skylee 1,912 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Decades ago I spent like a year or two studying French on weekends at l’Alliance Francaise in Hong Kong. I’ve never really managed to speak the language or attained a meaningful level. But I can count the numbers and I know the words of the most basic things like water, bread, pencil, je ne sai pas, je ne parle pas francais, l’addition svp, etc. I am going to take a two-week vacation in France in April and I think wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could speak a bit of the language there. (Though last time I was in France (2008) it seemed that most people there could speak at least a little bit of English.) So I wonder if anyone could point me to an online crash course on French or something similar. I’ve just found this but not sure if it is any good -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/ I am quite lazy and have not studied any languages for a long time so I am not sure if this little wish would materialise. The last language I studied was Korean. I read a self-study booklet for a few months before travelling there on my own and the knowledge on the language was helpful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
realmayo 1,846 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Have you considered the Pimsleur course? Expensive but might be able to borrow it from a library. All audio and the focus on speaking might help some of the vocab you already know "click" into position. I haven't ever use the French Pimsleur, but I've used their Vietnamese and Korean ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roddy 5,473 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 There's also Frenchpod.com, from the same people that bought you (well, not you really) Chinesepod.com. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skylee 1,912 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions. Indeed our libraries have the Pimsleur French courses. But they are on cassettes. Quelle horreur! I don't have a machine to play cassette tapes. (It is dated 1998 ... I wonder if they are not in fact CDs.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Meng Lelan 524 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Don't do the Frenchpod if it came from Chinesepod, one time I signed up for that and I did not like it at all. And whoever did Frenchpodcasts quit, so I ended up asking for a refund. The only French course I ever liked was the textbook and DVD series French in Action, it used to be broadcast on public television here, but it can be too intense for some. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roddy 5,473 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Actually, if you're going to France anyway, and already have some knowledge, I'd consider getting a decent phrasebook with a tape and working through that before you go. That'll bring back a lot of forgotten knowledge, teach you useful new stuff, and be handy on your trip. Win-win-win (仨赢?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skylee 1,912 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Problem is still that I don't hava a cassette player ... good suggestion though. Brother has just told me that cassette players are still quite common in the world. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roddy 5,473 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Yeuch, showing my age. There'll be ones with a CD. E.g.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Meng Lelan 524 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Yech, cassettes, those magnetic tape strips would never stay inside the casing and unravel everywhere. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
simplet 76 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 http://gloss.dliflc.edu/Default.aspx http://fsi-language-...org/Content.php Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skylee 1,912 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 When I started this thread I thought about online resources only. Thank you all for suggesting other resources. When I returned home I found that right on a shelf in my sitting room there was an almost brand new set of "French All The Way"(a book with 8 cassette tapes (!)). And I have found in a bag of garbage below my desk a Sony Walkman (!) that plays cassettes. If both the machine and the tapes work I think I have a French course right at home. Thank you simplet for the links. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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