Customer Reviews

Learn in Your Car French: The Complete Language Course [With GuidebookWith CD Wallet] (French Edition)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a follow-up, I bought this almost exactly one year ago. I have listened daily all year in my car, mornings only (evening reserved for "conversational" programs like SmartFrench and ImmersionPlus). Basically this program is responsible for the fact that I can now speak French (not 100% fluently, of course, but well enough to hold a respectable conversation in all tenses).

I briefly tried Michel Thomas, Pimsleur and others this year, but LIYCF was clearly the very best of the bunch. Very thorough in terms of vocabulary, pronounciation and also very easy to use. And what a bargain. Tutors want to charge me $30-35 *PER LESSON*; for less than $40 I've had a daily "tutor" in my car (during time that would otherwise be a complete waste) for an entire year.

(I imagine another listener could finish the course in half the time if they listened to it exclusively in the a.m. and p.m. But I do recommend something like SmartFrench to "round it out.")

**In fact, if Penton made a Level IV (covering more subjunctive forms, idiomatic expressions, etc.), I would run out and buy it today.**

So as I come to the final side of the final tape, exactly one year later, just in time for my move to Paris, I say "THANK YOU Penton!"

I'm an intermediate French student and decided to buy this 3-Level package in order to have a comprehensive audio package. The bonus 3 CD book "Secrets of Learning a Foreign Language" is a great way to start your study and has alot of very interesting information and examples on the structure of languages, plus it is humorously and interesting presented. It really motivates you to get started! Be sure to listen to it before you start the Learn French in Your Car CD's.

The whole package is very well designed. For example, the listening guides have an index on the outside back cover so you can quickly find the CD and track you want. Very handy! Then, if you want to hear only the French, you can adjust the balance of your speakers to eliminate the English portion. The pauses between the English and 1st French repetition give you time to test yourself if you already know some French. If not, just wait for the 2 repetitions in French, each with a pause to allow you to repeat what you've just heard. The English voice (male) and the French voice (female) are both pleasant and very clear. Excellent quality and amazingly low price for what you get. Highly recommended to all!

This program consists of 9 CDs containing a total of 106 lessons divided into three levels. Each lesson consists of between 15 and 30 words or phrases grouped together to illustrate a particular aspect of the language. Each phrase is spoken in English first followed by a brief pause, followed by the French translation and another pause. The first pause is for you to repeat the phrase if you already know it; the second pause is for you to repeat the phrase if you don't. As you repeat each lesson over and over, the number of instances where you can say a phrase before the French translation increases to the point where you ultimately know them all. The number of repetitions it takes depends on your particular aptitude for the language.

If you are a daily prisoner in a car like I am, the approach is nearly ideal. My particular method was to cover 6-8 lessons in a half hour period during my morning commute and then repeat the same lessons during my afternoon commute. Each day I would add one lesson to the end and subtract one from the beginning. Hence, the first day might be lessons 1-6, the second 2-7, the third 3-8, and so on. Eventually, you get to the end and start over. In my case, I never waited to achieve 100% comprehension before moving on. That may have been an mistake; I don't know. If you follow my method, it takes about 6 months of commuting to get thru the entire package once.

Three booklets are contained in the package, and each booklet lists the phrases covered on the CD and offers both the French translation as well as a brief explanation of the grammatical point being made. The grammar discussions are *very* brief and only serve to assist the learning process. This is by no means a French textbook. The material moves much faster than the Pimsleur CD set, but there are no dialogs, so it's a little less cohesive. This package also doesn't use the circular reinforcement that is characteristic of the Pimsleur method.

The course itself is quite thorough, going thru several tenses (present, past, compound past, immediate past, and future), conjugations, and situations (hotel, restaurant, shopping, time, money, etc), as well as some advanced concepts (present and past subjunctive). Everything is offered in the form of useful expressions, so you never feel you're being 'drilled'. Still, it's a full meal, not a brief traveler's introduction. My sense is that you probably get a little further into the language with this package than with the Pimsleur method, but I can't prove it.

In fact, the speed of the material is a bit of a problem. I got bogged down in the fourth CD, when the phrases got complicated to the point where I couldn't keep up with the pace. The further I went, the less of each lesson I understood. I think it's probably necessary to study the books about as much as you use the CDs, and that wasn't an investment I was willing to make. That's a shortcoming on my part, not the course's.

The other observation I would make is that all of the French is spoken a little too clearly and perfectly. I know that probably doesn't sound like a fault, but my experience is that I have a much, much harder time understanding a French speaker than I do speaking French. Within reason, I can say what I want, but I have a very difficult time understanding the response. If you are going to use this course, I recommend that you find an additional source of commonly spoken French, because the colloquial version is quite different from the American 'taught' version. In this regard, the "French In Action" videos are now available on the web, and you can view them for free. I find them an ideal companion to audio work.

I had to go to Paris for a conference and didn't know the first bit of French other than "Bon jour!" and "Oui." I searched through many options and, after reading all the reviews, decided on French Complete. I spent two months (about 3-4 hours per week) listening to the first 3 CDs (Level 1) over and over and over again in the car. By the time I left for my trip, I was surprisingly comfortable with basic French conversation. I was confident I would be just fine.

