Breaking the Barrier has offered French curriculum since 1997, written by experienced classroom teachers with a time-tested methodology. The program combines structured print textbooks with an Online Access component, and is designed for middle and high school students. Each level is designed for completion in one school year.
New to French? Students are guided step by step through the basics — building essential vocabulary, clear grammar, and real-world language skills. Lessons move at a steady pace, so students can build confidence from their first words through meaningful use of French.
Online Access is designed to accompany the print textbook, but can also be used as a standalone resource in classroom settings.
Online Access includes:
- Audio recordings of native speakers for listening practice
- Instructional videos that explain key grammar concepts
- Twelve unique interactive exercise formats (including fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, sentence building, translations, matching, and more)
- Cultural articles featuring notable people and landmarks from French-speaking countries
- Instant, corrective feedback for every exercise
- Responsive flashcards with audio to reinforce vocabulary
- Oral questions and video instructional capsules
Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “A” and Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “B” are designed for middle school and introductory high school students. Each level provides a complete, structured, year-long French course designed for students seeking elective credit.
These titles build vocabulary, grammar, and cultural knowledge in a structured, engaging format — bringing the same approach behind Breaking the Barrier’s full French curriculum to introductory students.
Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “A”
The STEPS Section:
Students begin their journey with an engaging foundational section covering ten essential building blocks — greetings, family, telling time, numbers, weather, days of the week, home and school vocabulary, and more — that help students begin speaking immediately. Students build confidence from day one!
Core Content Covered:
After the STEPS section, students work through chapters that are thematically organized. Each chapter features a region of the French-speaking world.
Each chapter includes:
- A visually designed cultural map of a part of the French-speaking world
- Vocabulary with interactive flashcards for fun and easy practice
- Clear presentation and explanation of grammar topics with plenty of practice
- Practice activities online with correction feedback and the ability to repeat practice as needed
Key Grammar Topics covered:
- Present tense (regular and irregular verbs)
- Passé composé (past tense)
- Progressive constructions
- Object pronouns (direct and indirect)
- Prepositions
- Adjective agreement and placement
Rappel !
A section in the middle of each chapter called Rappel ! focuses on concepts presented in earlier chapters, so that students can review prior material as they learn new ideas.
Cultural Content:
Up-to-date cultural information from countries and regions such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, Québec, Senegal, and Morocco is offered at the beginning of each chapter. Through immersive articles, videos, and literary selections, students encounter a variety of French accents from across the French-speaking world.
Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “B”
Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “B” picks up where Beginner “A” left off, and is designed for middle school or introductory high school students.
Students will first review the major vocabulary and grammar from Breaking the French Barrier Beginner “A,” including the present tense, passé composé, progressive constructions, object pronouns, prepositions, and adjective agreement.
Key Grammar Topics covered:
- Imparfait (imperfect tense)
- Future tense
- Passé récent (recent past)
- Commands (imperative mood)
- Reflexive constructions
- Relative pronouns
Rappel !
A section in the middle of each chapter called Rappel ! focuses on concepts presented in earlier chapters, so that students can review prior material as they learn new ideas.
Cultural Content:
Up-to-date cultural information is introduced at the beginning of each chapter from regions such as Togo, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and more. Through immersive articles, videos, and literary selections, students encounter a variety of French accents from across the French-speaking world.
French Level 1/Beginner
Level 1 requires no prior knowledge of French. The “First Steps” lesson also presents all the sounds of the French language so that students can develop an authentic accent.
- Theme-based, simple words and vocabulary offers students opportunities to learn words relevant to their daily lives at home, school, and beyond.
- An action-packed dialogue series appears throughout the book offering students reading and listening comprehension practice.
Throughout the chapters, easy-to-understand explanations unravel these essential building blocks of language:
- nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions
- the present, passé composé, imperfect, and progressive tenses
- formal command
French Level 2/Intermediate
Level 2 first reviews key grammar topics to ensure that all students have a strong grounding in the present, passé composé and imperfect tenses.
- New lists of vocabulary further expand students’ ability to describe the world around them
- An adventure series also is featured in Level 2 as characters travel to exciting new places with unexpected twists and turns
- The new material in Level 2 includes:
- the future, conditional, present perfect, the pluperfect, present subjunctive, and the pluperfect subjunctive tenses
- indefinites, demonstratives, and reflexive pronouns
- informal commands, comparisons
French Level 3/Advanced
Level 3/Advanced targets students in their 3rd or 4th year of French. This title covers all the key grammar found on AP, SAT II, IB, or college placement tests. Continuing the strategies established in French Level 1/Beginner and French Level 2/Intermediate, this title begins by reviewing the major present, past, conditional and future tenses. Cultural articles with comprehension exercises help students get to know stories from people around the world.
Key topics include:
- all perfect tenses, including the present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect and conditional perfect
- the subjunctive mood (with commands, verbs of emotion, hypothetical situations, adverbial phrases)
- comparatives, the passive voice, “if clauses,” punctuation, and uses of the infinitive
- intriguing vocabulary, with special focus on adjectives in early chapters, followed by nouns, verbs, and idiomatic expressions
The Advanced title makes certain that every student – whether formally enrolled in school or studying independently – has all the rules he or she will ever need to know about the French language. It fully equips students for a lifetime of authentic contact with the Francophone world.