Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinaire! Sensationnel! The Ultimate French Review and Practice w/CD-ROM, July 23, 2007
This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice (Book+ CD-ROM) (UItimate Review & Reference Series) (Paperback)
I have loved the French language since I studied it in college and have tried to practice it whenever possible, traveling, seeing French films, reading newspapers in French. I bought French language books for review but always felt I was at a standstill, never really improving. It wasn't until my daughter started studying French in high school and I was looking for books for her that I began to make progress. That was the day I found The Ultimate French Review and Practice in a bookstore.
The book explains all the grammar points of the language so clearly and concisely and the exercises use real situations and everyday, authentic language. The culture notes are fascinating and connected thematically to the exercises. The articles and ads from French language newspapers with their accompanying exercises have really helped me to read and understand. I have been so motivated and inspired by this book.
I couldn't imagine anything better until I was in a bookstore and voilà, there was The Ultimate French Review and Practice with a CD-ROM. Several weeks into my use of the interactive CD-ROM I'm so excited that I have to write in to let people know about it. I'm working my way through the hundreds of exercises that are all new and different from the exercises in the book. I can practice all the grammar points of French and the exercises are referenced to the chapters in the book so it's easy to check my answers and find explanations. The diagnostic and review tests are extremely helpful.
What I especially love about the CD-ROM are the Audio Modules which are great for improving your listening comprehension skills. They have dialogues or narrations spoken by native French speakers. If I don't know a word I can consult the Glossary or the pop-up definitions. I find it very helpful to repeat after the speaker the Ten Key Words and Expressions that precede the audio passages. The topics of the audio passages are very varied and there's a wealth of idiomatic vocabulary based on the topics. My daughter, who is now studying French in college, is dazzled by what I can say about shopping, choosing a career, traveling by plane, eating in a restaurant, even falling in and out of love. She says she hasn't learned nearly as much in her courses and plans to borrow my CD-ROM! Je crois que je vais avoir un succès fou (as one dialogue character says)!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get the book only and forget about the CD, October 11, 2008
This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice (Book+ CD-ROM) (UItimate Review & Reference Series) (Paperback)
As other customers already pointed out, this book is good, and very well organized. I'm using it to complement the less than average French classes I'm taking in college.
The reason I took out 1 star is because this CD is bad. I had a lot of trouble to install it on my Windows Vista, and after installed, every time I open it or change chapters I get 4 different error messages asking to debug. That would be ok if the CD's audio part was great, but it isn't. It consist in 12 *very short* texts that give you only a tiny glimpse of pronunciation.
So save a couple of bucks and get the book only!
10/15/08 - EDIT to add: I've found a great free resource to learn french, full of audio files, it is a website made by the University of Texas at Austin: http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/index.html
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
C'est Fantastique!!!!, January 5, 2008
This review is from: The Ultimate French Review and Practice (Book+ CD-ROM) (UItimate Review & Reference Series) (Paperback)
I cannot rave enough about this book. First, it is extremely engaging and well-organized for a French grammar book. It is geared toward the Intermediate student (as, for example, the lesson instructions are in French). However, if you are an advanced beginner looking for a challenge, don't shy away. There are tons of exercises to reinforce your learning, including a CD with a diagnostic test and other learning tools (including some auditory dialogues). If you are looking for an excellent grammar book to supplement your auditory learning, I highly recommend this one!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
