New French With Ease (Assimil Method Books - Book and CD Edition)) Pap/Com Edition

This is easily one of the best books I have ever read. Not based on story or plot but of what you will learn, just listening, reading and writing sentences.I was doubtful with my purchase at first; having studied Spanish for academic requirements and having bad learning experiences (Didn't learn the language, just wanted to pass the tests). I felt like taking on the challenge of learning a language in my late 20s, at my own pace and in a life enrichment pursuit. Having no French training classes and being an absolute beginner, here is my take::You will not become fluent like a native based off this book alone. However, you will get to a good level of understanding (What would seem like just noise in the beginning, will turn into a disjointed words/sentences, then understanding. Maybe not the whole meaning but get the gist of it). After going through the book 3 to 4 times systematically (~2-3 years), you will be able to understand basic conversations, speak basic commands, ask for limited items, express basic thoughts, feelings and read to the same level of basic. Not bad! The drawbacks : You gotta do the whole book and keep motivated. What helped for me was feeling progress by watching movies dubbed in french; Making time for it, a schedule (would do my lesson and check my emails at night)This program will blow any computer software out of the water, based on price and effectiveness. The other reviews explained the waves. I'm a more interactive learner, so I followed theses steps. 1) loaded every lesson onto an mp3 player from the cds provided with the book. 2) Purchased a highlighter and big spiral notebook. 3) Started from the beginning. Every lesson I would listen to it on repeat and would mouth it out about two times. Then, I would look at the book, read four words while listening to the audio, pause and read the next four word. After completing the lesson two times. 4) Open the spiral notebook, write the same lesson in English first, then write the french sentences while listening to the audio. I would pause after every sentence to ensure my pronunciation was similar to the mp3s. Highlight the french and read it out loud; Complete the lesson. 5) Work this book through systematically, all the way through. Towards the end, the lessons get longer. At the end, it may take an hour or longer out of the day. 6) Check your results, turn on french news, go look at a french news website. You'll be surprised. Assimil works like magic.This book was worth all the money I paid for it. Definitely recommend it to anyone who are wanting to learn a new language. This book has 113 lessons, not as many as the Assimil without toil (140). It will give you a good start! I'm looking forward to reading the Using French book next.

I would recommend this more for someone who has already studied French for a few semesters, say 2-3 semesters and preferably more. The less you've studied French the more you will need to take your time. This system is great for people who can't necessarily take the time and go to France and feel even after having taken 7-8 French classes still have some trouble with listening and speaking. Once you get to listen 60 you will find a huge difference in terms of your listening skills. Do not rush through this and review constantly. The book asks you to go through the 50 chapters and then review. The starts when you reach listen 50.For example, when you get to listen 51, you are expected to then also review lesson one by translating in your mind from English to French. Every lesson has the dialogues in French on the left side and the translation in English on the other page. You should study this as much as you can almost every day for at least 10 minutes a day. The point is to try your best to be consistent. I will admit, I have not been 100% consistent. I would say relatively so. Don't be one to give up just because you haven't. If you are consistent say 60% of the time or more than half the time, then give yourself a break. This is not something to play in your car when it comes to the audio portion. This is not French Behind the Wheel. If you want something for your commute, get French Behind the Wheel and do 10 minutes of French with Ease at home.I have so many French materials including Michel Thomas, French in Action. I would put this in some ways with French in Action in terms of my finding very beneficial for training my ear with its system. I feel it relatively easy to see how things build up with French with Ease. The author is also very humorous. Some of the dialogues are funny. I also love the explanations the book has.I've been using this since June, and it's, now, August. I hope to finish this by September, but it's not a race. I highly recommend this for persons who really feel they need they need a better ear for French. It will seem hard in the beginning even if you've studied French for a while, but be patient. Don't try to do too much, or you will feel overwhelmed. Don't do too little or it will take forever. I try to do up to 30 minutes of this a day and sometimes up to an hour on rare occasions or just 10 minutes. If you just do 10 minutes, it is okay! Sometimes, I take a two-day break. I think that's okay, because I am relatively consisent. Don't be a perfectionist, enjoy the language as the authors say, don't view it as a chore! Bonne chance!!!!Que fais Monsieur Duclos le soir?