Suggest a good software/method to learn french

[IssamH]

Hi,

Right now, my method for learning French is watching a lot of French films/TV shows, and listening to French Radio Stations (this is how I learned English) but I need something else besides this. I need a DVD, software, audio book or some other stuff that could help me to accomplish my goal.

The problem is, there is a lot of stuff to choose from. And I don’t really want to waste any money on useless software, DVDs or audio books. I’ll list a few of the available learning methods, and please choose one that you have tried personally.

1. Rosetta Stone

2. Tell Me More

3. Fluenz

4 .Pimsleur

5. Instant Immersion

6. Other method that is not listed here.

Let me know why you’ve chosen it, and how would you rate it from 1 to 10.

Thanks,

Issam

[JoanMcWench]

Currently, I am only using Rosetta Stone. It is fantastic. One to ten? I would rate it a nine. It loses a point on some things that bother me personally. Is it worth the amount you spend on it? That really depends. New, it is excessively expensive. Buying it on eBay is a great way around that.

[IssamH]

Thank you for your response, Joan.

Yeah, Rosetta Stone is a bit expensive, but is it as good as it claims to be? Can I gain fluency using it? or does it just teach the basic stuff?

I want to make sure first, I can't pay that amount of money if all I'm going to learn are the basics.

Have you ever tried any of the above tools? Fluenz uses the same concept, and it is a lot cheaper. But I'm not sure if it is better than Rosetta, or worse.

[ArchaeRogue]

I think the best way to learn French (or any other language) is immersion. Before I enrolled into a French course, what I did was:

In the morning, I would listen to French radio for an hour. Then, I would watch a French TV show for about an hour after getting home from school. At night, I listen to a Primselur CD before sleeping.

This has really helped me prior to taking French, and right now, I'm completely breezing through pronunciation and basic grammar.

[FatesWing]

I tried Tell Me More before but always found it wasn't as complete of a learning experience as I would've liked. I switched to Rosetta Stone recently and absolutely love it! I actually find myself mentally referring back to the lessons to use what I learned in everyday life.

[MegaZero]

Rosetta stone is AWESOME. I used it and I literally learned the language in 6 months! I would really recommending reading a lot and speaking it to other people because it really helps you.

All the best!

[charahome]

I have heard that Rosetta Stone works. I was hesitant because of the cost. However, reading the comments from those of you that use it, I feel more inclined to get it.

I am still debating whether to learn French or Italian. It is a matter of choice more than anything. I think both languages are fascinating.

[SirTenenbaum]

I don't think you need to buy Rosetta Stone--it's a lot of money, and I'm doubtful that it's worth it. I would recommend finding a speaking partner online to skype with and buying a few novels to read in French.

If you need something structured, the University of Texas at Austin has a free online French textbook that's called "Francais Interactif" (with a cedilla of course). I've used the textbook in conjunction with reading novels in French, and it is quite enjoyable and much cheaper than Rosetta Stone-it's only the cost of some used novels in French. Heck, you could maybe find some at a library. And honestly, do you really need to practice the sentence "The boy jumps" dozens of times like you do in Rosetta Stone? The only thing I'm lacking is a speaking partner, but I'm not really interested in that right now. I'm happy with reading French.

Also, whatever you do, you have to enjoy doing it.

[Jrh2]

I like to use the Duolingo app for learning french. I think it is a great app as it is free to use and fun to take part in. It is set out like a game and there are levels to complete but you only have three lives unless you use the points you earn to buy more hearts. Each level teaches you new words in a topic which is always useful but unlike other apps or sites I have seen it teaches you grammar and making sentences as you go along. I find it harder to put sentences together so making sentences gradually throughout the app is a great help. You can set daily goals to keep up with learning your new language and it keeps reord in a graph of how many points you earned each day. I would give the app ten out of ten as it is fun to use, a helpful way of learning a language and best of all, free.