this insight, my professor at the time pointed this out). Things like the subjective, conditional, future, future anterior, plus-que-parfait, etc are all introduced and worked on heavily here (if I recall correctly). Are there a lot of "pictures" in this book? Sure, that's a valid criticism. In my experience, after spending an hour on conjugations and verb tenses that at times seemed overwhelming, an image and some discussion was, quite frankly, a welcomed relief.Finally, let's talk about some items you can try if you are interested in self study; to reiterate, do not buy this book if this is your objective. It has nothing to do with your intelligence or your looks (scientifically speaking, 100% of people who like this review have been found to be incredibly intelligent and strikingly attractive, but I digress) - the book is just not designed for that sort of thing; it's THAT simple. You can find great exercises via "Study Shack" a Google Chrome application. There are a number of webcasts from "imagiers" which are phenomenally clear, articulate, and useful (the organization has posted 200,000+ of these, they seem to have everything covered). If you want to listen to podcasts, simply search Europe 1 or RTL, they have tons of audio programs on their websites which are free to stream anywhere in the world. I really like "Practice Makes Perfect" workbooks, I find that they are great for solidifying concepts, especially if you learn well through a lot of written exercises (Complete French Grammar is outstanding). There is also "French Verb Workbook", a great resource if you want to understand how some of the more complex French verb tenses actually translate into English.To summarize, the book is fantastic but targets a very specific audience. Unless you are working with a tutor/prof who requests that you buy it, I would suggest that you try some other resource for self-study; that however should not take away from the quality of the material that the authors have produced.

This was obviously cheaper then new but still the Book has a small torn in the front cover... and the CD is no where to be found which sucks because i really wanted it to listen to the lessons....On the bright side i like that it does not have anything written on it which is very nice!

My Alliance Francaise teacher specified this book. I find it challenging, but it's very topical so keeps the class interested rather than having something thaty pertains to the young only. Our class is average age 50

I've had one French professor that was able to manipulate this book well.However, I've had about 5 others who had no idea what to do with this book (and its other levels) and it's served me no use.This book is not for self study, and you won't enjoy it unless your a sadist.

Frankly, this is a terrible book. The layout it confusing, the binding and paper is cheap, and the information is buried under a lot on nonsense graphics. I would not recommend it for a serious language student, *particularly not* for someone who may be trying to learn on their own.

There about 20 learning methods listed by DELF's governing body, CIEP, that teach French that are (advertized as) suitable for late teens and adults. That's the type of manuals, it seems, that are used by language schools such as the Alliance française (e.g., that of Atlanta, GA, currently uses Echo). They are not for self study: the ones I have reviewed (to follow) have no English guidelines or translations, or solutions to exercises. Department of French at US universities may or may not follow the DELF standard. Those who don't rely on what appear to be true-and-tested methods, such as 'En bonne forme', in its 8th edition since 1978, priced $172, for which excerpts are nowhere to be found, and which comes with a 'Student activities manual' priced $90...My ideal textbook for acquiring the fundamentals of a language (leaving oral comprehension aside), is one whose lessons are organized around a text (a short story, essay etc.) focusing on a particular topic, which is a bit challenging but whose vocabulary, and some points of grammar, are thoroughly studied. I have used such a book for learning German, 'Leçon d'Allemand systématique'. Challenge + focus + and clever memorization (I'll get back to that) are a good recipe for creating a memorable learning experience. The familiarity with the lessons I studied is lasting, such that I can rapidly refresh my knowledge with that book at any time.To sum up my philosophy: give the student something interesting to read, and he'll do a good job of learning.The two DELF student manuals («Livre de l'élève») I have reviewed are Alter ego 2 (A2), 3 (B1), and Écho A2. At level A2, they don't meet the above criterion very well: each lesson focuses on a particular theme, but is organized around multiple, short, and often uninspiring, documents, such as imagined dialogues (illustrated by sketches of poor quality, in the case of Echo), press clips, etc. This arises from the apparently fashionable belief that, to get motivated for a foreign language, students have to be exposed to, and simulate in class, a 'real situation', in the workplace (think «métro-boulot-dodo»), with their friends etc. Leveling down may be unavoidable for oral comprehension, not everything else. Alter ego A2 has 'bonus' material at the end of each chapter («Carnet de voyage»), which is a bit more inspiring than the three lessons that precede it (1). The good news is that it gets better at level B1, at least for Alter ego (I haven't reviewed Echo's).In the two books under consideration, students are supposed to infer the structure of the language from the reading material («Point de langue»). That's fine in the classroom. Away from it, they have to rely on his their own notes, sparse flashcards («Aide mémoire»), and a handbook of grammar at the end of the book. In my ideal book, the points of grammar are stated at the end of the lesson in which they are encountered. Same for the lexicon, and it is expanded to include parent expressions? For example, Chapter 1 introduces the expression «j’ai été attiré par...» ("I was attracted by..."), in the context of seduction. Here are groups of expressions that, I think, should have been listed : «les opposés s'attirent» ("opposites attract"), «j'attire votre attention sur» ("I draw your attention to"), «il s'attire des ennuis» ("he gets into trouble"); «l'attirance physique» ("physical attraction"); «une attirance dans les deux sens» ("two-ways attraction"); «attraction fatale» ("fatal attraction"), «parc d'attraction» ("amusement parc"); «l'attrait de la France» ("France's attractiveness"), «l'attrait du pouvoir» ("the lure of power"). Isn't the synergy obvious?The practice session at the end of each chapter is worthwhile.(1) Summary of the bonus material in Chapter 3. Figure 1: a press clip about Hergé, the author of the ‘adventures of Tintin’, and his “deep friendship” with a Chinese native, Tchang, who influenced his work (illustrated by the cover of, and and excerpt from, the comic strip ‘The blue lotus’). Figure 2: painting by Magritte, Les Amants IV. 1. Figure 3: page titled “Encounter abroad” of a book by Philippe Delerm. Figure 4: Poster and synopsis of the movie «Voisins voisines».