Product Description
In this comprehensive introduction, Henriette Walter provides the reader with a panoramic view of the development of the French language in the past, present and future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

incredibly informative and interesting!!!
Even if you don't speak French, this book is a fascinating history of language -- and much of it relates to English. I came away with a huge curiosity for more knowledge about the history of words! It's one of thosebooks that has so many interesting facts you want to tell everyone aroundyou. ... Read more

Product Description
French reader for intermediate through advanced students

Le Bossu de Notre-Dame (Hugo) is an adaptation of Notre-Dame de Paris, the novel by Victor Hugo. This enduring story of the hunchbacked cathedral bell ringer and the beautiful Gypsy girl is retold in a simplified dialogue format and presented in 23 short chapters—ideal for student reading. It includes footnotes and a French-English glossary; it is softcover and 125 pages in length. ... Read more

Product Description

Clear, instant access to everyday French from the leading brand of bilingual dictionaries worldwide

Harrap’s Everyday French and English Dictionary is built for convenience, for clarity, and for complete coverageof the ever-evolving French language. Inside you willfind the terms you may encounter in current societyand in the media--more than 40,000 translations,including hundreds of new terms and phrases, slang andcolloquial language.

The convenient book is more readable and easier touse than comparable dictionaries and is appropriate touse at home, at work, or in the classroom. It providesnumerous contemporary expressions from acrossFrance and throughout the Francophone world, as wellas guidance on conjugation for every French verb.

Customer Reviews (5)

Review of the actual edition we're talking about here
Several of the reviewers here are not addressing the edition listed.This is a review of ISBN 9780071440691, Harrap's French and English Dictionary published by McGraw Hill.

This edition is NOT a pocket-sized dictionary. It is a soft-cover compact volume that claims to have over 170,000 translations.It is by far the most exhaustive of the dictionaries I've investigated.It is easy to read, includes a wonderful and useful midsection grammer review, and has many, many examples of how to form the kinds of phrases that we toss off in English on a daily basis without really thinking about it.This dictionary will go a long way toward helping a speaker sound more fluid and fluent, and less like someone cobbling together French phrases after first translating from the English.

Take the English word fair, for example. This dictionary will give you various translations for the word itself, but will also teach you how to say "It's not fair," "fair's fair," "fair enough," "it is fair to say that," "by fair means or foul," "all's fair in love and war," "fair game," "fair play," "we've had our fair share of problems," "a fair idea," "at a fair pace," "fair to middling," etc.Many of these translations are not made literally, and this dictionary provides the equivalent French expression so that you won't come off sounding like a clueless dork.(And we wouldn't want that, would we.) In some cases, the book also notes differences between British and American English, and between French as it is spoken in Canada, Belgium, and France.

Yes, as the one-star reviewer (who was addressing an entirely different edition) noted, the book does not have an entry for "Jacques Bonhomme," but the book does include the rest of the "J" words he listed as missing.(Also, for the record, if you look under "Tom" in the English section, the book will give you the French equivalent of "any Tom, Dick, or Harry.")All in all, a great dictionary at a great price.

Good companion dictionary
I own a large French-English dictionary, but I also need a pocket dictionary. After looking at five well-known pocket titles at a local bookstore, I chose Harrap's French and English Pocket Dictionary. It is attractive, easy to flip, sharply printed, and easy on the eyes. The definitions are current, authoritative and helpful (at least to an anglophone).

I disagree slightly with the one-star review by a fellow reviewer: He says that the claim of 100,000 translations is incorrect, and suggests that the dictionary has only 3000 or 4000. My rough estimate is 80,000. In fact, by all appearances, this 768-page dictionary is packed to the limit with translations. Also, half of the words that he says were unreasonably excluded from the dictionary were also excluded from the other dictionary of mine that is much larger and comes from a different publisher.

previous reviews referred to a different format
I have in hand a copy of the dictionary. The 2 previous reviewers must be referring to a different edition, perhaps thepocket edition.The edition I hold contains the words claimed as unlisted by the last reviewer.The preface states it is based on an older compact edition. But this one is up to date. Among the contributors are two computer terminology specialists. The french grammar section is an excellent introduction of about one hundred pages(includes conjugation tables). For words with more than one meaning there are often examples of usage.Each section (french to english and english to french)is over 500 pages. Very legible text.

Miserable
Terrible. Minuscule vocabulary, many utterly useless anglo, tehcno or geographical words. Letter "J" for ejamplo... You will find "Jamaique", "jazz", "jersey", "jogging", but try finding: "jabot, jacassement, jacasse, jach?re; jacinthe; Jacques Bonhomme; jacter etc..." No luck.
Don't be misled by their advertised "more than 100,000 translations". It feels more like 3-4,000 French most rudimentary words at most. What were they thinking?
What the Harrap should really have done is to reissue their 1982 hardcover edition of an exhaustive, "New College" dictionary. In fact, I thought I was to receive the pocket-sized version of that book.

