# French lessons



## Twilight (Aug 20, 2009)

*Learning French....*

Good afternoon...fellow m/h enthusiasts. I would like to try and learn a little of the lingo for our future travels etc. I can talk and understand a small amount of Italian. Tried French at evening classes a few years ago. So I was wondering would/could anyone point me in the direction of an eazy to learn French lessons (in book form)....cheers


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## parkmoy (Jul 4, 2007)

The BBC French Experience has a book and 4 audio CD's. It is modern up to date French targeted at the sort of things you are likely to need/come across. You can buy the book on its own but I would recommend the package.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

You asked about book form - but the best way I know is via the Michel Thomas set of CDs.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Hi Twilight.
Would not a cd be better as you could play while driving
A couple of links

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...=aps&hvadid=6387541113&ref=pd_sl_4dte1stpap_b

http://www.linguaphone.co.uk/?gclid=CPyO2_G_sqYCFYpO4Qodxi8LZg

http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/learn-french


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## Twilight (Aug 20, 2009)

Grath said:


> Hi Twilight.
> Would not a cd be better as you could play while driving
> A couple of links
> 
> ...


Good thinking Batman!!!!


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Grath said:


> Hi Twilight.
> Would not a cd be better as you could play while driving
> A couple of links
> 
> ...


I agree. A light hearted CD would be better. You could easily pass an hour or 2 driving to your next holiday orb weekend away whilst learning.

Bookes are OK but you need to hearuit spoken and have the opportunity to speak it back

Abientot


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## Twilight (Aug 20, 2009)

Merci  ....for your advice...have just ordered Speak French book and Cd off Amazon.......bonjour


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

C'est tres facile .....  

Les livres sont tres bon mais les disques sont plus facile pour moi. :? 

I found the discs very useful - I borrowed them from the library until I found one set I liked then bought that! (Cheapskate! :lol: )

The BBC ones are very good and easy to work with but it doesn't actually matter which ones you use - the key part is to use them and try.  

The French welcome people who try to speak their language and really do not mind that we mangle it a great deal. it is rare to be corrected (one of our French neighbours will correct us, but he is a 70 year old very typical French farmer), they normally help a great deal by speaking slower. 8O 

The key part is to try it out - that is when french conversation classes are very useful.  

Check for "Language Specialist" schools in your area. I believe that if they have that category they have to offer classes to the general public at very reasonable cost (we are doing two terms for two people for £120 and can go to four classes a week if we want) - c/w the University which is £130 per term for one person for one class. The LEA / Council Education Department may be able to help you in that quest.

Good luck - keep trying it is well worth it and adults that try hard usually succeed.

Dave

PS I FAILED "O" level French at school so am pleased to be able to use it now!


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

it can be useful to speak a little bit of the lingo - I had to act as interpreter for the Gendarmes when 5 of us and our wives got arrested in the Ardeche gorge for speeding about 15 years ago  

ou est l'homme qui parle un peu francais? :lol: 

btw 174kph in a 50kph cost fr3500 (£400) and a summons to court


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

174kph 8O 8O 8O 

What engine have you got in your motorhome :lol:  :lol: :lol:


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

trevorf said:


> 174kph 8O 8O 8O
> 
> What engine have you got in your motorhome :lol: :lol: :lol:


2.8JTD 

but on that occasion was on a Honda Blackbird


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## Saxonman (Aug 23, 2007)

Should you need any further incentive to study French you need to order _rognons blancs_ in the _resto_ just once.............

Bob


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*HUGO*

Hi

I used the HUGO books and CD's when learning Italian and found it to be an excellent starter. I also have the French book as a memory jogger re the grammer etc.

Russell


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## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

> You asked about book form - but the best way I know is via the Michel Thomas set of CD


Agree entirely with pippin

Assuming you want to SPEAK the language, go on fleabay for the Michel Thomas Discs


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

I did scjhoolboy french in my first two years at secondary school 43 years ago.
all holidays abroad up until ten years ago were to spanish and Italian speaking countries.

I utter a few words with si l vous plais at the end , and politely point to what I require , with a smile.

I am sure they all speak and understand the international language of English
:lol:  :lol: 

dave p


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

I have tried loads including the BBC ones and failed miserably.

The Michel Thomas ones have been amazing. Not much in the way of hard work and none of this complicated grammar stuff.

Karl


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## JollyJack (Aug 14, 2005)

Michel Thomas CDs is the best I've found - highly recommend.

