How to Start French?

[iamnotjolie_]

Look up Assimil for French.
Stick with Duolingo, really enjoyed it's learning style. There is also a French team on this forums that has alot of resources.

Actually Assimil isn't free, it is still within copyright and is published by a small family business in France. They produce very very good materials and they are one of the most recommended courses on this site (and others) because of the quality of their work. I would encourage you to pay for their materials in order to allow them to continue to produce more high quality courses for more languages. However they have been in business for a long time, and if you cannot afford the new courses there are a huge number of used assimil courses available for purchase.

You can find used courses on some of these sites:
http://www.alibris.com/
http://www.bookfinder.com/
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

In addition I've found old 1960's Assimil courses in Charity shops in the UK for as little as £2.00 (about $3.00 US).

Oooooo thanks for the links. Assimil looks so nice but I can't really afford it new. I'll try and by it used.

[Cainntear]

I really recommend Michel Thomas to all beginners. There are thing wrong with it, for sure, but I've yet to see anything that gives anywhere near the same coverage. It is quite expensive new, but it's not unusual to find it in local libraries, and there are plenty of second-hand copies in circulation. (I first got MT Spanish off eBay for about a third of the retail price.)

[YtownPolyglot]

Listen to as much French as possible. Like English, French does not sound the way it looks on the written page at all. When I started a French class ages ago, we heard French and we spoke French for a week before we saw any of it on the page at all.

[PeterMollenburg]

My recommondations are as follows.

1 Begin with Pimsleur- as many levels as you can get your hands on (instead of Michel Thomas in the beginning) as it starts of very slowly - which I believe is great for a real beginner in French- to hear the sounds enunciated clearly.
2 Then move on to Michel Thomas after completing Pimsleur- again as many levels as you can. The speech is clear, don't get me wrong, but Pimsleur is exceptional in it's slow but clearly enunciated build up in order to hear the language clearly. MT will get you really rolling with various verb constructions etc.
3 Hugo French in 3 Months - only if you would like a quick overview of the language- via a combination of grammar explanations, vocabularly, conversations and exercises focusing on the introduced grammatical concepts (audio available). It's not the most exciting course (but not as dry as FSI), nor the most comprehensive but it is very good at giving a quick overview of what French is about in a short period of time. If you're not after that, no problemo.
4 Assimil New French with Ease- Can't beat it. Awesome. Authentic, short exercises, shortish lessons, not grammar 'heavy', nice audio, interesting brief cultural notes on occasion, a lengthy but not daunting course, great stuff really.
5 French in Action (if you've got the money and time, this is a really "full" course if all components are used, if not the time or money, skip it).

I also like Fluenz French as the best computer based course with plenty of drills and nice presentation, but like FIA above you're not likely to have sufficient time nor money to get through it all.

If i had to recommend 2 courses from the above list I'd go with Pimsleur to get you slowly accustomed to the language and Assimil to get you up to speed somewhat via an enjoyable method that isn't too brief nor scarily comprehensive.

There are other great courses that i'm yet to dive into, this is the best of what i've experienced so far.

[rdearman]

My recommondations are as follows.

1 Begin with Pimsleur- as many levels as you can get your hands on (instead of Michel Thomas in the beginning) as it starts of very slowly - which I believe is great for a real beginner in French- to hear the sounds enunciated clearly.
2 Then move on to Michel Thomas after completing Pimsleur- again as many levels as you can. The speech is clear, don't get me wrong, but Pimsleur is exceptional in it's slow but clearly enunciated build up in order to hear the language clearly. MT will get you really rolling with various verb constructions etc.
3 Hugo French in 3 Months - only if you would like a quick overview of the language- via a combination of grammar explanations, vocabularly, conversations and exercises focusing on the introduced grammatical concepts (audio available). It's not the most exciting course (but not as dry as FSI), nor the most comprehensive but it is very good at giving a quick overview of what French is about in a short period of time. If you're not after that, no problemo.
4 Assimil New French with Ease- Can't beat it. Awesome. Authentic, short exercises, shortish lessons, not grammar 'heavy', nice audio, interesting brief cultural notes on occasion, a lengthy but not daunting course, great stuff really.
5 French in Action (if you've got the money and time, this is a really "full" course if all components are used, if not the time or money, skip it).

I also like Fluenz French as the best computer based course with plenty of drills and nice presentation, but like FIA above you're not likely to have sufficient time nor money to get through it all.

