French Made Simple

I used this book for my review of French in preparation for a recent trip to Paris. I found it very well organized and thorough. I took it to work with me each day on the train and was able to review a dialogue and chapter in a day or so over the course of about three months. It was very up to date, and covered the material logically and clearly. And the dialogues were consistently interesting and entertaining. However, in spite of what the cover says, this is not a book for total beginners. I was fortunate that I already had a firm foundation in pronunciation, vocabulary and basic French grammar. But this book dives in quickly, and beginners would probably not find it so easy and should probably look elsewhere. However, if you have already studied French in high school or college, and a quick review of the basics is what you are looking for, I am sure that you will find this book to be what you are looking for. What I need now is a good review of Italian, for my yet to be planned trip to Rome and tour of Italy!

This is one of the best books on beginner's French, although 'quickly' and 'easily' are not the right words to use - French is certainly not a quick and easy language to learn. Both Spanish and Italian are much easier. There are only two books on Beginner's French I recommend, this Made Simple-book and French Demystified: A Self - Teaching Guide. If you want to learn at a slower pace and not so intensively then Demystified is a better choice, this Made Simple-book is more intense, which makes it more difficult for some people. They are equally good in my opinion and I enjoyed working with both: Demystified feels more laid-back and not so stressful, but Made Simple has more reading passages and a larger variety of exercises. This book is an updated version of the older French (Made Simple Books). You may ask yourself whether it's worth the extra money to get this new edition rather than the old one...well, I have both of them and I say: Yes ! Why ?: > the book is a standard-sized textbook and not pocket anymore <br />> fonts are larger, making the text easier to read <br />> updated modern vocabulary <br />> more excercises <br />> the grammar is more thoroughly explained <br />> more reading passages <br />> the pronunciation guide uses a simpler system based on American English <br />> the story takes place partly in the US and partly in France - the previous books took place in the UK and France <br /> <br />The prospective buyer should note that the first 2-3 chapters will explain the pronunciation to you, but in the following chapters only certain words and phrases that deviate from the standards are shown with a pronunciation guide. <br /> <br />All the dialogues in each chapter are part of a story that runs through the book: an American businessman in New York who wants to learn French and go to France for a visit, he is being taught by Frenchman living in New York. <br /> <br />As you might have guessed, you build up a basic business-vocabulary with words such as: 'office, buyer, client, shipment...' <br />But, you also learn every-day words like: food and drinks, telling the time, words for traveling, talking about hobbies etc. <br /> <br />Each chapter is relatively short and you should be able to go through one in as little as 30 minutes, excercises included. <br /> <br />This book follows a very effective design that worked well for me: <br />i) shorter chapters <br />ii) relatively short vocabulary lists in each chapter <br />ii) slower and more gradual coverage of grammar <br /> <br />The combined effect of all these is that I learned in a truly gradual manner, and because I could go through a chapter in just 30 minutes it didn't feel like a chore to study with this book. <br /> <br />By the way, expect 6-9 months to complete this book, because it is equivalent to a one-year course at college or uni. <br /> <br />

this book does just what the title say's. it is for anyone who wants to learn french fast.

this is a well thought out language book. I found the pronounciations particularly helpful, and it is laid out really well (designed well) and the grammar is concise and easy to follow. I found this book a very beneficial part of my library of 'learning french' books. It's one of my favourites.