Best Learning Resources For Self-Studying French

Best Learning Resources For Self-Studying French If you dont want to or cannot study French with a tutor,  in a class or in immersion, youll be going it alone. This is known as self-study. There are ways to make self-study effective, but its essential that you pick the right self-study  method for you. After all, you want to spend your time doing something that actually works. So spend some time analyzing whats out there, and dont just take the first self-study path that comes to your attention. Audio Training Is Essential If you want to communicate in French (and not only pass exams or read in French), learning with audio is a must. Theres a huge difference between book French and spoken French, and traditional methods will not prepare you for the way French people actually speak today. French Language  Books French-language books such as childrens books, bilingual books, and audiobooks are a great and relatively inexpensive way to improve your French, in conjunction with audio courses. With Amazon delivering to your doorstep, its easy to order French-language books these days. Hard-copy paper books are still the best way to train on a specific point of grammar  and to do exercises. For all the rest, youll need audio. Childrens Books Reading Le Petit Prince is, for more advanced students, a wonderful way to expand your vocabulary. It is a myth that all French-language childrens books are easy. They are not. Children books are easier than most French books written for the French because they use short sentences, but the language is some French childrens books can be quite difficult. Consider the language used in the Dr. Seuss books. They definitely would not be an easy read for a beginner in English. Bilingual Books Most bilingual-book  series  are taken from free-copyright books and translated into English. They were not typically books written for students. So they are still very difficult and will often feature older French vocabulary and expressions: Find out  when your book  was written, and take this into account when learning the vocabulary. French Audiobooks and Audio Magazines Both of these are a fantastic resource, even though most have been created for the French student. Much of what has been developed for the French is going to be difficult for a beginning or intermediate student of French, so difficult that they could be overwhelming and discouraging. There are, however,  audio magazines that can be used to good effect by beginning and intermediate students of  French. Among the better audio magazines are  Think French,  Bien Dire,  and  Fluent French Audio (although the latter is probably better suited to high-intermediate students). There are also level-adapted French audiobooks and audio novels  with English translations,  such as the Moi Paris series and Une Semaine Paris. French Audio Courses French audio courses are the ideal tool for the self-learner. A good audio course should teach you vocabulary and grammar, if possible in context, and, of course, pronunciation. It should be fun to use, direct you through a well-proven learning path  and nurture your self-confidence. Because they involve a lot of work, these courses are usually quite expensive, so look for a 100 percent money-back guarantee disclaimer, a trial period or extensive samples. Among the good French audio courses:  Michel Thomas,  Assimil,  and French Today. Rosetta Stone language books are a great, fun tool to develop your vocabulary, but they are very light on grammar. This may be fine for other languages, but it is a true problem for French. Do Your Research and Find Whats Best for You There are, of course, still more  methods to learn French. Do your research and find out what methods best fit your needs, goals, time and budget. You wont be sorry.