Excellent small edition
This edition puts the "pocket" in the title to literal use.It fits snuggly in a book bag or a pocket, is easy-to-use, and the definitions are clear and brief.Perfect for a beginning student or anyone who needs a small quick reference. ... Read more

Product Description
Learn to speak, read, and write French quickly and easily with Living Language®. Developed by U.S. government experts, this book introduces you step-by-step to all the basics of French: pronunciation, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and grammar.

IN THIS BOOK, READERS WILL FIND:
•All the words and phrases from the 40 lessons on the Living Language® French Complete Course recordings, plus additional vocabulary
•A guide to pronunciation
•Useful topics including directions, introductions, shopping, faxes, and e-mail
•Explanations of grammar and usage
•Short quizzes to help you check your progress
•A comprehensive summary of French grammar
•Verb charts including all tenses
•A special section on writing letters

While this book stands on its own as an instructional program and an invaluable reference, readers will find that using it with the recorded lessons is even more effective. Living Language® French Complete Course cassette and compact disc packages include this book as well as a dictionary. ... Read more

Product Description
This well-established and popular book provides students with all the linguistic background they need for studying any period of French literature. For the second edition the text has been revised and updated throughout, and the two final chapters on contemporary French, and its position as a world language, have been completely rewritten. Starting with a brief description of the Vulgar Latin spoken in Gaul, and the earliest recorded forms of French, Professor Rickard traces the development of the language through the later Middle Ages and Renaissance to show how it became standardized in a near modern form in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Review
Book in good condition, however, after picking regular shipping I received the book the last possible day. The problem with this is that in a follow-up email the seller indicated that the last possible day I could expect the book would be a week later than what they had advertised on their amazon selling page. Don't think I will buy from this seller again.

A very interesting and detailed history for those with some training in linguistics
Peter Rickard's A HISTORY OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE was first published in 1974 with a second edition appearing in 1989. Note that this Amazon listing and my review describe the first edition.

Rickard was Drapers Professor of French at Cambridge and in this 174-page text he brings us from the earliest days when the speech of France was but a collection of vulgar Latin dialects to the modern standard language. Along the way, he shows how sound change spurred morphological change, how literary production down through time reflects the evolution of the language, and what polemics authorities engaged in on language standardization.

I should mention that this a not a book for those with some French who want to learn how to read earlier texts. The reader of A HISTORY OF FRENCH ideally has some training in Latin and in basic linguistics (phonology and morphology). I'd recommend reading W. Sidney Allen's Vox Latina before Rickard's history, in order to have a better understanding of the pronunciation of late Latin.

My only real complaint about Rickard's history is that discussion of diaspora French is missing. Once the various dialects of France have formed a standard language, his focus rests entirely on that standard language and its registers in France. African French, which I find quite fascinating, is in no way covered. Neither is Quebec French, which is simply inexplicable.

A very interesting and detailed history for those with some training in linguistics
Peter Rickard's A HISTORY OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE was first published in 1974 with a second edition appearing in 1989. Note that this Amazon listing and my review describe the first edition.

Rickard was Drapers Professor of French at Cambridge and in this 174-page text he brings us from the earliest days when the speech of France was but a collection of vulgar Latin dialects to the modern standard language. Along the way, he shows how sound change spurred morphological change, how literary production down through time reflects the evolution of the language, and what polemics authorities engaged in on language standardization.

I should mention that this a not a book for those with some French who want to learn how to read earlier texts. The reader of A HISTORY OF FRENCH ideally has some training in Latin and in basic linguistics (phonology and morphology). I'd recommend reading W. Sidney Allen's Vox Latina before Rickard's history, in order to have a better understanding of the pronunciation of late Latin.

My only real complaint about Rickard's history is that discussion of diaspora French is missing. Once the various dialects of France have formed a standard language, his focus rests entirely on that standard language and its registers in France. African French, which I find quite fascinating, is in no way covered. Neither is Quebec French, which is simply inexplicable.

A very interesting and detailed history for those with some training in linguistics
Peter Rickard's A HISTORY OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE was first published in 1974 with a second edition appearing in 1989. Please note that although this Amazon listing describes the second edition, I read the first edition and my review is based on that.

Rickard was Drapers Professor of French at Cambridge and in this 174-page text he brings us from the earliest days when the speech of France was but a collection of vulgar Latin dialects to the modern standard language. Along the way, he shows how sound change spurred morphological change, how literary production down through time reflects the evolution of the language, and what polemics authorities engaged in on language standardization.

