Learn In Your Car French

Book Review

Title:	Learn In Your Car  French CD - Level 1
Publisher:	Penton Overseas, Inc., Carlsbad, Ca.
ISBN:	1-56015-122-6
Reviewed By:	Frank Fogg
Review Date:	May, 2001
Rating:

Learn In Your Car French CD - Level 1 is the first volume in a three-volume set designed for learning French while in your car or involved in leisure time activities. The course consists of three compact disc set packaged in an attractive videotape sized bookshelf case.

This program focuses on learning spoken French using the audio portion of the course and a small paper guide is included for occasional reference only. The content is designed to give the listener a reasonable level of proficiency in basic French phrases and to provide an additional range of vocabulary for beginners. The audio content is arranged into bite-sized chapters that correspond to the track assignments of the CD, allowing easy review of specific sections.

The  audio content starts with an English word or phrase, then the corresponding French translation is repeated twice to assist with listening and pronunciation. At the beginning of the course, basic French phrases are introduced such as casual greetings and expressing simple questions. These concepts are then applied in later chapters as larger and more complex phrases are constructed.

This course is loosely targeted to a tourist or traveler audience since a number of the phrases in this edition apply to finding lodging,  getting directions, obtaining transportation, dining, and other travel situations. The audio quality is excellent throughout the course and everything is easy to understand. The reading of the phrases is a little slower than normal conversation, making learning easier for a beginner. Since only minimal written materials  are included, those tourists that wait until the last minute to learn a language  should consider purchasing a phrase book or other additional material prior to traveling, yet this course does provide a good start toward fluency in the  French language.

This course is a reasonable solution for learning  spoken French while commuting or involved in other leisure time activities. The material is ideally suited for a novice speaker, and covers an acceptable range of vocabulary and phrases for an introductory course in this price range.  This program meets its goal of providing training in basic spoken French without  overwhelming a beginner.

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