Customer Reviews

SmartFrench CD-rom: Learn French From Real French People (Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OSX)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you want to be like the majority of Americans who have taken a foreign language in high school or college and can hardly decipher a word of conversational French then Smart French is not for you. On the other hand, if you feel that the value of learning a foreign language is to understand NATIVE speakers and hear the language as it is actually spoken then Smart French is a MUST buy. This program will completely demystify the art to French spoken language--and it is an art. When I heard my first lesson I honestly felt betrayed by my other programs--why didn't they simply tell the truth about French pronunciation like Smart French does? That is why if you have had years of instruction or not even one French lesson this program will benefit you.

You get a booklet with the written dialogues, the alphabet, and helpful pronunciation tips. You also get a a CD software program which effortlessly takes you through a rich library of interesting conversations. You can watch the video and audio together or listen to the audio alone. The secret to Smart French is that it breaks it down for you--lesson by lesson. One of the most important things in learning a language is to utilize your listening skills--something that had always terrified me until Smart French. Go through each dialogue step by step and you will lose your fear and finally gain the confidence to trust your ears. Then pick up your old language books, tapes, and French movies and you will be amazed when you finally understand the speech patterns. I highly recommend this program--ENJOY!

I am a French native and I am very very very familiar with SmartFrench. I am a French teacher myself and this product is the best. You won't be bored with endless old fashion text and audio which will put you to sleep. This interactive product will keep you interested and fresh.

1.One of the reviewers wrote:" The program is mainly just based on conversations between French speakers." What's wrong with this? That is exactly how you learn, period!

2."The bundle lacks actual vocabulary practice and conjugation rules. " Enough with the conjugaison!!!

As a NEW student you will get the vibe as you discover the meaning of what you hear and read, as an INTERMEDIATE student you will understand better about the tenses and the more specific vocabulary....and for the ADVANCED student you finally get into the rythm of delivery.

I think it is a great product, not expensive, easy to use...Perfect!!! Nothing better on the market.

If you are serious about understanding spoken French, and learning to speak it yourself, then you owe it to yourself to pick up Smart French. Each lesson is broken down into logical steps that enable you to progress rapidly. It still takes discipline and motivation, and a good book on grammar is highly recommended, but of all the ways I have attempted to learn and to teach myself french, this is far and away the best.

Perhaps the key insight of this learning system is to get the listener (and viewer) quickly to the point where one is learning to understand and to repeat French the way that it is spoken by French speakers. We have all had the experience of feeling that people speaking in other language speak too quickly for us to pick up more than a word or two. With Smart French you will learn not only to follow along, but to speak at the same pace, and before you know it you will be speaking quickly too.

This is not the system to get if you desire only to learn canned phrases and to attempt to reach a facile understanding of phrasebook French, but if you want to attempt to get a handle on French as an organic language, a tool with which to communicate, a tool with a fantastic linguistic history and tradition, and an ever-evolving tool at that, then I recommend giving Smart French a try.

Wanting to begin learing French, I spent a lot of time looking for a program to help me. I saw that SmartFrench had 5 stars and was relatively cheap. It looked like a good product, so I bought it. Unfortunatly, it was not very helpful. It simply has you recite French conversations. It has no vocabulary and no grammar. Perhaps listening to and reciting interviews in French is a good way to brush up on a language, or perfect your pronunciation, but it is simply not a good way to actually LEARN the language. This program may have a "beginner" level, but if you are a new to French and are considering getting this product, please learn from my mistake. This program is NOT FOR BEGINNERS.

One important aspect of the learning process with this program is that I
actually enjoy doing it. Having borrowed some other French programs, I'm
convinced this method is the most sound, yielding real results. I am
definitely getting good things from Smart French.

This is an excellent tutorial in spoken French, but falls a little short in one or two regards. For example, it could *really* benefit from a vocabulary list. The French and English are placed side by side, but there are numerous occasions wherein the English translation fails to include entire words from the French, leaving the user to figure out what the French words mean from context, which words mean what, or running to a dictionary (which are notoriously short on idiomatic expressions). While language is certainly learned in this manner by children, it can be frustrating for the student of French who wants to learn quickly. A vocabulary list would solve this problem. Also, because the CD-ROM is set up in a non-linear fashion, while listening to the CDs one has to hear the same phrases repeated over and over ("we suggest you follow our approach" and "this is called liasion" come to mind), which becomes tiring. Having said that, I highly recommend this series for anyone who is studying/has studied French and wants to know how to *speak* French. I use it in conjunction with Learn in Your Car series (a terrific vocabulary builder), and a free resource online, "Chloe ou Les aventures d'une Parisienne." But if you are a beginner, you will certainly need something in addition to this series.

