Teach Yourself Instant French [Paperback]

NTC Publishing Group (Author), Elisabeth Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0844202177 | ISBN-13: 978-0844202174 | Edition: Pap/Cas

The quickest way to learn a language just got easier

These streamlined language guides are the answer for people who have little patience and even less time to study. Even those who have failed in traditional language courses succeed with the Teach Yourself Instant Language guides. These easy courses teach only the words and phrases that really matter so learners can start speaking a new language right away and conversing with confidence after only six weeks. These new editions feature friendlier page layout and recording on CD for easy access and review.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...A language lifeline ... fun, fast and easy -- The Independent ... Elisabeth Smith's Instant Greek was a real help ... the simple scripts and audio make it crystal clear ... I'm delighted with my progress. -- 'Greece' magazine 20030701 Teach Yourself Instant German: The elements are simple and very straightforward ... strong encouragement ... plenty of opportunity for spoken practice. This course worked very well for me. -- 'Professional Manager' magazine 19990901 I am terrible with languages yet I am picking up Spanish! I found Instant Spanish excellent! -- Helen Goddard, Devon 19990901 We have completed your Instant French. We think it is wonderful. -- Tom and Maureen Peil, Preston 19990901 It is now a year since I first came across [Instant French] at my local library and I have benefited tremendously from this happy occurrence ... I loved the sense of humour ... Each week I did the final test with bated breath wondering if this time the little bar chart [...] would take a nose dive - but it didn't. -- Lesly Hopkins, Twickenham 19990901 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Elisabeth Smith is the U.K.'s bestselling language author.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; Pap/Cas edition (March 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844202177
• ISBN-13: 978-0844202174
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,995,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars C'est libre est Tres BON !, February 7, 2000

By 

Daniel Tan (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Instant French (Paperback)

I studied this book in the beg of JAN 2000. I have finished this book and all i can say is,,,ITS very good to excellent! ...after the end of the first week , you would be able to speak french..i wouldnt say in six weeks ,,more or so, I would say about 8 weeks...i devoted at least 1 hour a day to this course..sometimes 2...i have no previous knowledge in french and this book taught me to speak french after only 6 weeks..i would devote at least another week to review some words that i tend to forget...This book is excellent for a beginners course book...I am now currently studying the TEACH YOURSELF FRENCH book and audio..i would recommend this instant french book for anyone willing to learn a new language w/o the boredom of grammars nouns and tenses..

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant French- tres bon, January 24, 2006

By 

Elijah Chingosho "Dr Elijah Chingosho" (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself Instant French (Paperback)

I come from an Anglophone African country and had very little exposure to French until I started working for a bilingual international organization. The two official languages in my organization are French and English. All meetings, conferences and documentation have to be in both languages.

When I started working for this organization, I needed a book that would enable me to speak and understand basic French. I often visit Francophone countries where some people hardly speak English including at the airport and in restaurants. This is where the book "Instant French" by Elisabeth Smith came handy. For instance, I had to visit Senegal during the first few weeks of my employment and so I needed something urgent to enable me to have an elementary knowledge of the language in the shortest possible time to be studied whilst also being busy preparing for my trip. I acquired a copy of the book together with the accompanying audio cassette. After spending about an hour a day studying the book and listening to the audio cassette, I acquired sufficient knowledge to order food, ask for directions, negotiate prices in the market and read road signs.

I recommend the book for those who need to learn basic French in a hurry. One, however, needs to understand that this is very basic French. Mastering the contents of the book will not make one to be anywhere near being considering an expert in the language but it makes a very good beginning for those who need to have a go at studying this beautiful language.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best French learning materials (book + CDs) out there!!!, March 2, 2009

By 

Tie Chen (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself Instant French, (Book Only) (TY: Language Guides) (Paperback)

French is the 3rd foreign language that I've learned (still learning). I have to say this book plus the accompanying CDs are the best materials out there for learning French. (I've tried a dozen to say at least.) The format of the book is well organized. The conversations and new words are those that you'll recognize on a daily basis.

What I like most of this book is the "dis-emphasize" of the formal endings of the verbs and etc, and instead emphasize on the speaking of the language itself. It's a great relief for someone who's learning a new language, so that he/she would not be overwhelmed by the information overload.

In this day and age, iPod is so ubiquitous. Learning a new language with iPod made it so much easier for me. I imported the whole CDs into my iPod and created playlists like "conversations" and "new words". So, I can either follow the order of the book, or just concentrate on one aspect of the learning at a time instead.

Strongly recommend it to anyone who's aspired to learn this beautiful language. In the meantime, I would also suggest to take a look at "Hide this French CD" and "Play and Learn French", two totally different approaches.