I should mention that this a not a book for those with some French who want to learn how to read earlier texts. The reader of A HISTORY OF FRENCH ideally has some training in Latin and in basic linguistics (phonology and morphology). I'd recommend reading W. Sidney Allen's Vox Latina before Rickard's history, in order to have a better understanding of the pronunciation of late Latin.

My only real complaint about Rickard's history is that discussion of diaspora French is missing. Once the various dialects of France have formed a standard language, his focus rests entirely on that standard language and its registers in France. African French, which I find quite fascinating, is in no way covered. Neither is Quebec French, which is simply inexplicable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

french translation of old favorite
bought for a new baby in france. got the bright idea of looking for a french version. amazon ships internationally and it is worth the price. i know this book by heart in english; maybe i should read it myself in french.

Such a great book -- in any language
The French is totally manageable for an intermediate learner and it's just a fantastic story.Highly recommended!

Whoever entered the title into Amazon spelled it wrong, though.

Classic title, classic quality
Not only does this edition give my daughter an opportunity to experience a family favourite in French, but the exceptional quality of the paper brought back memories of how books smelled and felt way back in the dark ages (when I was a girl). Packaging could have been more careful -cover slightly damaged in transit. ... Read more

Product Description
Book1: Learning French - the basics, with phrases and the French National Anthem.
Book2: French II - phrases, tense, vocabulary, verbs, adjectives
Book3: French III - more vocab, tense, adverbs and putting them together in sentences.

All combined into one book for your reading pleasure. ... Read more

Product Description
BarronÂ's is today and always has been the Number-One reference source for verb usage in virtually every major language. Leading all competition, the best selling 501 French Verbs beats all less well-established rivals with its brand-new 6th edition. ItÂ's printed in two colors, it features tinted page edges for ease of reference, and it comes with extra help for French language students in the form of a CD-ROM. The book presents the most important and most commonly used French verbs arranged alphabetically with English translations in chart form, one verb per page, and conjugated in all persons and tenses, both active and passive. The accompanying CD-ROM gives students practice exercises in verb conjugation plus a concise grammar review. This combined book and software package is a comprehensive guide to French verb usage with a wealth of reference material and language tips, including a bilingual list of more than 1,250 additional French verbs, helpful expressions and idioms for travelers, and verb drills and short tests with all questions answered and explained. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Don't buy this book for Kindle
I own the print edition. It is a large book and not convenient for travel. With the intention of solving that problem, I bought the Kindle edition. Unfortunately, the conjugation tables are so small as to be unuseable without a magnifying glass. It's unfortunate that what could be a useful addition to my Kindle library only takes up memory.

Great resource
500 verbs!I did search for one verb they didn't have.Expanded information and sentences for more highly used verbs.Great to use at home.A little big to carry around.Grammatical information and quizzes.

kindle version
Should have paid attention to Glenn's review from a few months ago. The kindle version does not work well at all. Glad I was able to return it. The hard copy is excellent.

Mandatory for French Study
By now, I think these books on verb conjugations are widely recognized as essential for the study of all Latin languages. Still, I was surprised when, in my FIRST class with my French professor, he demanded that I conjugate irregular verbs like go and be.When I protested that I didn't speak French, he said, "say excuse me." EscusAy moi, I fumbled. Parle vouz francais? We? "You know enough," he concluded. "Now repeat the conjugations after me for go. "You'll need this for simple future tense.Do you have 501 French verbs?" I ordered it from Amazon, but it hasn't arrived yet. "Good. Now continue!"

This book wasn't required for the class, but apparently, it was something the teacher assumed students would acquire.

Needless to say, I was more than a bit dazed.When I studied Spanish, it wasn't until the 6th week we started conjugating verbs and even then, we started with regular verbs, keeping the irregulars until later.Perhaps this teacher has a point -- it's a little hard to say much when you can't say am, are, was, were, be, been, is or I'll go in the target language. It's as good a place as any to start, I suppose.

kindle 2 sample doesnt show what most people buy the book for.
i downloaded the kindle 2 sample of this book. i was skeptical that it would be formattedwell.i scrolled through sample expectimg to see what the verb conjugations would look like on the kindle 2.the sample did not include a single page showimg what the conjugations would look like.i will not buy this book at this tim eon kindle.i would guess the conjugation page is just a blurry jpeg.sorry for short choppy sentences. writimg on kindle ... Read more

Product Description

Discover the language-learning method millions around the world have come to trust

Unlike most language-learning systems, Michel Thomas Method French Advanced enables you to naturally and intuitively develop the building blocks for language comprehension. With this advanced course, you can strengthen your skillsquickly and easily by listening, speaking, and thinking through French. Guided by a language instructor and native speakers, Michel Thomas Method French Advanced takes you through an interactive lesson with two other students. In less than five hours, you will have the ability to speak and understand advanced French confidently and easily.