If i had to recommend 2 courses from the above list I'd go with Pimsleur to get you slowly accustomed to the language and Assimil to get you up to speed somewhat via an enjoyable method that isn't too brief nor scarily comprehensive.

There are other great courses that i'm yet to dive into, this is the best of what i've experienced so far.

Have you done all the FSI courses?

[PeterMollenburg]

My recommondations are as follows.

1 Begin with Pimsleur- as many levels as you can get your hands on (instead of Michel Thomas in the beginning) as it starts of very slowly - which I believe is great for a real beginner in French- to hear the sounds enunciated clearly.
2 Then move on to Michel Thomas after completing Pimsleur- again as many levels as you can. The speech is clear, don't get me wrong, but Pimsleur is exceptional in it's slow but clearly enunciated build up in order to hear the language clearly. MT will get you really rolling with various verb constructions etc.
3 Hugo French in 3 Months - only if you would like a quick overview of the language- via a combination of grammar explanations, vocabularly, conversations and exercises focusing on the introduced grammatical concepts (audio available). It's not the most exciting course (but not as dry as FSI), nor the most comprehensive but it is very good at giving a quick overview of what French is about in a short period of time. If you're not after that, no problemo.
4 Assimil New French with Ease- Can't beat it. Awesome. Authentic, short exercises, shortish lessons, not grammar 'heavy', nice audio, interesting brief cultural notes on occasion, a lengthy but not daunting course, great stuff really.
5 French in Action (if you've got the money and time, this is a really "full" course if all components are used, if not the time or money, skip it).

I also like Fluenz French as the best computer based course with plenty of drills and nice presentation, but like FIA above you're not likely to have sufficient time nor money to get through it all.

If i had to recommend 2 courses from the above list I'd go with Pimsleur to get you slowly accustomed to the language and Assimil to get you up to speed somewhat via an enjoyable method that isn't too brief nor scarily comprehensive.

There are other great courses that i'm yet to dive into, this is the best of what i've experienced so far.

Have you done all the FSI courses?

Units 1 to 6 of FSI French Basic. I do intend in finishing the course. I personally like FSI a lot, but as we know it's not for everyone and French Basic is an extremely large course despite the name.

[reineke]

My recommondations are as follows.

1
2
3
4
5
6?

Assuming one skips no. 3 is that suggested warm up before FSI? Don't you think you're overdoing it with courses? I won't discuss Michel Thomas but I see that Cainntear just couldn't resist. It sure brings back memories

[PeterMollenburg]

My recommondations are as follows.

1
2
3
4
5
6?

Assuming one skips no. 3 is that suggested warm up before FSI? Don't you think you're overdoing it with courses? I won't discuss Michel Thomas but I see that Cainntear just couldn't resist. It sure brings back memories

Some clarification on your statement would help. Do you mean me? That I am doing too many? Or I am suggesting too many? And suggesting too many why? Because the OP only asked for one suggestion only? I didn't suggest FSI, but I'm aiming to do it.

I wasn't suggesting one had to do all of the courses on the list either, I was listing what I thought were some of the better ones. If the OP was in fact me and I was telling me what to do, I probably would've recommended around 20 to 30 courses- because I like doing them. I like structure, I like the build up, I like shadowing increasingly more complucated dialogues in which I gradually assimilate the vocabularly and gain an understanding of the grammar. If you or anyone else doesn't like this, who am I to say you're learning techniques aren't right?

Pimsleur and MT are really very small courses even with all levels included and can even be done while commuting. After that I really only made one 'strong' recommendation- Assimil NFWE, as the others were depending on what the OP was looking for.

I don't think it's overkill to recommend Pimsleur, MT and Assimil NFWE. I think courses have a good place. I know I am very much in favour of them, while others will only use native materials. A balance, particularly in the early stages, is probably suited to the average student, but the OP was asking about courses, something whether it is 'good' or 'bad' I have experience with.

Let's say we were learning to play basketball and wanted to become 'advanced' at it. Many people will just 'play' basketball from the beginning and figure it out as they go because ultimately they just want to play the game. Others will practise all kinds of drills, do cross-training and work on things such as their vertical leap for varied amounts of time. I am this kind. I like the drills, the practise etc probably because I fall into the trap I admit of wanting to play a perfect game, but that's me.

[reineke]

My recommondations are as follows.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6?

Assuming one skips no. 3 is that suggested warm up before FSI? Don't you think you're overdoing it with courses?

