Learn French in two weeks?
 

I am rather unexpectedly going to Paris, at the end of a trip to London. Will be there about four days, two of them by myself,and I don't speak French! What is your best advice?

Hi Stephanie,<BR> You lucky duck, have fun in France! I'm learning French right now and I've found two really helpful books: the "Berlitz Essential French" book and "French Made Simple" by Eugene Jackson". They are both very straightforward and give you a lot of basic vocabulary. But if you don't find a good book in time to read on the plane, then just go for those very polite phrases: s'il vous plait, merci, bonjour, etc. My non-French-speaking friend returned from Paris recently and said that her few attempts at speaking French were met with friendly smiles. As long as you're trying, right? :)<BR>Me, I'm planning a trip to France year after next, but right now I've got to practice my Italian for this May..wish me luck, and I wish you luck too!

Pimsleur language tapes. Some libraries carry them. They are quite expensive but worth it.

Once you've mastered the three basic phrases--hello, mr. or mrs.; please; thank you, and perhaps one that apologizes for your language limitations--just use your little phrase book and a book of index cards to create cheat sheets. Need to give directions to the taxi driver?<BR>Do your "hello" and hand him the index card with the hotel and address. Need to ask him how much? Hand him the index card with that French phrase and one that asks him to write the amount down. When you arrive at the hotel? Again, a nice "bonjour, madame" etc. and the confirmation/name/length of stay on the index card.<BR><BR>I have yet to have met a single working person in Spain, France or Italy who has been insulted by this method. After all,I have a) tried to speak their language with an emphasis on being polite, b) have not assumed that they should be able to speak fluent English and c)tried to be as clear with details as possible given my limitations. <BR><BR>By the end of the trip, you'll find yourself willing to speak the phrase rather than write it, and in the meantime, you've spent no time frustrating others or yourself.<BR><BR>But once again, please, please, please say Bonjour, monsieur/Bonjour, madame before sliding the card over the counter.<BR><BR><BR>

You can buy the Pimsleur Quick and Easy French for about $14 from Amazon. The full introductory course costs a lot more, but for your needs I think this might be more appropriate. If you decide you want to learn more you can always invest in the full course later... The website for the Pimsleur tapes is: <BR><BR>http://www.languagetapes.com/<BR><BR>There's a link to Amazon from there.

impossible to learn in 2 months, let alone 2 weeks. i would focus on 10 phrases. here's some:<BR><BR>1. bonjour - hello<BR>2. au revoir - bye<BR>3. l'addition s'il vous plait - the bill please<BR>4. monsieur/madame - mr/mrs/ms, also what you would use to get a waiter's attention<BR>5. pardon - what you say when you bump into someone<BR>6. parlez-vous anglais? - do you speak english<BR>7. que mal &eacute;lev&eacute;! - what you (may) say when someone is rude to you (literally, how badly raised you are)<BR>8. combien? - how much?<BR>9. desol&eacute; - sorry. what you say to a panhandler when you don't want to give anything (saying nothing can be perceived as an insult)<BR>10. je regrette. je ne parle aucun francais - i'm sorry, i don't speak any french<BR><BR>i like the vocabulary site http://www.vokabel.com as a means to learn vocab/phrases as quickly as possible<BR>9.

You might want to take a look at this site: http://www.francekeys.com/ Under Culture click on French for Travelers. It gives you 15-20 common words and phrases you will need. If you have Realplayer you can click on the word or phrase and hear it pronounced for you. You can also download a bunch of others for $9.95. I haven't downloaded the pay version but the free part is clear and accurate. Although it's true that you can get by with very little French, it is also true that the more you know, the better your experience will be. Good for you for wanting to learn. Good luck!

this is a great site to learn the basics in French, or one of their 80 other languages.<BR><BR>http://www.travlang.com/languages/<BR><BR>You can click on the words and hear how they are pronounced, and they also have little tests you can take. Have fun!

Chere Stephanie -<BR><BR>Easy stuff. Check out the BBC's online Languages site:<BR><BR>http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/languages/french/index.shtml<BR><BR>There's a gauge to give you personalized feedback on which of their sites to check out, and there's also tons of audio and video so that you can hear it before you're actually there.<BR><BR>And, 2 days there doing whatever you want to do - how totally exciting! Have fun!!<BR>= )

Look at Fodor's website on the home page, right hand side under "Resources-Languages".<BR>It gives you all the necessary phrases along with audio to tell you how it should sound.

I am using the Pimsleur method and it is wonderful. I first checked the tapes out from the library but that was a limited set of 8 lessons. Then I purchased Pimselur French I on E-Bay and was pleased. When I purchsed French II, though, I had a problem but it was resolved amicably. They are the best method I have tried and I have tried many. If you just have two weeks, try the set of 8 from the library.