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Mastering French, Level 1 (with Audio CDs)
 
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Mastering French, Level 1 (with Audio CDs) (Paperback)

~ M. Cossard (Author), R. Salazar (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

List Price: $79.95
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Frequently Bought Together

Mastering French, Level 1 (with Audio CDs) + Mastering French Level Two: Audio CD Package (Mastering Series/Level 2 Compact Disc Packages) + 501 French Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides)
Price For All Three: $117.91

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The new edition of this intensive language-immersion course has been updated with new references, and up-to-date vocabulary and idioms. The program package consists of a textbook and a set of 12 compact discs. This comprehensive language program is the same as the one used by the U.S. Government to teach French to personnel in the diplomatic service and other internationally related government agencies. Students who complete the course successfully will have much more than a few foreign phrases at their disposal, but will possess a solid understanding of a new language. The program is ideal for classroom instruction but is also designed so that serious individuals who want to become fluent in French can teach themselves. This course teaches every aspect of the language: vocabulary, grammar, conversing, reading, writing, and listening comprehension.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 198 pages
  • Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 2nd edition (April 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0764175998
  • ISBN-13: 978-0764175992
  • Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.6 x 2.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #445,538 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)


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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Towards conversational fluency, November 18, 2003
By A Customer
My goal was to re-learn French after a 15 year lapse in order to prepare for a trip to Brussels and Paris. I quickly realized that I had to tune my ear and pronounciation. I could not do this with grammar books so I turned to this set as an aural aid and have been quite pleased.

The concepts are taught through dialogue, grammar lessons, and drills. The speakers speak at conversational speed and thus you are geared to understanding how the French language is actually spoken. This was a difficult initial hurdle for me, but after a while, my ear began to hear the words (e.g. "Je ne sais" pas is prounounced more like "zhoon say pa") and I began to understand and be understood. Also, the accompanying book is very useful.

The drills can be monotonous, but I found them very helpful. After participating in the sections, one undoubtedly has learned the concepts.

The specific grammar lessons are very rudimentary. They focus on only the present tense of a few irregular verbs (être, avoir, aller, faire) and the -er verbs, definite articles, indefinite articles, partive, and maybe a few other concepts; HOWEVER, the drills and dialogues cover much more and provide the most value.

In my opinion, this set is really only useful for someone like me who has previously studied French and needs to re-tool. I do not see how this could serve as ones first introduction to the language.

Some things that I did not like:
1. The primary male speaker is sometimes hard to comprehend
2. In an effort to change all occurences of "franc" with "euro" a female speaker overdubs the original in a VERY abrupt manner.
3. The CD was obviously cut from a cassette since I can very clearly hear what was playing on the other side of the cassette.
4. There are a few times when they sprinkle in future tense or imparfait without explaining at all. If one did not know these concepts, one would be lost.
5. There is no mention anywhere about the "tu" familiar form of any verb.

Overall though, I have been happy listening to this on my way to and from work.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good learning system, October 15, 2004
By Chartran (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
I had very few problems with this book and CD set. I started it, having never spoken a word of French in my life in part because I want to achieve fluency but also because I want to be able read some French texts. I have now completed all the exercises in the "Part I" and am partway through the companion "Part II," which unfortunately is only available on cassette. I have found all the lessons to be very helpful. Each unit introduces several grammatical components, as well as some new vocabulary to give you some thoroughness. Units have several phases - there are generally two conversations, which introduce the reader to conversational-pace material, a sequence of learning and practice drills, and a series of questions you are expected to answer orally - all in French. There are also quizzes at the end of each unit with answers in the back to give you a sense of how your are progressing. I thought the whole thing was sort of complex and time consuming, like it says, but well worth the trouble - my French seems to be coming along quite well. I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because I think it could be made a little more interesting with slight changes in the material. All in all, though, it's well worth it.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Part one of the best course for learning French, November 28, 2005
By Nigel (Texas) - See all my reviews
The FSI (original name) language courses are very good ways of learning another language. Instead of trying to be all fancy, this course simply presents French in a simple way that really helps you learn. If you complete all four levels of this course you can expect to have a very high speaking ability.

The learning method may be new to some people. There's a lot of audio so vocal practice is very thorough. It's basically up to you to decide when you want to move to the next lesson. In a sense you "over-learn" material, however this only helps you to learn things better.

For beginners I recommend doing Michel Thomas's French Course first. A lot of the information in that prepares you to use Mastering French.

This course if more for the serious learner. If you are just planing to learn basic knowledge of the language to get by, I recommend something like Pimsleur. If you really want to be proficient in the language then this course is for you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
The Mastering French program introduces you to basic French grammar and vocabulary with recordings of native speakers in realistic dialogues. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Savant Sauvage

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent learning tool
This is an excellent product to start with if your goal is fluency in French. It is an audio-based approach to learning, like Pimsleur. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gordon Trunk

1.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful. Not at all for the beginner.
I've taken French in the past, and decided I'd like to learn it well enough to be fluent. I'd looked at many language learning products and thought that this one might be a good... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Kestrel

3.0 out of 5 stars BEWARE if you want to listen to the audio on your ipod
This is a good quality product that is a little behind the times. When you import the CD's to your itunes account, the descriptions and numbering are not consistent from CD to... Read more
Published on September 14, 2007 by Laura D. Gellman

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not for total beginners
This is just part of the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) program, repackaged under the Barrons name. Read more
Published on September 2, 2007 by D. Poeschl

4.0 out of 5 stars Definetly teaches something
I finished this book in just three weeks, but I remember every word that was taught in the course. I feel right now that the words I learned will never leave my mind... Read more
Published on August 21, 2006 by C. Lu

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for me...
This product isn't helping me learn French. It's kind of boring and repetative. I'll still be looking for another (better) product.
Published on February 19, 2006 by S. Campbell

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, if you want to be on your way to fluency...
I think this course is really good. It really prepares one for speaking and comprehending French. I have the slightly older version (it sill has francs being mentioned) and have... Read more
Published on September 11, 2005 by Oksana

1.0 out of 5 stars very poor aid for mastering French
This is one of the useless tool for learing French. It does not do anything that it is said to learners of French. Read more
Published on July 31, 2003 by David Katcharava

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