Popova, Kazakova and Kovalchuk’s French textbook: a teacher’s view
Popova, Kazakova, Kovalchuk… Those names will probably be familiar to anyone who has studied French. Yet, although their textbook has been reprinted around 20 times, debates over its effectiveness and practicality still rage on teaching forums.
I studied from it. And during my first year of college, my relationship with this book probably went through the whole range of feelings. In the second semester, I almost dropped out of school altogether, partly due to the endless monotonous exercises.
But then there was no choice.
Now, with experience, I can look at this classic textbook more objectively.
- Yes, many criticize him for his lack of communication, a lot of theory exercises, and the lack of tasks that help consolidate knowledge in live speech.
- In addition, there is vocabulary that is simply not used now.
- Another “not trendy” thing is that the authors explain everything in Russian.
But at the same time, the vocabulary and grammar here are chewed in such a way that even a fifth grader can understand it. And in general, we must pay tribute to the authors - no one has ever done such a colossal job of organizing the basic knowledge that lays the foundation.
I personally am very pleased that the textbook begins with an introductory phonetics course. And this is correct, because it would be good to understand French phonetics at the very beginning. Believe me, most of my new students come in saying they have absolutely no idea how to read correctly.
Initially, the textbook was created for future linguists - those who want to devote themselves to thoughtful study of the language, and not speak as quickly as possible.
If you want to learn French on your own and are not limited in time, the book will be a good help, it has audio and keys. ⠀
This textbook makes me very nostalgic 🕺🏻for my student days, I even remember my first phrase in French that I learned from it.
That being said, I don't want to recommend it as an exceptional option. And in general, I think that you cannot study from just one textbook.
Therefore, the participation of a teacher who uses different materials and can creatively combine them depending on the purpose is valuable.
I was lucky with my teachers, which is probably why I “survived” my first year.
Read other articles:
Is the French language as difficult as many people think?
French phonetics: practising sounds with songs
Three ways to learn a foreign language if you don't have time for it