Customer Reviews (6)

Not bad
I was excited when I heard the first CD... from knowing no french at all now I am able to really begin my learning of it. I think it's an excelent opportunity of learning while driving. The only minus that it has is that sometimes you don't understand a french world or expression and you have look it up elsewhere, but I think it's only fair for a person that, as I said before, has no previous knowledge of french. I reccomend it, not doubt...

Fantastic!
These CDs are fantastic.Michel Thomas' method of teaching is so unique - no remembering or writing.Really brilliant!

This method really "Sticks"
Michel Thomas method is an oustanding one. I enjoyed the advance series better than the basic one where at times I felt that his two students were slowing me down. The two students in the advanced series are quicker, therefore allowing one to proceed at a faster pace. You still need to complement your study on your own by reading and taking every opportunity to listen to natives through CDs (French audiobooks are the best in my opinion), French movies, or French News on the web, etc.Don't expect this course to be as comprehensive as Rosetta's, that on the other hand takes up a lot of your time, and money. I am a self learner, but also very busy, so I always study languages, which are my passion, in my spare time, such as while I drive or exercise. With Michel method you learn a great deal in an amazingly short time, and, the best part of it is that it truly "sticks". After I completed the French Advanced I also took the Spanish Advance and I am getting ready to now start the German series. He was an outstanding person and teacher.His method is genial. I just love it!

It's all right, but not my style...
Frankly, I prefer French in Action, but it's more expensive.I don't feel this uses enough French in context.I used the beginning CDs, but I didn't follow through with the Advanced.The beginning CD's were interesting, but I am not sure how much I really retained while reviewing my French.It's good to see French and not just hear it which French in Action does, and I think Assimil.Still, I would say Michel Thomas's CD's are good over all.

half intermediate / half advanced, & get yourself a vocab workbook
there are a few things that i like about these CD's....
1. the teacher, michele, has a great accent, and he really does correct the students' pronunciation & stress as they make mistakes, slowly enough so that you understand how to make the corrections, too.
2. there is time for you to answer michele before the students do (though if you really have to think about the answer, you'll get cut off by the students--easily solved by a pause button).
3. michele does explain what needs to be explained before diving into practice, though it is often a quick explanation, meaning that this should either be review for you and you wish to get a little practice in, or you are also looking at a book to help explain further (though this is in contrast to reason number 4...)
4. these are good for when you are driving, because there is no book, and
5. a good intermediate level on the first 2 CD's, and an "intro" to advanced on the last 2 CD's...with a 5th CD being the ultimate review of the first 4 CD's with no students.

and a few drawbacks...
1. there is no book to go along, so i doubt that this will help with writing and reading too much (though michele does make attempts to verbally explain certain spellings). i would say that these CD's are primarily for speaking and accent correction.
2. it is not entirely advanced, so some may be disappointed with the level of instruction & difficulty.
3. i highly recommend a vocabulary supplement; these CD's give you the ultimate structures upon which to build sentences, but if you have a limited vocabulary, the only things you'll be saying are "I didn't buy any because there weren't any," and, "I lifted myself up" vs "I lifted it up."...Not much content in there.

overall, a decent purchase, but you will need supplements, i imagine. ... Read more

Product Description
Langenscheidt's Pocket Dictionary French contains over 50,000 references. It includes a wealth of colloquial and idiomatic expressions, full grammar details with examples of usage, and conjugation tables. The ideal compact reference work for everyday use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

a nice informative French-English dictionary.
This dictionary is just the right size for carrying around while visiting France. It contains a lot of good translations and definitions galore. I am glad that I bought it for my next trip to france.

Handy to have!
I bought my sister the pocket dictionary for her birthday. She went to Paris shortly after, and loved having the resource available. I have been using the Japanese version here in Japan, and it has worked out very well for me. It doesn't help you with sentence structure (it's a dictionary, nothing more). These books have an awesome variety of current vocabulary and slang which I found extremely helpful. I would recommend this book to anyone traveling abroad, or just wanting to extend their vocabulary in another language!

Loaded, Compact, and Readable
I bought this dictionary for a recent trip to rural France where few people speak English.This dictionary is very portable and the font type is very readable.It was small enough to carry in a purse or a waist pack.It is divided into two parts:French-English and English-French.I found it very helpful in deciphering road signs, menus, touring sites, brochures, and conversations.I consulted it daily.It contained most of the words that I wanted to translate either in English or French.Now back home, I use it regularly instead of my big French dictionary when reading French news and magazines.It has additional information about basic verb conjugations and a list of conjugations of common verbs.I highly recommend it.

The best French/English dictionary I have ever owned.
This dictionary is the best French/English dictionary I have ever owned (I own 6 of them right now)!It is very user friendly and the size makes it very portable.Whether you're studying French for the first time or you just need to look up a word every now and then, this is the dictionary for you!

