Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Beginner's French with Book (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill))

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"Beginners French" is a book designed for those wishing to acquire basic knowledge of the French language. It is designed for those who want to learn the language on their own and at their own pace. The book is a useful companion for those who may wish to visit a French speaking country for a holiday or on business so that one can order food in a restaurant, read signs at the airport, on the road or the metro, ask for directions or do some shopping.

The book provides the reader with the basic structure of the language as well as the grammar one is likely to encounter in day-to-day conversation. I set myself small targets every day, not demanding too much from myself. I did all the self-test exercises in the book. I am fortunate to work for an international organization with employees from Francophone countries and this enabled me to practice talking to colleagues from Francophone countries at work. I made so many mistakes but my work colleagues were quite happy to assist me. I also initially set myself the goal of learning no more that 10 new words per day and in six months time, I had acquired a useful vocabulary and the ability to construct intelligible sentences.

I also made use of the accompanying audio cassette to learn how words are pronounced and could repeat the words to refine my speaking skills. Although I cannot claim to be an expert in the French language, I can now read a French magazine and follow the story. I can listen to people speaking French and follow most of what they are saying, thanks to the excellent book. I recommend the book to those seeking to learn the basic French language.

This is a short book and well written, however I found the information in it to be more helpful for people who are looking for a short 'cram session' before they go to a holiday or business trip in France, and much less for someone who wanted to start to systematically learn this wonderful language and culture (like me).

Excellent for short term gains, but get a more serious book if you want to become fluent.

While this is a vast improvement over previous Teach Yourself French editions, it's still not the best. If you are not sure you will stick with it, it's great because it's relatively cheap. The Pimsleur courses are the best, but very very expensive. If you don't want to spend too much, this is probably one of the best options for learning French.