Everyday, new people decide to take a conversational French course, and millions of others all over the world dream of learning French. We all have the same idea of French as the most beautiful languages in the world, the language of love. We also have the idea that it is a really hard language to learn. This is not necessarily true.

When we think of learning languages, we think of our school days with grammar and glossaries. We may even think of bad grades and red ink on our papers. The ways languages are taught in schools are often not the most conducive to learning. Negative feedback and difficult grammar makes kids have negative associations with learning languages. When it’s seems impossible to do well, it’s easier to just give up and not even try than to try and fail.

We tell ourselves that we don’t really need to know how to speak French anyway, and that most people even in France speak English. Besides, we’ll probably never be able to afford that trip to Paris anyway.
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Cassell's French & English Dictionary

The greatest name in foreign language dictionaries is Cassell, the preeminent publisher of dictionaries for over 120 years.For fast, easy reference and comprehensive coverage, Cassell’s is unbeatable. With entries covering daily conversation as well as technical and professional terms, this handy pocket-sized dictionary is the only reference you need while traveling, studying, or working.

Cassell’s is portable, easy to read and full of helpful usage information that’s simple to access. This invaluable volume, backed by the world’s foremost language authority, is the best pocket guide available to the French language.

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Vis-à-vis: Beginning French, Fourth Edition

The fourth edition of Vis-à-vis continues the excitement of the innovative third edition with an expanded emphasis on the Francophone world in both the print and media supplements. In the textbook, the new Blog section (which appears in the middle of each chapter) features contemporary language and French and Francophone culture presented in the personal blogs of four characters with different Francophone backgrounds, followed by commentaries by French-speakers from all over the world. Blogs, which are online personal journals, have become hugely popular around the world, and particularly in France where there are approximately three million blogs in existence today. Our new Video Program, filmed specifically for this fourth edition of Vis-à-vis, builds on the stories of each character while serving to support and expand upon the linguistic and cultural content of the chapter as a whole. The Bienvenue dans le monde francophone feature that recurs after every four chapters in the textbook has been broadened to include Louisiana, Morocco, Switzerland, and Tahiti. Minor changes have been made to the scope and sequence. The overall goal of the revision remains the same as that of the third edition: to promote a balanced four-skills approach to learning French through a wide variety of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities, while introducing students to the richness and diversity of the Francophone world. A beautiful new contemporary design gives Vis-à-vis an appealing look, inspired by real-life personal blogs that are unique and visually stunning.

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