Rob Bullet Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi all, first time on here - great forum!. I 'm looking for a little advice. Parents retired near Limoge 5 years ago and I'm looking at moving at some point in the future. However, my french isn't great and i want to learn but don't know which is the best option - CD/ Linguaphone..?Got a free CD in the Independant a few months back but no book , any help would be greatly received. Rob Rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVicar Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 I learnt most of my French from a Linguaphone course and found it agood way of learning because of the structure (but this was some yearsback and may have changed). There were 30 lessons, all broken into 3parts, and formed a whole story. This takes away the boring look, readand remember method that some adopt. The first part was one of thecharacters speaking, the second part included their part of the storyand the third was a very short humourous piece. Each chapter hadfollow-up oral and written exercises, sometimes word games. Because allof the language is taught in a practical way, I found it easier toremember what a character said, rather than what a book says should besaid in a certain circumstance. Expensive, but very practical. Goodluck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 It doesn't suit all but I think that the Michel Thomas range is a really good starter and you feel like you are making progress from the word go.It doesn't get bogged down in grammar too soon and second hand ones come quite cheap on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZ Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi RobI would whole-heartedly recommend a book from "Teach yourself" range by Gaelle Graham. Its main purpose is to give you an all-round confidence in speaking, understanding and writing French. My language learning was rather erratic before - every time I was going on holidays to France I resolved to learn the language, so ended up with a pile of not very useful or interesting books and still not speaking much of French. The book I have mentioned above, however, did seem to make a difference and within a year I progressed from basic to upper intermediate. I now supplement the knowledge gained from this book with a very useful website (www.french.about.com), and - of course - by weekly classes. Bonne chance!Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi Rob,I have tried a number of different courses but my favourite is French in 3 months by Hugo (which is a bit of a laugh!) but it takes you right back to basics and comes with a cd. It includes written exercises and listening skills and come in basic and intermediate and advanced levels. About £25.00 each new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 According to François Truffaut, take a French lover.My more prosaic method was to read all the Maigret novels, followed by Daudet. With a dictionary at first, then without. Accent I copied from Peter Sellers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shropshirelass Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 I too would recommend the Michel Thomas course, both the initial 8 CD set and the Advanced Course. I progressed through these last year and was able to converse quite well with our french neighbours who remarked on ho much my french had improved in a short time. I have supplemented this with reading as much as possible, Paris Match etc and also watching TV5 on sky tv which helps with listening skills. I also have the Independant free CD and the book and it's quite good but not as good when you just want to learn whilst driving or in other free time, unlike the Michel Thomas which you can listen to at any time.Good luckKim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Any or all of the above work but being stuck somewhere in Francophone Africa and realising you speak French or have no social life does wonders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 [quote user="Rob Rig"]Hi all, first time on here - great forum!. I 'm looking for a little advice. Parents retired near Limoge 5 years ago and I'm looking at moving at some point in the future. However, my french isn't great and i want to learn but don't know which is the best option - CD/ Linguaphone..?Got a free CD in the Independant a few months back but no book , any help would be greatly received. Rob Rig.[/quote] A few years back I used to teach Welsh farmers! french... for whatever reason they all had an interest in french farming. For that I used the BBC method. The BBC had (back in 1995) a very good book with audio-tapes available to the public at large. My farming pupils all found it very useful to master simple every day situation with simple grammar, vocabulary and to train their ears to the sound of a french person. Also my parents (french) used to send lots of stuff for their grand-children which I used as materiel. I just added scenarios which involved the farming world. I don't know if the BBC still produces this book and tape package but consider asking your local library if they have a copy of it. Then when in France try to be as gregarious as possible with your family. It's called immersion method! Just plungein head first and do not be afraid to make a fool of yourself sometime, possibly buy a little 'dutch' courage at the local café to help you along... The English need to get rid of their stiff upper lips, just as the French need to get rid of their shrugg-shoulder arrogance...Your parents should/would be able to advise you. How have they managed/coped after 5 years in the area.... Have a nice time learning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizbeth Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 If you want a grammar book, I can thoroughly recommend 'La Grammaire en Clair' by Jeremy Long and Paul Rogers (Nelson, ISBN 0174444206). It's a workbook with explanations and cartoons, lots of humour which is a thing I have never come across in other grammar books. It does help! I imagine it would be a good accompaniment to Michel Thomas CDs, which focus on spoken language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 My son has been looking at brushing up on his French for when he visits and sent the following information:If you already have iTunes, then go to the Music Store and click on Podcasts. You should be able to find the French Podclasses on there quite easily and download them. You can then play and listen to them through iTunes. There is a whole range of interesting stuff in the podcast section - and its all free to download! I have already downloading a couple of the lessons to my computer, so they can be listened to whenever you wish, as I want to revise a bit and they appear very useful. ITunes can be downloaded for free on your computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_A Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 I studied french at University which is fine if you have a spare four years!, but I have a friend who is learning on-line with a french tutor. I think the website is Language Learners?? He logs on and uses Skype to talk with the tutor, she sends the work through the day before and they have one hour talking and going over things a week - he seems to be gettin on really well.I have been learning Italian, tried with tapes etc, but found a tutor was easier although a pain to drive to every week!! Good Luck, Bonne Chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Bullet Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 Hey Katie,Thanks for getting back to me - i've got a copy from my local Library. Get to France much?Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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