Bob


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*CD*



pippin said:


> You asked about book form - but the best way I know is via the Michel Thomas set of CDs.


I have been learning French for 30 years. I started with Linguaphone cassette tapes and found that the best way (now on CD of Course!).

A client of mine has a degree in French and she tells me the only way to become truly fluent, is to live and work in the country.

However, she tells me the second best way/method is the Michel Thomas CD's

I don't think you can get a better recommendation than that.

TM


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Dave, you couldn't be more wrong there.

_I am sure they all speak and understand the international language of English _

Pointing (and shouting!) might get you by with shopping, but not much more.

Even with just what you learn from the Michel Thomas CDs you will actually be able to engage in real conversation in French with French people.

That is very satisfying and can make a holiday.

Incidentally I brushed up my Spanish (correctly Castellano) about six years ago (for a ten-day folk festival there) using Michel Thomas.

My goal this spring is to go through the French and Spanish CDs again and then buy the Italian and German ones and crack those by the summer.

It can at times be a bit confusing but the more languages you learn the easier the next one becomes.

So, I speak English fairly fluently (!), can make conversation in Welsh (the hardest to learn), French and Spanish and hope to add Italian and a bit more German to my repertoire.

I think I shall leave Arabic and Finnish (Suomi) alone!

Oh, and I can speak Morse code at about 30 words per minute - that's bloody fast!

PS

Dave, I know you were talking tongue in cheek - how about talking in tongues!


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## ceejayt (Nov 25, 2005)

A brilliant way to learn is with live conversation. You can do this at VerbalPlanet.com - pick a tutor and buy lessons by the hour. You get to talk at a time that suits you whih can be any time of the day or night.

Great system


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

*Re: CD*



teemyob said:


> the only way to become truly fluent, is to live and work in the country.
> 
> However, she tells me the second best way/method is the Michel Thomas CD's


That has been my experience as well. My ex was French and when she first came to England her English was basic and heavily accented.
It took her about 6 six months to be fully fluent and confident and another 6-9 months to lose the worst of the accent that caused problems.

I have tried many times to learn French but always failed. The Michel Thomas CD's however (copied to my ipod) were a great primer and allowed me to learn a quite a lot of useful stuff which allowed me to start understanding conversations and learn more from real world usage (context)

I also watch a lot of French DVD's with English subtitles switched on. I watch my favourite ones quite a few times and over time I use the subtitle less and less. This is great for getting your ear in.

This is part of the reason I went fulltiming so that I can spend extended periods abroad to learn French fluently and get passable in Spanish and Italian. I want to spend at least 6 months in each country to get good at the language as well as see the country itself.

Karl


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*French*

Bonjour

Karl touched on a good point re the grammer.

It might be an ideal to get a sheet of paper and think of some words you would like to learn, for example

Campsite, toilet block, water, left, right, roundabout etc etc and start with this as the base list. There is little point in learning all the grammer including tenses. Generally speaking, if you can translate the nouns, you are well on your way.

If you want to use the language when touring, then learn key phrases too

"Bonjour, je voudrais rester in camping pour trois nuits?

The problem is, if you speak French to them, they will come back at you like a high speed train, but people will always help you and generally, campsite staff, waiters etc etc want to learn English too. It's fun!

Russell


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

For that situation you just need to reply "lentement, s'il vous plait!"


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## kenp (Sep 8, 2006)

Many of you have recommended Michael Thomas CDs, but which?

So far I have found French Language Builder £35 ish; French Foundation £10 ish; French Introduction Course £11 ish, all by Michael Thomas, and there may be more.

Please would you say which you used.

Kenp


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Merci, pippin. Vous êtes sur ma longueur d'onde. Mes commentaires étaient langue dans la joue.

Dave p


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

The original set was the French Introduction Course which was just a couple of CDs.

That has now been assimilated into the complete 8-hour course of 8 CDs. 
The ISBN for the set of 8 is 0-340-78063-0.
This is the set you need, priced originally at £60.

The French Language Builder is the advanced follow-on of two CDs.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Yeh, yeh Dave - it is amazing how Babelfish can mangle colloquialisms.

Your secret is out!


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## iandsm (May 18, 2007)

We have decided to learn French so that we can have a reasonable conversation, or at least make ourselves understood better. At the moment we struggle through but would like to improve matters. Does anyone have any recommendations for learning methods, or indeed have any literature or CD's they would like to dispose of?

We do have the usual phrase books but something more advanced would be great.. Thanks in anticipation.