I bought Smart French to brush up on the language before taking a trip to France. It really helped! I took several years of French in junior high and high school back in the days of ALM French and memorizing dialogs. I got pretty good at speaking, but I did not realize that the way I try to speak French based on my education makes me sound like someone trying to speak French like a slowly-speaking orator extremely concerned with diction and delivery. Smart French lets you learn how to speak French the way French people speak normally, in everyday life. And it does a great job!

Smart French has three levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each level contains interviews with natives from all walks of life: metallurgist, cabinet maker, model, French teacher, chef, clothing designer, cabinet maker, diplomat, wigmaker, student, musician/songwriter, interior designer, and even a movie special effects designer. Several of these people live or have lived in the US. For the sake of teaching, the interviews are edited and often start somewhere in the middle of the conversation, but I would have loved to have seen all of them from start to finish because I find people so interesting.

At the Beginner and Intermediate Levels, each interview contains 7 steps: 1) reading the translation in English, 2) listening to the text being read by the interviewer, 3) listening to the text being read by the interviewer and repeating it, 4) simultaneously listening to the text being read by the interviewer and reading it and then repeating it [a little faster than in Step 3], 5) Same as Step 4, but pauses with explanations about special words and phrases, 6) watching the video of the interview, 7) a review of special phrases and words that are highlighted in the interview [in this step you can see the original French and English translation displayed simultaneously]. The Advanced Level leaves out Step 1 [but you can do this yourself, see next paragraph], and in the early steps you listen to the interviewee speaking instead of the interviewer saying what the interviewee said. The pace of speaking increases between levels.

You can bring up the English translation, the French text, or both, at any time. The really cool thing about this program is that when you see the French text, it is color coded to show you the differences between how French is written and how it is spoken in every day use!!! Words that are slurred together are connected by a blue underline. Letters and words that are normally omitted are colored in red.

Smart French also includes Extras that let you hear and practice the alphabet, numbers, and special sounds, listen to dialogs, and see bonus videos. It also comes with a PDF of the booklet that comes with the software that includes some of the interviews in both French and English along with the color coding.

The program is quite easy to use. You just pop the DVD in your computer and the opening screen let's you choose the level you want to start at. From there, you can choose which person you want to hear, or you can choose a different level to go to. Technical support was great. When I first put the DVD in my computer and clicked to go to the Beginner Level, there was an empty picture holder to the right on the screen. So I called technical support and left a message. When Christian called back, he knew immediately what was wrong. I was so excited to get started that I had neglected to read the note on the opening page that the program requires Real Player, which I did not have installed on my computer at the time. Once I installed Real Player everything worked fine. THANKS FOR A GREAT PRODUCT!!

Smart French is a unique program that carefully introduces the learner to the way the language is really spoken by native speakers. I've used many instructional materials, texts, cd roms, tapes, videos, and have taken classes as well as worked with a private tutor for a year. Smart French is one of the best programs I've used, particularly in the way it structures the lessons and its use of highlighted text that shows what is and is not pronounced in French conversation. It has helped a lot with listening comprehension. I'm also pleased that my pronunciation, fluency, and accent have improved. I have a long way to go, but this program has made a difference. I recommend Smart French highly as a very effective way to increase confidence and ease with the language.

I too should have been suspicious of the glowing reviews for this product BEFORE I purchased it. If you are new to French you will not learn ANYTHING! First you have to read the translation to get the gist of the conversation, then you listen to the same dialogue several times. There is no grammar. All you will learn is how to pronounce words properly and which words are omitted in spoken French. However, in French, many times words are not pronounced as written -ex: "dois" the "s" is not pronounced. But this is not pointed out. The commentary is the same for every lesson. Not very helpful. This cd-rom is good if you already have a working knowledge of French and want to learn how to pronounce the words correctly. But nothing else. Only for pronounciation. Let me repeat myself. You will only learn to parrot the correct way to speak French but you will not know their meaning. If you are looking to learn the basics and progress from there this is NOT the way to go.

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The program is mainly just based on conversations between French speakers. The bundled 60pg book contains mainly the text that is already incorporated into the conversations within the weak program.
The bundle lacks actual vocabulary practice and conjugation rules. I'd advice that people only buy SmartFrech only to supplement other, more defined packages such.
LearnFrench Now 9 is a much better program, and DOES have better information on conjugation and on vocabulary.