Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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176 of 179 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply, My Best Language Investment Ever, March 14, 2005
As a follow-up, I bought this almost exactly one year ago. I have listened daily all year in my car, mornings only (evening reserved for "conversational" programs like SmartFrench and ImmersionPlus). Basically this program is responsible for the fact that I can now speak French (not 100% fluently, of course, but well enough to hold a respectable conversation in all tenses).
I briefly tried Michel Thomas, Pimsleur and others this year, but LIYCF was clearly the very best of the bunch. Very thorough in terms of vocabulary, pronounciation and also very easy to use. And what a bargain. Tutors want to charge me $30-35 *PER LESSON*; for less than $40 I've had a daily "tutor" in my car (during time that would otherwise be a complete waste) for an entire year.
(I imagine another listener could finish the course in half the time if they listened to it exclusively in the a.m. and p.m. But I do recommend something like SmartFrench to "round it out.")
**In fact, if Penton made a Level IV (covering more subjunctive forms, idiomatic expressions, etc.), I would run out and buy it today.**
So as I come to the final side of the final tape, exactly one year later, just in time for my move to Paris, I say "THANK YOU Penton!"
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194 of 199 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a terrific package !, September 22, 2004
I'm an intermediate French student and decided to buy this 3-Level package in order to have a comprehensive audio package. The bonus 3 CD book "Secrets of Learning a Foreign Language" is a great way to start your study and has alot of very interesting information and examples on the structure of languages, plus it is humorously and interesting presented. It really motivates you to get started! Be sure to listen to it before you start the Learn French in Your Car CD's.
The whole package is very well designed. For example, the listening guides have an index on the outside back cover so you can quickly find the CD and track you want. Very handy! Then, if you want to hear only the French, you can adjust the balance of your speakers to eliminate the English portion. The pauses between the English and 1st French repetition give you time to test yourself if you already know some French. If not, just wait for the 2 repetitions in French, each with a pause to allow you to repeat what you've just heard. The English voice (male) and the French voice (female) are both pleasant and very clear. Excellent quality and amazingly low price for what you get. Highly recommended to all!
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122 of 124 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
French one phrase at a time, September 27, 2005
This program consists of 9 CDs containing a total of 106 lessons divided into three levels. Each lesson consists of between 15 and 30 words or phrases grouped together to illustrate a particular aspect of the language. Each phrase is spoken in English first followed by a brief pause, followed by the French translation and another pause. The first pause is for you to repeat the phrase if you already know it; the second pause is for you to repeat the phrase if you don't. As you repeat each lesson over and over, the number of instances where you can say a phrase before the French translation increases to the point where you ultimately know them all. The number of repetitions it takes depends on your particular aptitude for the language.
If you are a daily prisoner in a car like I am, the approach is nearly ideal. My particular method was to cover 6-8 lessons in a half hour period during my morning commute and then repeat the same lessons during my afternoon commute. Each day I would add one lesson to the end and subtract one from the beginning. Hence, the first day might be lessons 1-6, the second 2-7, the third 3-8, and so on. Eventually, you get to the end and start over. In my case, I never waited to achieve 100% comprehension before moving on. That may have been an mistake; I don't know. If you follow my method, it takes about 6 months of commuting to get thru the entire package once.
Three booklets are contained in the package, and each booklet lists the phrases covered on the CD and offers both the French translation as well as a brief explanation of the grammatical point being made. The grammar discussions are *very* brief and only serve to assist the learning process. This is by no means a French textbook. The material moves much faster than the Pimsleur CD set, but there are no dialogs, so it's a little less cohesive. This package also doesn't use the circular reinforcement that is characteristic of the Pimsleur method.
The course itself is quite thorough, going thru several tenses (present, past, compound past, immediate past, and future), conjugations, and situations (hotel, restaurant, shopping, time, money, etc), as well as some advanced concepts (present and past subjunctive). Everything is offered in the form of useful expressions, so you never feel you're being 'drilled'. Still, it's a full meal, not a brief traveler's introduction. My sense is that you probably get a little further into the language with this package than with the Pimsleur method, but I can't prove it.
In fact, the speed of the material is a bit of a problem. I got bogged down in the fourth CD, when the phrases got complicated to the point where I couldn't keep up with the pace. The further I went, the less of each lesson I understood. I think it's probably necessary to study the books about as much as you use the CDs, and that wasn't an investment I was willing to make. That's a shortcoming on my part, not the course's.
The other observation I would make is that all of the French is spoken a little too clearly and perfectly. I know that probably doesn't sound like a fault, but my experience is that I have a much, much harder time understanding a French speaker than I do speaking French. Within reason, I can say what I want, but I have a very difficult time understanding the response. If you are going to use this course, I recommend that you find an additional source of commonly spoken French, because the colloquial version is quite different from the American 'taught' version. In this regard, the "French In Action" videos are now available on the web, and you can view them for free. I find them an ideal companion to audio work.
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