Then the trip came and I was surprised that I was more than okay! I not only managed to get directions, talk to the waiters/waitresses, and purchase items, I even had an American woman stumble through asking me something in French after hearing me talk with a French woman. She thought I was French! I was also able to help an American couple purchase metro tickets at the ticket window.

I didn't go on to Level's 2 or 3 before my trip because they got even more in-depth than what I figured I needed for my trip and I was correct. However, I had so much fun on my trip and had so much fun speaking French with the French, that I'm going to go back and follow-up on my lessons. It's true that a lot of French will talk to you in English, but I never could have found that hidden metro station at 12:30 am without these CDs. And that would have meant walking all the way back to my hotel.

One last thing. The CDs come with a little booklet that you can read along with (assuming you're not driving at the time) to see the phrases. I highly recommend NOT using the booklet. You'll get too caught up in pronouncing French words with an English pronunciation. Just listen and learn and you'll be fine. If you want to, look at the words AFTER you know how to pronounce them and what they mean. Then, you can actually start learning how to read and speak.

French Complete is tr?s bon!

Unfortunately, I think I have been spoiled by the Pimsleur lessons which is why I don't think this audio set is that good. Now one thing this set has that is better than Pimsleur is it contains a book with all the words, phrases, and sentences you hear on the cd's, which is excellent. Where this product fails though is that it is based on mindless repitition. With the pimsleur lessons, if a word has more than one syllable, the speaker will break down the foreign word into the seperate syllables to make sure you are pronouncing the word correctly. I feel that this is a NECESSARY feature if you actually want to make sure you are saying the word properly. Also with this set, you just seem to learn a bunch of sentences and phrases, but you never actually engage in any type of conversation....in contract with the Pimsleur serious, where you learn to have a simple conversation right after your first lesson. Overall, this is a good serious if you just want to learn some sentences...but I would suggesst getting something else if you actually want to have a conversation with a French speaking person.

It's amazing to see the changes that have occurred in the way a foreign language is taught now compared when I was in school so many years ago. I didn't remember much from school, but I remembered just a little about things like sentence structure and a small handfull of words. ==With this course you learn so much more because you listen to the language being spoken rather than spending so much time reading. And my need is not to be able to read the language but to be able to understand it when spoken.

The real key to this course is that it makes very practical use of time otherwise totally wasted on the drive to and from work. It's not exactly painless, you still have to concentrate on listening and speaking. Then a little bit of talking with a native speaker, you will pick up the language far better than you expect.

I used the Learn in Your Car for about 6 weeks prior to a trip to France. I had studied French in high school for 5 years (graduated 25 years ago), so had some basis on which to build my language skills. The whole set was highly enjoyable, fun to use and really helped me when I got there. It is delivered in easily digestible bits, is clearly spoken and puts in useful conversational items. I also like the way it builds from the simplist of useful terms to incorporate more complicated vocabularly and grammar.

I had to report a broken washing machine to the manager of the home we rented. While it didn't actualy teach the words "The washing machine is broken." It did teach Do laundry and "it doesn't work" (in the car section). So, I was able to communicate this. I also had to inquire about a lost drivers license and employed some phrases taught in the CD to discuss this.

I had bought a french language Grammar Book along with the CDs. It was so overwhelming that I couldn't even get past the first chapter. I think the CDs are a terrific way to get immersed in the language that make it fun and enjoyable. Even my kids liked hearing it and repeating the phrases in the car.

People with no prior French language experience will have to go slower and may require more time to get up to speed.

Once I got to France, I sometimes found it hard to understand responses to my beautifully asked questions! However, the French were terrific at helping me with the language and explaining things slowly. I think more time with the CDs would have been useful: I only got through the 5th CD (Middle of the 2nd level).

I would highly recommend it to others planning travel to France.

I gave French Complete Learn in Your Car just 4 stars because of its 'canned' phrase
approach to teaching French.
The strengths of the course are obvious. Good voices, clear presentation, relevant vocabulary. But you're still in a box that they have constructed for you.
This means that you have no way to 'break out' and speak your own mind with a course like this. It's good, but then, so are many others who follow this approach.
Even though I have learned French from this course and am not returning it, I prefer the method and the results I have received from Behind the Wheel French. I was speaking my own original sentences after the first hour. Tough act to follow.

I have taken a few French classes and this was a fun easy refresher to teach and go over the basics in spoken French language. It also helps refine pronunciation and was exactly what I was looking for. It might be a little challenging for someone with no experience at all in the language.

I bought Pimsleur first, then I went to another store and saw the 'Learn in Your Car' program. Since the latter promised more lessons than the former, I returned Pimsleur and bought LIYC. I was disappointed.

Like another reviewer said, this is like having someone read a French dictionary to you. They throw an English word out there and follow it with the French translation....and that's it. I cannot see myself becoming proficient in another language by using this program. I would only recommend buying this if you need a quick reference on how to pronounce a word. I returned this program and bought back the Pimsleur discs. I am very happy with this decision.

Although LIYC has more "lessons" than Pimsleur, you have to think in terms of quality over quantity. Pimsleur actually provides instruction, they break down terms for better understanding. They also sneak in material from previous lessons to ensure reinforcement. I'm a slow learner but I'm catching on pretty quick using Pimsleur. They're definitely the better brand.