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## foll-de-roll (Oct 29, 2007)

Hi



The BBC used to do a very good package.



Andy


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

This recent thread had some very good and helpful ideas;

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-983706.html#983706

Have a look through that, 

Borrowing from your library is the easiest way of getting hold of such materials - I loaded my set onto my iPod, (they were mine not the library's though!)

Dave


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Language*

HUGO is good - buy second hand on Ebay - make sure you get the beginners one first though.

Russell


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

For anyone thinking of listening to the Michel Thomas (or any other CD course) while driving, DON'T!

You will be too distracted.

You need to be sitiing comfortably and relaxed to get the best out of them.

You require ready access to the pause button as well.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Yes, have a look at the recent thread, which I have just updated with another handy hint.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Since we had two very similar threads running together I have merged the newer one into the older one, hence there is now only one thread.

I have notified the OP (iandsm) for the newer thread as to the need to do this,

Dave

For the Mods team


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## brockley (Mar 6, 2009)

I have to say that the Michel Thomas method has made a real difference to our French experiences. I find his teaching methods easy to understand and have made real progress without having to flog it.

All my attempts at conversation have been met with genuine interest and humour, I don't mind being a source of amusement if it means I'm understood and getting what I want, I find the biggest problem is getting replies which are just too fast to understand. His course gives you alternative angles to take to make yourself understood and get people to slow down for you.


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

Just did a quick search on ebay for you.
Michel Thomas CD on ebay

I was just discussing learning languages with a friend of mine. When you teach a child to speak it starts with single words which then get linked together. You don't start learning about correct grammar until much later once you have a pretty good vocabulary. I think this is where schools go wrong and Michel Thomas gets it right. He does little bits of grammar but its only a very minor part.

Personally I ignore the le and la or un and une and just use the first thing that comes out of my mouth generally wrong but they understand what you mean and quite often causes some laughter.
So when you call a car masculine expect a smirk or two. I will start worrying about getting these things correct when I can keep up with a conversation 

Karl


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Totally agree with gromett;



gromett said:


> I will start worrying about getting these things correct when I can keep up with a conversation


from my experience the mere fact that you TRY takes you half-way there and they respond positively. Trying to sort out genders is "only done by experience" to quote from our French language teacher - a native born French woman.

Build up your vocabulary and your confidence in trying - the rest will come later (if is has to :? ), we were OK until it got to the technical aspects of a full house survey and the comments about "_evidence of previous termite activity but not living at the moment_" when we were buying our house........  

(The notaire was BRILLIANT and spoke English - she acted for the vendors and the purchasers (both English couples) and translated for all of us! Since she is liable for mistakes we were happy with that! :lol:

Dave


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Michel Thomas*

If anyone is interested, I have the 8 CD Set of Michel Thomas for sale - £35 as New.

isbn 0-340-78063-0

TM


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## Sandy_Saunders (Nov 17, 2008)

One learning method not mentioned so far is the podcast. I have been using the Coffee Break French podcast, which I download from iTunes. It can also be downloaded from their website. ::Link to website::

The podcast is free and the learning process is fairly informal, which suits me.

Sandy


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## alhod (Nov 1, 2010)

Not especially relevant to this but perhaps an amusing comment on the attitude of Brits generally to learning "foreign" languages.
Some (actually, many) years ago I was working in Holland and trying to learn Dutch. My boss, a very genial Dutchman fluent in 5 languages and competent in 3 more, commented 
" I really don't know why you English struggle to learn Dutch - I managed it without any problem when I was three years old."

I did master Dutch eventually, and later Swedish as well and then fair French. It does get easier as you learn more :wink: 

Alan


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## christine1310 (Apr 10, 2008)

Sandy_Saunders said:


> One learning method not mentioned so far is the podcast. I have been using the Coffee Break French podcast, which I download from iTunes. It can also be downloaded from their website. ::Link to website::
> 
> The podcast is free and the learning process is fairly informal, which suits me.
> 
> Sandy


I agree with Sandy - Coffee Break French is excellent as it adds phrase upon phrase to build up your understanding. They do other languages too. I learnt to speak Spanish when I worked in Spain during the seventies so I use their Spanish courses to help keep my 'ear' in.

Christine


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## DocHoliday (Jul 18, 2008)

*Online course*

I know the OP asked for info on books, but others may be interested in the free online course offered by Carnegie Mellon University.

Also, the Michel Thomas material is available online via 'unofficial' routes, so I'm told. :wink:


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