jwwardjr

I am seeking the best way to quickly learn to <BR>speak french. Any advice would be greatly <BR>appreciated. Also we do not have a college <BR>near for classes. Thank you. <BR> <BR>

sallgaier

A book and tape are better than nothing. You can order from Amazon.com or buy at a bookstore. <BR>

Christina

You cannot learn to speak a foreign <BR>language quickly. I would say you need <BR> to study about two years to get by at a <BR>minimum level. The quickest way would be, <BR>of course, to take a formal class at <BR>least one hour day while you are also <BR>living in a foreign country and immersed <BR>in the language. My brother learned <BR>Spanish that way, living in El Salvador, <BR>and was fairly competent in a year or <BR>so. I did not go to France until studying <BR>French for two years, a formal college <BR>class of about one hour a day--I could <BR>not understand much spoken to me, but <BR>could read all signs, the newspaper, etc. <BR>which is very helpful, and could make <BR>others understand me, although I couldn't <BR>understand them. People think learning <BR>a foreign language is a lot easier than <BR>it is. <BR> But, the previous post is right: books <BR>and tapes are better than nothing. <BR>Definitely get a tape if you aren't in a <BR>class, as you will need to hear it spoken <BR>correctly and get used to hearing it. <BR>

Marilyn Ham

Try going to your local library. They may have cassette tapes to rent. I learned enough Italian to get by by also purchasing the Pimsler Italian tapes and the Passport tapes. They were my favorite. Just learning the words you may be asking for the most, like "Where is . . ." "Dove . . .", etc. M. Ham <BR>

Phyllis Jones

Definitely get the best language tape you can find. I suggest getting it in a bookstore where you can read the information about what is on the tape. You want to find a tape that is spoken by NATIVE SPEAKERS. Berlitz for Travelers is o.k., but some of their phrases are long and hard to remember. When you find tapes, listen to them in your car every day or while walking with a Walkman. You need to listen as much as possible and repeat. <BR>Another good way to learn is to make sticky labels (post it notes are good)of common objects in your house in French of course and put them on the respective objects. (bed/lit, chair/chaise, door/port,window/fenetre, etc. Repeat them. Post numerals on your bathroom mirror and rehearse them every day. You have to create your own immersion. Try talking to your partner in French beginning with your morning greeting. <BR>Carry a phrase book around the house and use it as necessary. French is not a difficult language, but it does need to be pronounced properly or they will ignore you. (What's that expression "The French don't care what you say as long as you pronounce it properly".) You have to "play act"...pretend you are in France and HAVE to speak French to survive.You will be surprised how quickly, once you learn the basics, you will have fun learning.It also helps to read the French you hear on tapes as it is spoken as it reinforces the sound and the spelling and the words themselves. The 4 parts of learning... read it, see it, hear it, write it. Also, if you can find one, try to get a book like Barrons that has you writing answers to questions, etc. A book of coloquial French is also helpful. It lets you speak casually, the way we do, rather than in the formal form as in writing. I have used these methods in French and in Deutsch as I moved to Germany awhile back and needed a crash course. It helped. Bon chance! (Good luck!)

Donna

I picked up "French for Travelers" by the Learning Company on CD rom and it is excellent. A really comprehensive package for learning what you need to know for visiting and getting around. I also have several sets of cassette tapes, thinking I could learn French in the car driving back and forth to work - but, I wouldn't recommend any of them and didn't get much out of them. One thing I found particularly helpful is a "workbook" with lessons (resembling an elementary school workbook). By the time I got to the end, I was amazed at how much I had learned. An excellent phrase book is Barron's French at a Glance. Unlike many of the others, it has phonetic pronunciations and every really useful phrase imaginable. Also, has excellent sections on dining, getting around and so forth, along with lots of other just very useful information

lynne

<BR>If you really want to learn quickly you probably need private one to one (or small class) lessons. Is there anyone where you live who already speaks French...? Then you need to use the above methods to reinforce what you learn. Do you have any language schools where you live?

dan

French is not going to be easy without classes, since there are so many prononications that are very different from what you are used to. Learning to read French, however, is much easier than you might think. There are so many words that are basically the same as the English, just different in prononciation. I have always liked the Vocabulearn tapes. They are basically vocabulary, something that I find to be the most useful when travelling, if you don't have time to learn much about the grammar. They cover hundreds of words and phrases. Wonderful for listening in the car. I have used several different grammar tapes too. Don't get one that does dialogs as a teaching method to start with. After the first couple of dialogs, you may be completely lost. I would suggest as a starter to get a basic French text like is used in high school or college. Use it along with a vocabulary tape to learn prononications. Also, buy one of the small pocket-size guides to learn travel-oriented words and phrases. Learn the pronouns and the verb conjugations for "to be," "to have," and "to go" first of all. <BR> <BR>If you are ever really interested in this, there are places in France where you stay for a few weeks while they teach you about the language and culture. <BR>