The best small English/French dictionary out there A+
I'm a college professor, and I both use this dictionary myself and highly encourage my students to buy it.

It is absolutely the BEST small French-English dictionary I've found, and has many features of larger dictionaries at a reasonable cost (it's also much longer lasting than plain paper back dictionaries, of which I"ve seen many ratty copies--missing 1/2 of the "a" section-- in my career). While some smaller dictionaries offer not much more than one-word definitions for terms (which lead to many mistranslations), Langenscheidt's offers numerous contextual examples that help students choose the correct word, and also shows many idiomatic expressions.

An A+!

(Note: Langenscheidt's offers many sizes of dictionaries.This review applies only to the one list-priced at $13 .95.Some of the smaller versions are as incomplete as other dictionaries).

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice book, wish the French edition was hardback
Very simple book to read with interesting pictures that would provoke an interesting discussion with a child. Like the book, would have preferred this French language edition to be hardback.

French Version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear
I purchased this book as a supplement to my lesson on colors in French.The children LOVED it.They were able to follow it because it was translated relatively closely to the English version.I will use it again when we work on animals.

A great way to teach french to a young child
We got this bok because we are trying to teach our 5 yr old some basic French.This book is great for colors and animals and the repetitive nature of the ryhmes make it easy for the child to learn.Since she knew and loved the english version, this was a great wya to learn some french.

I recomend this with Bonsoir Lune (Goodnight Moon), Devine Combien Je t' Aime (Guess How Much I Love You) and
La Chenille Qui Fait Des Trous (The Very Hungry Caterpillar).These are books your child already know by heart and are a great way to introduce a second language to your young child. ... Read more

Product Description
A thematic presentation of all aspects of modern living, "Five Language Visual Dictionary" brings together related vocabulary and useful phrases. Scene-based spreads, such as Bakery, Restaurant, and Doctor, prepare you for a whole range of everyday situations in all five languages. This is a unique learning tool and desk reference for school students, business travellers, tourists and second-home owners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Worth the money!
This dictionary is absolutely fabulous, both as a reference and as a learning tool.You will be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive visual dictionary on the market, as there are over 6,000 words with over 1,600 vibrant images in this book.The words are organized categorically -- hotel, food, travel, etc. making it exceptionally easy to find words.

You should know that this book contains 5 languages total, but the English used is the type used in Britain.This doesn't detract from the quality of the dictionary, but some words will jump out at you if you are from the States (like me).You can easily understand the American equivalent and it is actually kind of cool to see how they say it in England.

There is one minor problem with this dictionary:They do not specify the gender for all the words in French -- such as "l'appareil-photo".The gender could go either way due to the apostrophe and the book does not specify in these cases.Not to worry, however.For one, there are patterns with the French gender system which will allow you to make an educated guess.Second, the gender of a word is not as important as you think (if you make a mistake, its not too critical).

If you frequently study these languages or plan on studying them, this dictionary will help you quite a bit.For the money, you really can't go wrong.

Great with one major flaw: ambiguous gender
While I enjoy the real live pictures used to illustrate the vocabulary, I am frustrated by the fact that they use the indefinite pronoun to identify gender. For many words, this is not a problem, but for some words, the indefinite pronouns in French and Italian are ambiguous.

For example: garlic - l'ail - der Knoblauch - el ajo - l'aglio

Are "l'ail" and "l'aglio" masculine or feminine? No respectable dictionary should ever leave the gender of a word ambiguous. I hope that they correct this problem in future editions. Until then, I prefer the Firefly Five Language Dictionary, which tastefully adds a gender flag as a superscript after each word:
The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian

Just a fun book
I give it 5 stars because it does an excellent job of presenting the top 5 European languages in an easily comparable way.It will NOT teach you a language.But it's intriguing to see word similarities.I've studied all 5 languages (and am currently studying German full-time).I can't say whether folks who have no background in any more than one of the languages would find the book as much fun as I do.But as soon as I saw it I wanted a copy.Too bad it's out of print, although Amazon still has copies available (3-6 weeks' wait).

Pictures worth a thousand words
I found this book most helpful in tutoring adult ESL. When tutoring one might have a Spanish speaker one hour and a student from Vietnam or Ivory Coast who may have some second language knowledge of French the next hour. Importantly, the pictures are engaging, clear and interesting. Now, I miss this book because it passed the ultimate test: it was stolen from the tutoring center.

