Customer Reviews

Behind the Wheel French (8 CD Course) (French Edition)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After a thorough review of 3 competing products (Pimsleur, Berlitz, Learn in Your Car), I personally chose Behind the Wheel French as the best overall value for the following reasons:
1. Ease of Use: By far the easiest and most enjoyable in this category. The multi-track system is so nice. Berlitz was immature, Pimsleur has only one long track, and Learn in Your Car went too fast for me to repeat.
2. Method: This is where Behind the Wheel French really shines. The method and sentence building techniques had me speaking original sentences in French after my first half hour into the course. No competitor came even close to this achievement. Also, it's easy to learn with Celine on the CDs.
3. Relevance: The material was super relevant, meaning 'useful' in everyday situations which included directions, travel, school, food, everything. What is great is that you learn to communicate in these areas in your own 'original' way and not just memorize a bunch of canned phrases.
4. Easy to Navigate: Super easy to jump from one category to the other using the tracks.
5. User Friendly: The other language courses I tried sounded and felt like 'language courses'. Behind the Wheel French seemed so natural that I learned to speak French without feeling like I was 'studying'. It was so enjoyable that I looked forward (and still enjoy) listening and learning from the CDs.
6. Appropriate Learning Pace: As I mentioned earlier, Behind the Wheel French had the learning speed just perfect for me. I was a beginner and now I feel that I am intermediate or better.
7. English Once, French Twice: The English is given once and the French twice. It is obvious that the instructor taught French at the university level and shares a deep knowledge of the subject with you in English while the native French speaker Celine teaches you 'real' French. Ideal combo.
I wish someone would have saved me the time, money and frustration that I experienced with other courses and had given me the advice that I'm giving you. If you really want to learn to speak and understand good basic French, Behind the Wheel French is for you.

I am a second year french student who purchased this set to help with my pronounciation. This set is awesome! I was very impressed and I have seen improvements in my listening skills and speaking in just a few days. It's an extemely well put together set. The only warning is that the CDs may not work in extremely old CD players.

I loved the way I was able to 'skip around' efficiently with Behind the Wheel French CDs.
Unlike Pimsleur (which has no tracks at all), which I tried and later returned, you can move around from subject to subject on these wonderful 'user-friendly' CDs.
I loved the logical way in which the CD tracks were efficiently and professionally laid out.
It gives me the option of say.... reviewing directions or practicing the past, present or future. Even the idioms and folk expressions are easy to get to.
The voices are fantastic and the sentence building techniques and built in review make this course a five star keeper. It is the best I have found and I am now speaking and understanding a good deal of French thanks to this course.
As for appearance, I think the course 'looks' fine. Very professional.
For those who are hung up on appearance only, I suggest trying one of the hundreds of lousy French courses out there with more beautiful and shiny covers to look at while stumbling around trying to figure out how to learn French.
For me, I want a course that is fast, easy, and teaches you how to really 'speak' French.
Behind the Wheel French does all of this and more.

I've tried other CD sets to learn French and this is the best! The CD's are multiple track and although each track is rather long, I simply use the fast forward button on my car's CD player to skip through parts I really know. At first it seemed strange to learn without written materials, but the results speak for themselves (no pun intended). I highly recommend this course.

I saw Mark (the founder of Language Dynamics) on Good Day New York on WYNW Fox 5 a few weeks ago. I was so impressed by his philosophy of language teaching (and his fluency in 5 languages) that I bought his 'Behind the Wheel French' 8 CD course. From the perspective of a New Yorker who spends time driving, (many of us don't) this course is a godsend. It is my opinion however, that you could learn French anywhere with this course, not just in your car.
Just like Mark said in his interview; Behind the Wheel French teaches you the building blocks of fluency in the language, not just a few canned phrases. Once you learn the basics from this course, you can pretty much learn on your own because you already speak the language.
About the production. My CDs and overall package was of the highest quality. The voices on the CDs have excellent diction and are crystal clear. I thank Fox 5 for presenting this excellent method and course to me and others in their segment 'Foreign Language Courses 101'.