Italianate Homes, Romantic and Picturesque

Italianate Homes, Romantic and Picturesque Of all the homes built in the United States during the Victorian era, the romantic Italianate style became the most popular for a short period of time. With their nearly-flat roofs, wide eaves, and massive brackets, these homes suggested the romantic villas of Renaissance Italy. The Italianate style is also known as Tuscan, Lombard, or bracketed. Italianate and the Picturesque Movement The historical roots of Italianate styles are in Italian Renaissance architecture. Some of the first Italian villas were designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in the 16th century. Palladio reinvented Classical architecture, melding the designs of a Roman temple into residential architecture. By the 19th century, English-speaking architects were reinventing Roman designs yet again, capturing the flavor of what they imagined to be the Italian villa look. The Italianate style began in England with the picturesque movement. For centuries English homes tended to be formal and classical in style. Neoclassical architecture was orderly and proportioned.  With the picturesque movement, however, the landscape gained importance. Architecture not only became integral to its surroundings, but also became a vehicle for experiencing the natural world and surrounding gardens. The pattern books of British-born landscape architect Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) and the American Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852) brought this concept to an American audience. Especially popular was A. J. Downings 1842 book Rural Cottages and Cottage-Villas and their Gardens and Grounds Adapted to North America. American architects and builders such as  Henry Austin (1804-1891) and Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892) began to design fanciful recreations of Italian Renaissance villas. Architects copied and reinterpreted the style for buildings in the United States, making Italianate architecture in the U.S. uniquely American in style. One of the finest examples of late Victorian Italianate architecture is owned by the National Park Service. The John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, California lays claim to the 17-room John Muir Mansion, built in 1882, and inherited by the famous American naturalist. Queen Victoria ruled England for a long, long time - from 1837 until her death in 1901 - so Victorian architecture is more a time frame than a specific style. During the Victorian era, emerging styles captured a large audience by the widely-published house pattern books packed with building plans and home building advice. Prominent designers and illustrators published many plans for Italianate and Gothic Revival style homes. By the late 1860s, the fashion had swept through North America. Why Builders Loved the Italianate Style Italianate architecture knew no class boundaries. The high square towers made the style a natural choice for upscale homes of the newly rich. However the brackets and other architecture details, made affordable by new methods for machine production, were easily applied to simple cottages. Historians say that Italianate became the favored style for two reasons: (1) Italianate homes could be constructed with many different building materials, and the style could be adapted to modest budgets; and (2) new technologies of the Victorian era made it possible to quickly and affordably produce cast-iron and press-metal decorations. Many 19th century commercial buildings, including urban rooming houses, were constructed with this practical yet elegant design. Italianate remained the preferred house style in the U.S. until the 1870s, when the Civil War curbed the progress of construction. Italianate was also a common style for modest structures like barns and for larger public buildings such as town halls, libraries, and train stations. You will find Italianate buildings in nearly every part of the United States except for the deep South. There are fewer Italianate buildings in the southern states because the style reached its peak during the Civil War, a time when the south was economically devastated. Italianate was an early form of Victorian architecture. After the 1870s, architectural fashion turned toward late Victorian styles such as Queen Anne. Italianate Features Italianate homes can be wood-sided or brick, with commercial and public properties often being masonry. The most common Italianate styles will often have many of these characteristics: a low-pitched or flat roof; a balanced, symmetrical rectangular shape; a tall appearance, with two, three, or four stories; wide, overhanging eaves with large brackets and cornices; a square cupola; a porch topped with balustraded balconies; tall, narrow, paired windows, often arched with hood moldings projecting above the windows; a side bay window, often two stories tall; heavily molded double doors; Roman or segmented arches above windows and doors; and rusticated quoins on masonry buildings. Italianate house styles in America can seem like a mix of characteristics from different eras, and sometimes they are. The Italian-inspired Renaissance Revival homes are more palatial but still often confused with the Victorian Italianate style. The French-inspired Second Empire, like houses in the Italianate style, often feature a high, square tower. Beaux Arts buildings are grand and elaborate, often embracing Italianate ideas along with Classical. Even Neo-Mediterranean builders of the 20th century re-visited Italianate themes. Victorian architecture encompasses a variety of popular styles, but ask yourself how picturesque each is. Examples of Italianate Houses Italiante houses can be found across the United States. often tucked away in unexpected places. The Lewis House built in 1871, is on a side road outside Ballston Spa, New York. Not named for the original owner, the Lewis family converted historic home near Saratoga Springs into a Bed Breakfast business. Italianate Lewis House, 1871, Ballston Spa, New York. Jackie Craven In Bloomington, Illinois you can visit Clover Lawn, built in 1872. Also known as the David Davis Mansion, the architecture combines Italianate and Second Empire stylings. David Davis Mansion, 1872, Illinois. Teemu08 via Wikimedia Commons, own work, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0) cropped The Andrew Low House in Savannah, Georgia was built in 1849. This historic house by New York architect John Norris has been described as Italianate, most notably because of its urban garden landscaping. To get the full sense of Italiante details, especially the roof, the observer must step back both physically and in time. Andrew Low House, 1849, Savannah, Georgia. Carol M. Highsmith/Getty Images (cropped) Sources Italianate Architecture and History, Old-House Journal, August 10, 2011, https://www.oldhouseonline.com/articles/all-about-italianates [accessed August 28, 2017]Italianate Villa/Italianate Style 1840 - 1885, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/italianate.html  [accessed August 28, 2017]A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Knopf, 1984, 2013American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home by Lester Walker, Overlook, 1998American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker, AIA, Norton, 2002Photo Credits: Clover Lawn, Teemu08 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) cropped; Andrew Low House, Carol M. Highsmith/Getty Images (cropped); Lewis House, Jackie CravenCOPYRIGHT: The articles you see on the pages of this website are copyrighted. 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