Useful, informative and enjoyable
This visual dictionary has more than 1,600 colourful images and its 400 pages are divided into 19 chapters as follows: About the dictionary, How to use this book, People, Appearance, Health, Home, Services, Shopping, Food, Eating out, Study, Work, Transport, Sports, Leisure, Environment, Reference, Index and Acknowledgments.
For each picture you get its meaning in five languages, and for each word you have its definite article showing the gender. Very interesting is the presence of pictures showing actions, so that you get the verbs as well as some useful phrases. At the end of the "Reference" section you have "particles and antonyms" and "useful phrases" - essential phrases, greetings, signs, help, directions, accommodation, eating and drinking. The index is divided into five parts, one for each language, and the names have their gender shown by means of the letters m, n, f .
I particularly enjoy playing with this book by showing a picture and letting my friends guess its meaning in the foreign languages they have studied, and think it's a useful tool for teachers, students or professionals, for the topics are covered in detail. Last but not least, the dictionary is published by DK, i.e. it's a Dorling Kindersley Book, a Penguin Company. ... Read more

Product Description
With an innovative, visual approach the Eyewitness Travel 15-Minute language guides are the ideal tools for people who need to learn a language fast. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Learning Arabic the effective way-at last!
This course is excellent.

The picture-clues help commiting this difficult language to memory. One can start using what one has learnt straight away and the amount of vocabulary and grammar is just right to take in and begin to consolidate in 15 minutes as well as to remember and rehash during the day.

As opposed to many other language methods, each day's content is just right to commit to memory permanently, making this a very efficient and encouraging course. I have tried to learn Arabic 4 times now, either through courses or selfstudy, but have never succeeded. Now I am.

This method should be used in schools to help children gain enough knowledge of a language fast enough to make them feel it is worth to learn a language well.

Absolutely Wonderful
I love this book. The lessons are very easy. With the CDs, you can't miss.

15 minute French
I had to order this twice from Amazon because the first time I ordered it used and it did not come with the book included which I thought was a rip off because the seller said you did not need it.I ordered it again new and really realized the used seller was wrong as the book with CD's is an absolute necessity.I rated it one star as I am reviewing the 1st purchase.I was not happy.

Great product!Love it!
I have always wanted to learn French and teach my children French.But as a stay-at-home mom with three young children, I've found it very hard to find the time.This program is so simple and interesting to use - even at 6:00 in the morning!The layout of each lesson with the colorful photos is great.I look forward to listening to the CD every morning before the kids get up.It usually takes me two days to learn each lesson so it'll probably take me about 6 months to finish the program.The book is small enough to put in my pocketbook so I can study while my daughter is at ballet, etc.I think it is the best program out there!!!!

Fun, Fresh, and Simple
These "15 Minute..." foreign language series are wonderful. They're accessible, convenient, and simple. It doesn't bog you down with too much information on one page or section, nor does it give you phrases that may be a bit too informal or just ridiculous. After reading over one section at least 3 times you acquire the phrases and the words naturally without thinking too hard. Also, the colorful illustrations make it much more realistic and fun. I'd highly recommend it for those who may travel to France or those who are learning French. I like this series so much that I'm going to buy a 15 Minute German for my friends. ... Read more

Product Description
Do you want to learn French or brush up what you already know? Are you planning a trip to France or preparing for an exam? Are you looking for a course with a traditional approach to language learning, based on solid grammatical foundations, translation skills and practical vocabulary? If so, this is the course for you.
The material covers a variety of everyday topics in a simple, concise manner. There are many examples and explanations to illustrate how the language works and to build confidence. Each unit, designed to build systematically on what you have already learned, contains:

clear grammar explanations
vocabulary lists
reading material consisting of a story, dialogue or letter
questions for speaking practice
exercises

There are also revision units to help you practice what you are learning. At the back of the book, an exercise key enables you to check your answers while grammar and vocabulary sections provide a useful reference.
The accompanying CD will help you with listening and speaking. In addition to a full pronunciation section, it contains reading passages or dialogues from the course book, followed by comprehension questions in French, together with model answers. ... Read more

Product Description
All the French you need to get started in a simple audio-only program!

Starting Out in French is a beginner-level program on 3 CDs, and it includes short and simple lessons and dialogues. It covers all the basics, with plenty of repetition and practice so it is ideal for audio-only learning.

Starting Out in French is perfect if you want to learn while commuting, running errands, or at the gym, as well as if you want to learn at home and simply prefer an all-audio course. If you want to refer to written material, you can go online to download the audioscript. ... Read more

Product Description

Yes, learning French can be fun for your child!

Developed by language-learning expert Catherine Bruzzone, the French for Children program is a fun and effective way for your child to learn the French language and culture. This introduction gets your son or daughter speaking French right from the very beginning and keeps him or her engaged with a wide range of activities and games that keep language-learning fun.

