Pimsleur French: A Good Choice for Learning French

Now the difficulties of learning to read in French are not addressed in the Pimsleur French courses offered. For most American students of French, however, this will not present a problem since the goal is practical everyday conversation and this is where Pimsleur excels. The Pimsleur language learning system is a language acquisition method designed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur. In short the method works almost entirely through listening. The lessons are 30 minutes long so they are very digestible for even the busiest person and Pimsleur courses give the student the ability to

* ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,
* communicate basic information on various topics and participate in casual conversations,
* handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,
* satisfy personal needs
* native-like pronunciation.

As someone who has used Pimsleur for several languages including French, as a rule of thumb you should strive for a minimum of 70 percent comprehension, at which point you can move on to the next lesson. As the lessons repeat themselves and add new material, it is not necessary for you to master each lesson perfectly before moving on. So if your thinking about studying French you may want to try Pimsleur French.

Good luck with you French!

Vocabulary Builder French
Primarily aimed to meet the requirements of children from 4-12, Vocabulary Builder French has proved popular with adults too!

Speech recording the chance to record cartoons and play them back in your own "cinema".

Nine games of varying difficulty, with points awarded for correct answers.

3 Options learn, games and record

Beautiful illustrations to reinforce your learning.

Gold award for completing all of the language games.

Over 100 words including colours, numbers, actions and simple sentences.

Help from the friendly tiger he speaks over 50 languages!

Mac OS X 10.2 or higher
Windows 2000/ME/XP/Vista

For more information visit Vocabulary Builder Norwegian.

Talk Now French

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than eight million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holiday makers, business people, school children, students and families. Anyone beginning to learn French will find the disc indispensable.

Nine topics first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

Speech recording compare your voice with native speakers

Two quiz levels test what you've learnt, earn points and monitor your progress.

Memory Games to improve your knowledge of key vocabulary.

Intelligent Software remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

Automatic Localisation lets you choose the language you learn from (more than 100 available).

Wide range of words from greetings and phrases to parts of the body, numbers and shopping.

Gold Award if you get all 1800 points when using the disc.

Printable Dictionary with colour pictures.

iPod integration listen to Talk Now French wherever you are!

Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
Windows 2000/ME/XP/Vista
iTunes 6 required for MP3 function

For more information visit Talk Now Beginner French Software.

THIS program teaches basic conversational phrases with structures that can be adapted to fit different situations. It also tackles one of the main challenges in learning a foreign language: building the confidence to speak it. Talk More's recording function allows you to compare your accent with that of a native speaker. Perfect for building a learner's spoken confidence.

Will it work for me?

If you know some basic French, but you don't think you could handle a full conversation, Talk More will get you talking. Because it's aimed at recent beginners, everything you hear will be clearly spoken at a speed that you can easily keep up with.

What will I learn?
In this program you'll start putting together complete sentences, as opposed to learning individual bits of vocabulary. We've selected a range of phrases you commonly need abroad, including many that you might find essential: for example, "I'd like to pay by credit card", "My camera has been stolen", and "Where is the pharmacy?"

Topics cover greetings, shops and restaurants, getting around, hotels, phone calls, emergencies, leisure and the basic vocabulary of business and technology.

How does it work?
Watch and learn! See and hear how to speak French by watching video footage of native speakers.

Build confidence on a computer. Before testing your new speaking skills in the real world, record yourself, then play back to compare your pronunciation with that of a native speaker. (Note that we don't use electronic voice analysis: the human ear is usually much more accurate.)

Play interactive games. The comprehension quiz prompts you to react to real life situations, while a challenging recording quiz tests your knowledge and pronunciation.

You earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or on the ferry. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
QuickTime 6 or higher

For more information visit Talk More French Conversational Software.

PICTURE yourself doing business with someone who doesn't speak your language. The chances are you'll need more than "holiday level" conversation to get by. That's why Talk Business was developed. It teaches you basic business vocabulary so that you can concentrate on the important stuff and not waste time searching for the right words.

Will it work for me?

Talk Business is aimed at people who already have some experience of the language. You must feel confident enough to start up a conversation and keep it going.

The specialist phrases in Talk Business French are clearly spoken at a speed that you can easily keep up with and copy.

What will I learn?

Talk Business French gives you essential vocabulary for the workplace. It covers basics such as "what is your website address?" and "my computer crashed and I lost all my files" as well as more advanced discussion of exchange rates, product guarantees and marketing budgets.

Topics covered are: - Trading, buying and selling - Marketing, advertising and PR - IT, Internet, e-commerce and communications - Banking, finance, stock exchange and accounting - Business meetings - Business travel - Careers - Negotiations - On the phone - General business vocabulary

How does it work?

Watch and learn! See and hear how to speak French by watching video footage of native speakers.

Build confidence on a computer. Before testing your new speaking skills in the real world, record yourself, then play back to compare your pronunciation with a native speaker. (Note that we don't use electronic voice analysis: the human ear is usually more accurate.)

Play interactive games. The comprehension quiz prompts you to react to real life situations, while a challenging recording quiz tests your knowledge and pronunciation.

You earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or on the ferry. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
QuickTime 6 or higher

For more information visit Talk Business French Intermediate Software.