New French Paperback – February 1, 2008

I used this method to learn English and German and I liked it very much. I also took classes. It's very difficult to study alone, 70% of students drop out. Even the method is excellent with funny dialogs, you should find a buddy to keep motivated, or complement with classes, or have a tutor. Assimil claims you can learn a language for usual situations in life in about 4 months. I could verify that's is correct if you can have the discipline to study every day. I met many students learning a foreign language in high school for 3 to 4 years and not able to articulate a sentence. It's the same in other countries in Europe. Assimil is an excellent alternative.

I just started this book, strange that it says here its not published yet, hmm. Actually, I have a very old edition that was given to me by a French friend of mine who highly recommended this system to me. He teaches French as a foreign language and thinks its the best system for English speakers to use. It is really interesting, fun and even funny. Not too much new vocab in each lesson so you're not overwhelmed. The emphasis seems to be on real, spoken French, and not too concerned with rules, grammar, and the why's and wherefore's, the kinds of things that bog down beginning language learners. A brief explanation is given as needed, and then you just move on. I would like to see the practice dialogues on cd.I have essentially no experience with studying French though it is not my first foray into foreign language study. As a language text goes, it seems to be fitting my needs very well. Someone who has studied French more than I may find fault where I cannot. To me, an enthusiastic beginner in French it's a good 4 and a half stars. I'm not far enough along to give this a 5 star rating which leaves me with my 4 stars for now.

Exactly as described. Delivered quickly. Thank you.

Assimil is one of the better examples of how much the student's results depend on how well the teaching method is suited to them. These courses require you to do a lot of work on your own to benefit. The instructions, which are not laid out clearly in the French edition, are pasted below (I got this from the Dutch version). Basically there is a "Passive wave" where you (actively!) listen to the dialogues up to about lesson 70 or so, and then you start doing two lessons per day, moving forward from the halfway point in a passive wave way, and starting back at the beginning in an active wave way. (see below for clarification). This requires a lot of work and motivation on the part of the student, and if you are someone who needs more motivation or structure, you're better off with the FSI courses. Bonne chance!Passive Wave1. Listen to the text with the book closed.2. Listen to the recording while looking at the English translation.3. Read the Target Language (TL) text aloud. Be sure you understand the meaningof each sentence.4. Now read the TL text without looking at the translation.5. Listen to the recording twice, once while looking at the English translation,and once while looking at the TL text.6. Listen to the recording with the book closed. At this point you shouldunderstand what is being said7.Listen to the recording once more. Stop the machine after each sentence, andtry to repeat it aloud.8. Carefully read the comments several times. Examine the English sentences beingexplained.9. Read the exercises. Repeat each sentence several times.10. Examine the examples of sentence structure.Active Wave1. Read the lesson, the listen to the recordings.2. Cover the TL text and try to reconstruct it, looking only at the English sentences.Make an effort to do this both orally and in writing.3. Uncover the TL text and correct any errors you have made.

All Assimil is excellent, but they have watered it down a lot since I got the basic French course (tapes) in the 80's.

Received the book with all four discs. This book is a must for French learners.

Not too bad for conquering basic French. It will take hours of dedication to get decent results to learn French from this book, but I don't think there are shortcuts to learning a new language short of spending several months in France.

I would totally recommend Assimil products for anyone keen to learn a foreign language quickly.However, you must be fully committed and be ready to dedicate your time for study every day!It doesn't have to be much but you have to do it every day so you can pick up vocabulary and grammar easily.Having learned two other foreign languages, I have found this course very practical and easy to follow.And more importantly, I could focus my sole attention on the language rather than on problems that a fellow course mates would come across if I was to take up French through a language school.

This looks like a second hand book. Quality of the pages aren't good either

May I start by saying I already have the Assimil Spanish Course in MP3 and it works brilliantly. The French course didn't start well (A bit like real life I suppose) Sorry I digress. Firstly my i tunes didn't recognise the mp3 disc. When I eventually managed to copy the disk to I tunes the tracks were not in the correct order.I've since cobbled together the playlist and am working through the course. The audio readings are not as well spaced as the Spanish course which has a slight pause after each sentence, giving you a moment to reflect on what you had heard and have a quick glance at the English translation.So I may well buy the audio CD's and try them.Foolishly I also purchased a 12month usage of the e course. Don't waste your money the book and CD is by far the better option. And don't try to contact the help line. When I rang them no-one could or would speak English. You'd think they would give free course to their employees, wouldn't you.Having read this again it seems more like a moan.But I rate this course a 4 out of five and would highly recommend it. It is a pleasurable way to learn a language.tommo