A complete program, this package features:

• A full-color illustrated guidebook that features cartoons, characters, and fun facts
• Threeaudio CDs that guide your child through the course and teach language through a combination of French-language songs, games, and activities
• An activity book filled with interactive puzzles and games that reinforce new language skills
• Advice for you on helping your kid get the most out of thelanguage-learning experience
• Free print and audio downloads

Topics include: Saying hello, Saying "yes" and "no",Saying where places are, Talking about family, Around the house, Saying what you like to do, Describing things, At the zoo, At a picnic, Happy Birthday! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Excellent Product
I purchased this product for my son, age 7.He was tired of the "Muzzy" immersion method as that is dated and he felt the story was geared towards younger children.This is well thought-out for children. There are games that can be played over and over in them.Cutting out pictures and pasting them elsewhere keeps him involved, and he enjoys the songs. We have incorporated many of the words and phrases into his everyday conversation.I strongly recommend this product to anyone considering it, especially grade school children.

really works with Kids!!!
our kids aged 5 and 9 are doing very well with this book and CD.
The older one can read and is getting familiar with the reading part, but both of them love to sing out the songs. The songs and conversations full of humor are what makes this CD tick - the CD can even be played in car just like any other music CD.

The CD is very high quality and real fun - (not boring like most language courses that assume that you are going on a vacation and need to say passport, customs, hotel etc. English is good enough for that anywhere in the world :)

This book/CD is good for the adults in the family also. I am finally able to sound out the French rrr sound!
You cannot go wrong with this one...

Is this French or German?
I seem to have a newer version than most of the reviewers.I have an activity book and three CDs.However, when I opened the book, the title page says "German for Children".There are German pages interspersed with the French.This was very disappointing because I intended to immediately begin the lessons with my children but have to send it back.I am concerned that all of the guides were printed the same way.Has anyone else experienced this?

Fun songs and children's voices
The songs have catchy melodies so it's easy to learn them and join in.I like the fact that the delivery is fast, imitating native French speakers.Also a plus is that children's voices are used in the conversations which is more fun.Drawbacks are that the songs are imbedded in the middle of the instructional tracks on the CD.It would be better if they had their own designated tracks - because already my kids want to hear the songs but don't want to hear the narrator's explanation and translation.

A fun and effective way to get started
One of many advantages of this program is that it blends listening/speaking skills with reading/writing skills. For the very youngest child that might be an issue, but I think it's an advantage for kids at the "early reader" level in English (probably age 5-7 and up). It will appeal to older kids, too, although at a certain age they might be better off working at a more rigorous pace than is offered here.

As for the reading part -- sure, words like "monsieur" can be confusing to see in print, since they do not sound the way they look. But that's something you have to get used to sooner or later, if you're going to use the language at all, so why put off learning it? Anyway, for most words that's not an issue. So it is great that the child is getting both parts of the language experience simultaneously.

Some folks believe that it's more important just to get the child accustomed to the spoken language. Whether or not that's really true, it's going to be very hard for most parents unless they are fluent in the new language. This program does not require the parent/teacher to know any more than the child -- and you can learn together for that matter!

For the record, I speak French well enough to know that the text is accurate and that the speakers are mostly native French -- and in fact, speak with a more "natural" cadence than the way we used to learn in school.

I was pleased to see that the "course" is in fact carefully planned to progress logically, and that it is broken down to reasonable 8-12 minute lessons. Working through one unit gives the child a feeling of accomplishment without having to struggle for a long time. It also allows the parent/teacher to replay specific segments for review, without making an individual lesson overly long.

The audio program works interactively with the workbook -- but it is not always clear when the book has material that can read along with the narration, as opposed to those segments that are being done purely by ear. Thankfully, from time to time the narrator refers to specific pages, so you find your place eventually. It's not that big a deal, and the book is generally quite wortwhile as an adjunct to the main lesson content.

A very cute component that some children may like (ours does!) is that there is a silly little cartoon storyline that progresses, three frames at a time, at the end of each unit in the book. Each new episode uses a few new vocabulary words from the latest lesson. We have not completed the course yet, so I don't know whether the story will be all that great, but that's not the point. I can see that after each lesson, our child is enjoying the experience of being able to read a bit of this comic strip, out loud, in French! It's a great confidence builder and adds fun to cap off each lesson.

The program comes with a separate CD with instructions for parents/teachers. It's a bit long to listen to (one could just read a manual!) but the disk also contains songs and other items that are compiled from the lesson disks, into one convenient place.

For parents whose school districts do not offer world languages in the early elementary years, this course is a reasonable way to introduce a younger child to French language (and to some extent, French culture) so that they get at least a little foundation while their minds are still growing. It won't be enough all by itself to replace a year's worth of school-based study, but it provides an easy-to-follow, well-planned lesson structure that can get you started.