Some clarification on your statement would help. Do you mean me? That I am doing too many? Or I am suggesting too many? And suggesting too many why? Because the OP only asked for one suggestion only? I didn't suggest FSI, but I'm aiming to do it.

I didn't think a clarification was necessary. I asked, in light of this:

Re: When do you leave courses behind?
Post by PeterMollenburg » Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:34 pm

NEVER!!!

ahahahahahah (very evil laugh)

I really really..... really enjoy courses. I can't stop using them. Well it's not that I can't stop, I have so many of them and I really enjoy using them, so I continue to do so. Mind you I have a much more balanced approach nowadays,

and this:

Completed courses (order of completion)
First Thousand Words in French (Usborne)
Hugo French in 3 Months
Colloquial French
Usborne French Dictionary for Beginners
Michel Thomas - Total French
Michel Thomas - Perfect French
Michel Thomas - Masterclass French
Pimsleur French 1
Fluenz French 1
Pimsleur French 2
Linguaphone French all talk
Learn French with Paul Noble
Rocket French - Premium
Fluenz French 2
Mastering French 1 (FSI French Basic Units 1 to 6)
Pimsleur French 3
Living Language - Essential French
Pimsleur French 4
Fluenz French 3
Rocket French Premium Plus

Current Courses in use
Assimil New French with Ease (2nd wave finally near completion after putting it down many times)
Teach Yourself Get Started in French (not impressed- mining it for vocab, skipping exercises that are a waste of time)
Assimil Using French (currently leçon 44, finding it slow going, but still progressing... umm, slowly)
Pimsleur French 5 (just doing it occasionally in my car when commuting)
Rocket French Platinum (practically finished but just wanting to review some lessons)
Fluenz French 4 (recently started off from where I left off- relatively easy but great for drilling longish sentences, improving tone and accent and listening skills to a degree)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COURSES TO DO!!!

Strictly for Vocab mining (generally vocab. in isolation):
French vocabulary lists
French Frequency Dictionary (5000 words)
Bilingual French/English Visual Dictionary (6000 words)
French for English Speakers (9000 words)
M. Durands Words, Phrases & Sentences
Barron's Mastering French Vocabulary
Dirty French
Mot à Mot New Advanced French Vocabulary

"Courses"
Living Language 2
Bien-dire Bon appétit (A2-B1)
Living Language 3
Vocabulaire progressif du français (débutant)
Grammaire progressive du français (débutant)
FSI Introduction to French Phonology
Glossika French EN-FR 1
Grammaire progressive du français (intermédiaire)
Vocabulaire progressif du français (intermédiaire)
Assimil French without Toil
Teach Yourself Complete French
Bien dire: French Expressions (B1-B2)
Glossika French EN-FR 2
Linguaphone French 1
D'accord - La prononciation du français internat.
Fluenz French 5
La prononciation française pour de vraie
FSI French Fast Course (Metropolitan French)
Bien-dire: Guide de prononciation
Vis-à-vis
Conversations Françaises 20 lessons Cortina Method
Teach Yourself Perfect French
Glossika French EN-FR 3
Hugo French Advanced
Colloquial French 2
French in Action (2nd edition)
Production écrite B1/B2
Tell me More (levels 1-10)
Préparation à l'examen du DELF B2
FSI Headstart for Belgium
Teach Yourself French Grammar
Bien-dire: C'est la vie en Fr. (B2-C1)
Bien-dire: Expressions courrantes (B2-C1)
Réussir le DELF B2
Activités pour le CECR niveau B2
Tell me More (Business/advanced)
FSI French Basic (units 7-24)
French in Action (3rd edition)
Grammaire progressive du français (avancé)
Vocabulaire progressif du français (avancé)
DLI French
The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practise
FSI Le monde francophone
The Ultimate French Review and Practise
Bien-dire: Conversations entre amis (C1-C2)
French Verb Mastery
FSI Sub-Saharan French
Assimil Business French
Practise Makes Perfect - Advanced French Grammar
Street French 1
Learn French with Jokes 1
Street French 2
Learn French with Jokes 2
Réussir le DALF C1 et C2
Production écrite niveaux C1/C2
Grammaire progressive du français (perfectionnement)
Vocabulaire progressive du français (perfectionnement)

Full disclosure: my idea of "studying Spanish"involves changing the default language in my media player. In short, I don't think either of us is a great example of a balanced approach.

[Cavesa]

I think we may have frightened the OP a bit