Title: Lectures pour conversations
Description: *Lectures pour conversations* has a two-fold aim: (l) to enable the student to converse in idiomatic French with ease, fluency, and the satisfaction derived from self-expression; and (2) to awaken his interest in French literature.
The book is designed primarily for intermediate courses, although it can be used in the second semester of an intensive beginning course. At a more advanced level, the material is well suited for students thoroughly trained in grammar but lacking oral fluency. To attain its double aim, the book is divided into two parts. Part One consists of fifteen selections in simple French about aspects of everyday French life. In these selections, the author has not followed the beaten path of emphasizing the "picturesque" but has tried, on the contrary, to present those characters and situations which should appeal to the student's own interests and for which he can find near equivalents in his own daily life. Each selection offers a basic, flexible, workable vocabulary that may be easily mastered.
Part Two presents fifteen literary selections from the works of authors with a single exception, are well known. Each of these selections is linked in theme to the corresponding selection in Part One, establishing a link, as it were, between life and literature. The selections were chosen for their historical, imaginative, thought-provoking, or simply entertaining value. The exercises in Part Two bring the student back to modern life and help establish and strengthen the connection literature.
Selections are short enough to be read aloud in class for comprehension without word-for-word translation, which—as instructors well know—accomplishes little. For this reason, the author has not listed every word in the vocabularly: the student is encouraged to derive context and to train his memory, rather than to turn pages constantly.
The author has kept in mind that simply knowing the meaning of a French word does not enable the student to use it either in speaking or writing. The exercises are designed to make the student read the texts over and over again, if necessary, and to use the new words and expressions until he is thoroughly familiar with them. Questions, as well as exercises in comprehension, conversation, and composition, allow the student to express himself in French, to improve his comprehension, and to develop a sense of sentence structure.
The questions and answers may run from instructor to student or from student to student. Some questions are so phrased that they may be answered briefly in intermediate classes and more fully, through class discussion, in advanced groups. In the same way, the written or oral compositions may be approached in accordance with the level of preparation of the class.
Dictation drawn from the readings is recommended as a means of developing comprehension and accuracy at any level.
Subjects: Conversation and phrase books, French language
Places: Paris (France)