It's not Rosetta Stone or the like, but since it has a much more modest price, it's probably worth 5 stars in comparitive terms of bang-for-buck. ... Read more

Product Description
Core texts range from the ninth century to the present day highlight central features of the language. Non-literary as well as literary texts illustrate some of the many varieties of French in legal, scientific, epistolary, administrative, liturgical and more popular domains, including attempts to represent spoken usage. ... Read more

Product Description

It's easy to assume that French words mean the same as English words when they look and sound pretty much the same. Most of the time you would be correct. However, occasional word pairs look the same, and may even be spelled the same, but have different meanings. They are called "false friends," or faux amis.

These faux amis can cause misunderstandings, uncomfortable situations, and even embarrassment when you use them in conversation and they mean something entirely different than what you expected. This book is written to help you avoid these awkward misunderstandings.

This is not a dry list of faux amis. It's a book written in conversational language and is easy and fun to read. Each faux ami word pair is explained so that you will understand the difference between the usage of the word in French and in English, and often even how that difference arose. Each faux amis word is also accompanied by examples of the word used in sentences and phrases to illustrate, and to make very clear, exactly how it is used.

When you have finished reading this book, you will have learned most of these faux amis simply because they are fascinating, and incredibly interesting, without ever having had to consciously memorize them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

SPEAKING BETTER FRENCH: FAUX AMIS=EXCELLENT BOOK!
This is an excellent book for those individuals wanted to learn French without making serious communication mistakes. In the introduction the author writes:

I wrote this book to help you avoid possible awkward misunderstandings when you encounter faux amis, those confusing words pairs which appear the same in French and English but which can have problematically different meanings.

What I have tried to do is to write an easy-to-read book in conversational language.It's not meant to be a textbook either.I want you to be able to read it for fun, and I hope that you will find it to be fascinating.

I have tried to explain the nuances and to give lots of examples so that you will understand the differences in usage between French and English.The examples will help you understand how the words can be used, but I also have tried to make clear how the shouldn't be used.

YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK AS I DID. YOU HAVE FOUND A BOOK THAT WILL HELP A LOT WITH YOU CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH,AND IT IS A FUN READ!

Excellent!
Anyone who studies French for any time at all learns about the infamous faux amis -- the words that look like English words but have very different meanings.I was a little skeptical when I ordered this book, and felt it would end up being just a list of words I'd have to memorize.But is it an amazingly interesting book.The French words are listed in no particular order, with an explanation of their French meanings, compared to the meaning of their English look-alikes. And then, just to add one more level of clarification, the author provides French terms to accurately translate the English word. It reminded me of my recent trip to Paris for three weeks of French immersion -- pointing out, for example, the shades of meaning distinguishing malicious in French (mischievous) from its meaning in English (deliberately harmful or evil), and whether the two words are related or not.

I thought that it would be dense and uninteresting, and I wondered how many faux amis can there be.Well, there are many more than I imagined, and there is a second volume as well. I'm very pleased, and look forward to moving onto the second book....
... Read more

Product Description
Everyone can learn to communicate quickly and effectively in as little as three months with this breakthrough introductory language program. Each course contains three 60-minute cassettes featring native-speaking voices in real-life situations that cover the essentials of the language, and a comprehensive 192-page illustrated study guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Easy startup book
Easy to follow & builds confidence fast if you practice the exercises. You still need classes to be able to speak to someone & learn the general colloquialisms.

Good way to learn French if you're a beginner
I came across this book/cd combo and have enjoyed going through 7 lesseons to date.The pronunciation is an eye opener esp if like me you're taken a few lessons as a kid and recall the grammar but no one taught you the right way to pronounce things.However if you expect this or any book to teach you conversational french you might be disappointed like I was when I tried to read an online version of the French news paper lemonde.However this set is well written, well documented and the speakers speak slowly and clearly.Well worth the investment.Though perhaps they say "Pierre, fermez la porte" way too many times for my taste:-)

Learn and have fun
The three tapes are a good way of listening to speakers acting out fun scenes. The book is a follow-up. After listening through the tapes, then you listen along with the book. The book contains tips and tests.The whole series is not boring and enjoyable.

A fine entry into French
This 3-tape and workbook set is a good choice for beginning French students.The tapes introduce concepts and vocabulary in an orderly, easy to understand manner.The workbook allows you to follow along with the tapes, or to read aloud for practice.In the margins of each short chapter, it defines words you may not have learned.Finally, there is a brief but concise 1 page "test" at the end of each chapter to help you evaluate your progress.

Good luck with your French!

this one is fun to listen to
it is one of the less boring one; very effective; it doesn't just let u to go through boring drills.i do enjoy listening to the story.the grammar are basics, but good enough for travelling purposes. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides hands-on learning material to complement any basic French language course, whether self-study or in class. It contains 24 write-in exercises to help improve specific learning areas and also features a bilingual glossary and grammar tables. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

GREAT!
This workbook is very helpful! I recommend it to anyone who is starting off with the level 1 Berlitz French! ... Read more