Synopses & Reviews
HORIZONS is a complete elementary French program that makes learning French easier through its step-by-step skill-building methodology, flexible and accessible approach to grammar and new vocabulary, and creative yet sophisticated coverage of Francophone culture. Through varied interactive activities and clear grammar explanations, the text helps you communicate effectively in French while culturally connecting you to the Francophone world. HORIZONS features a clear, easy-to-follow structure that carefully guides you, Competence by Competence, through your first year of elementary French.
Review
"I will continue to praise the Horizons textbook to my colleagues. I think that instructors will agree that the modifications are true improvements. The challenge is when a textbook does not interest the student. Students are definitely going to relate well to the new proposed material."
Review
"It is the Selections Musicales that stand out as innovative: these sections give students a vivid example of how French is really spoken as well as samples of current, popular music. It addresses the concern of students who think the grammar/vocabulary is not sufficiently adapted to actual circumstances they might encounter once in a French-speaking country."
Review
"There are many things we love about this textbook. It is very interactive, the abundant exercises are cleverly designed to get students speaking and interacting, and for the most part, the activities are fun and interesting for the students. The authors have provided a plethora of annotations with neat ideas for reviewing and practicing material. I always tell our adjuncts that just using the ideas in the book will make you seem so smart and creative. We also like the amount of materials provided. It's not too cram-packed with distracting pictures and text, but there is enough to keep the students on their toes. The grammar covered is just enough. Many of the finer grammar points are dropped in favor of a more holistic approach and a greater emphasis on culture and communication."
Review
"Based on experience, music REALLY works to get students to work hard on vocabulary and pronunciation, and adding popular culture helps engagement. I love grammar, so I am also excited about the 2 page grammar revision at the end."
About the Author
Joan Manley is Professor Emeritus from the University of Texas at El Paso. During her 33 years as a faculty member, she gave over 100 workshops and conference presentations and authored 50 journal articles. She was a trainer and tester of the Oral Proficiency Interview, which led to the current emphasis on skill building and proficiency as exemplified in teaching programs such as HORIZONS.Stuart Smith received her degrees and her first training and experience in teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. She has been teaching at Austin Community College since 1981 and has been authoring foreign language textbook and textbook materials since 1986.John McMinn is Professor of French and Spanish at Austin Community College, where he has taught since 1986. After doing graduate studies in Romance Linguistics at The University of Texas at Austin, he also worked as an editor of high school and college-level language books. In addition to HORIZONS, he is coauthor of two Spanish textbooks.Marc Andre Prevost received his degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. He taught seven years at The University of Texas at Austin and has been a professor at Austin Community College since 1993. He has coauthored foreign language textbooks since 1986.
Table of Contents
Part I: LE MONDE FRANCOPHONE. 0. On commence! Regional Focus: Le monde francophone. Competence 1: Greeting people. Competence 2: Counting and describing your week. Competence 3: Talking about yourself and your schedule. Competence 4: Communicating in class. Comparaisons culturelles: L'heure officielle. Part II: SUR LA CÔTE D'AZUR. 1. À l'universite. Regional Focus: La France et ses regions. Competence 1: Identifying people and describing appearance. Competence 2: Describing personality. Competence 3: Describing the university area. Competence 4: Talking about your studies. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: L'accent grave. Comparaisons culturelles: Les etudes. Sur la Côte d'Azur. 2. Après les cours. Regional Focus: Nice. Competence 1: Saying what you like to do. Competence 2: Saying how you spend your free time. Competence 3: Asking about someone's day. Competence 4: Going to the cafe. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Aux Trois Obus. Comparaisons culturelles: Le cafe et le fast-food. Selections musicales. Part III: EN AMÉRIQUE. 3. Un nouvel appartement. Regional focus: En Amerique: Le Quebec. Competence 1: Talking about where you live. Competence 2: Talking about your possessions. Competence 3: Describing your room. Competence 4: Giving your address and phone number. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Les couleurs et leurs effets sur la nature humaine. Comparaisons culturelles: Le Quebec d'aujourd'hui. 4. En famille. Regional focus: En Amerique: La Louisiane. Competence 1: Describing your family. Competence 2: Saying where you go in your free time. Competence 3: Saying what you are going to do. Competence 4: Planning how to get there. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Cœur des Cajuns. Comparaisons culturelles: La francophonie en Louisiane et ses origines. Selections musicales. Part IV: A PARIS. 5. Les projets. Regional focus: La France. Competence 1: Saying what you did. Competence 2: Telling where you went. Competence 3: Discussing the weather and your activities. Competence 4: Deciding what to wear and buying clothes. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: L'emploi du temps des Français. Comparaisons culturelles: Les loisirs des Français. Bienvenue en Europe francophone. 6. Les sorties. Regional focus: Paris. Competence 1: Inviting someone to go out. Competence 2: Talking about how you spend and used to spend your time. Competence 3: Talking about the past. Competence 4: Narrating in the past. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Le cinema français et le cinema americain. Comparaisons culturelles: Le cinema: les preferences des Français. Selections musicales. Part V: EN NORMANDIE. 7. La vie quotidienne. Regional focus: La France et sa diversite. Competence 1: Describing your daily routine. Competence 2: Talking about relationships. Competence 3: Talking about what you did and used to do. Competence 4: Describing traits and characteristics. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Conte pour enfants de moins de trois ans (extrait). Comparaisons culturelles: L'amour et le couple. 6. La bonne cuisine. Regional focus: La Normandie. Competence 1: Ordering at a restaurant. Competence 2: Buying food. Competence 3: Talking about meals. Competence 4: Choosing a healthy lifestyle. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Dejeuner du matin. Comparaisons culturelles: À table! Selections musicales. Part VI: AUX ANTILLES. 9. En vacances. Regional focus: La France d'outre-mer. Competence 1: Talking about vacation. Competence 2: Preparing for a trip. Competence 3: Buying your ticket. Competence 4: Deciding where to go on a trip. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Ma grand-mère m'a appris a ne pas compter sur les. Comparaisons culturelles: Le creole. 10. À l'hôtel. Regional focus: Les Antilles. Competence 1: Deciding where to stay. Competence 2: Going to the doctor. Competence 3: Running errands on a trip. Competence 4: Giving directions. Lecture et Composition: Lecture: Y en a marre. Comparaisons culturelles: La musique francophone: les influences africaines et antillaises. Selections musicales. Bienvenue en Afrique francophone. Part VII: EN BELGIQUE. 11. Un drôle de mystère. Regional focus: La Belgique. Épilogue. Appendice A: L'alphabet phonetique. Appendice B: Tableau des verbes. Vocabulaire français-anglais. Vocabulaire anglais-français. Index.