I can't speak for others but I experienced superior results from Behind the Wheel French.
My sister in law is French and I had to seek her advice as to which course to purchase, having failed miserably with Michel Thomas, Berlitz and Pimsleur.
According to her, Mark's French accent is excellent compared to most American speakers of French, and especially compared to Michel Thomas.
I am not an accent expert, but I do know a good methed when I experience it and this is by far the fastest and easiest I have yet used.
I actually began to speak French after the first 20 minutes into the course, and I mean more than just a disjounted 'Bonjour'. I learned 'structure' that I could modify myself.
Sure, it was simple, but I am a beginner and I need simplicity, especially at first.
ideal for beginners but does challenge you to learn at a quick pace.

Many thanks or 'Merci Beaucoup' to Language Dynamics for coming up with Behind the Wheel French. A truly great course.
Friendly voices come at you in a non threatening way to teach you how to speak French while in your car, jogging, etc. ..
I really appreciated the natural, non grammatical approach and the native French speaker. I also liked the fact that the American instructor has an advanced degree in French and was rated as an excellent instructor by his university students. This level of expertise is evident in the CD presentation which is low key but extremely effective at getting one (me in this case) to speak and understand basic French.

Once you buy this French course, as far as basic communication is concerned, you need buy no other. This is a one stop, easy-to-learn, easy-to-use French language course.
Unique in its approach, creative in its technique, I owe it all to this great course.
HOW DO THEY DO IT?
After careful analysis of the method and course I have determined that the key to its success is in part due to the sentence building techniques that get you talking the language fast.
My second observation is that the learning approach is so low-key that my anxiety level fell through the floor at the same time that my language proficiency was soaring.
My third comment is that this course held my interest more than others I have used. It was actually 'fun' to learn French using this course.
Fourth, the memory techniques really work. They repeat the same information at different intervals throughout the course so that you memorize without the 'rote'. You really don't even notice it.
Fifth, the interview technique gets you 'engaged' in the learning process. You feel like and are an 'active participant' in the language learning process.
Sixth, it doesn't matter if you're interrupted a thousand times (and you will be, believe me). You can repeat the track at the push of a button and the material will almost magically 'reappear' at a different strategic point later on in the course.
Seventh, The voices were very nice and easy to understand.
From my personal experience and the great results I'm getting, Behind the Wheel French is by far the best on the market in its category.
Buy this course. You'll be happy you did.

I've tried several others, but this is the best course I have found. I don't seem to want to gravitate back to the others, such as what's-his-name, Michel Thomas, is it?. (Maybe I should for some contrast.)

I was looking for a way to get back some of the time I was spending while making the same repeated 30-minute drive back and forth to the same place and so I start one of the CDs and listen and repeat while driving along. (OK, so that is what the course is for, all right?) If my mind drifts while listening, so what? There is always next time. I have had no trouble missing the cows standing in the roads around here while using the CDs.

Once I have gained the vocabulary and practiced the phrases a few times, I find that the short response time given after the English word or phrase, mentioned as a complaint by some other reviewers, becomes an advantage because more practice can be packed into less time spent, and things move right along without boring empty pauses. (I think some people want it all up front. More power to them if they can get it.)

I am reaching the point where I have some of the CDs practically memorized. This is a beginning only, but a good one as I can feel it all beginning to come together after several months now.

On the Cds, Mark comes off something as a jerk (who hasn't thought of his teachers as at least somewhat jerky?) and who therefore makes the perfect foil for the smoky-voiced, smooth, and relentless Céline. (Her voice reminds me somewhat of that of Crystal Gayle, the country singer of a few years back.) I really enjoy hearing her.

Notice how pricey the set remains, even when used. I think others have found the same thing as I.

At the risk of sounding a little corny, I rate Behind the Wheel French the 'Best in the West'
for one reason and one reason only. It's simple.
That's it.
I have tried other courses in both Spanish and French and find the Language Dynamics
method and the Behind the Wheel series in particular to be by far the fastest and easiest I have yet tried.
I like the fact that there is no baloney, no corny and strange sounds, or bells and whistles announcing the next lesson.
I also like the clear voices and the straightforward non-grammatical approach that gets you speaking French fast. The multi-tracks were also nice.
Just one criticism. I would have liked some kind of written material with the course to see how the words were spelled. (I do realize though that this course is designed for your car so reading probably isn't a good idea).
Other than that, no complaints. I 'd recommend the course to anyone.