French in Minnesota?

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Dudeguyman
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French in Minnesota?

Postby Dudeguyman » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:43 pm

Hi guys, this is my very first post here. I was wondering if anybody knew of a good place to learn French while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. if not, if anybody has a solid suggestion on a book to get me started either read and writing or speaking french, that woul be wonderful. I only know American English btw. If that makes any difference. Thank you.
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sillygoose1
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Re: French in Minnesota?

Postby sillygoose1 » Wed Sep 19, 2018 12:04 am

Your best bet would probably be to look for an "Alliance Française". Given that you live in a large city there has to be one.
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Speakeasy
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Re: French in Minnesota?

Postby Speakeasy » Wed Sep 19, 2018 12:21 am

Welcome!
Hello, Dudeguyman, welcome to the forum! I look forward to following your comments on the numerous, fascinating discussion threads here. Your question, while centered on your specific location, is quite common. As an initial response, I would point out that there are so many truly good resources for learning French that it is difficult to know where and how to start. So then, whatever advice you receive on this forum, while it might appear either confusing or even contradictory, you can be assured that it will be good advice, based on positive personal experiences.

Classroom Instruction
Generally speaking, the members of this forum have a marked preference for self-study/independent-learning of foreign languages. Many of them have tried classroom courses but have come away dissatisfied with the experience and, to a certain extent, with the materials that are specifically designed for use in a classroom setting. While I assume that you are able to chase down French classes at your local university, college, high school, community center, not to mention Berlitz outlets and many others, in the event that you are more interested in classroom instruction, you might consider contacting your local chapter of the “Alliance française”, an international organisation, with offices worldwide, for the promotion of the French language and culture (even though, during the time that I took to type this drivel, sillygoose1 beat me to the punch) ...

Alliance française, Minnesota (Saint-Paul, Rochester)
http://afmsp.org/education/adult/

Independent Learning
To reiterate, most of the members on this forum have a marketed preference for self-study/independent-learning of foreign languages. There are probably several hundred excellent courses for the self-study of French at the Beginner through the Lower Intermediate levels. While there a some variations, the general approach involves the presentation of the target language through a succession of mock “situational dialogues” in which the student can easily visualize himself: Passing through Customs, Arranging for a Taxi to one’s Hotel, Checking in at the Hotel, Making Personal Introductions, Ordering in Restaurants and Cafés, Arranging for Sightseeing Tours, Renting a Car, Renting an Apartment for an Extended Stay, et cetera. A few courses, while they introduce the language in the form of dialogues, depart from this mould.

Resources for your Consideration
There are simply too many to list. Nevertheless, you might wish to consider the suggestions in the following discussion threads:

French Resources
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2914

French Resources
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2719

My Personal Recommendations to You
Cutting to the chase here, I recommend the following programme of study:

1. Amuse-gueule
For starters, I suggest that you begin your study of French with Pimsleur French, Levels I and II

Pimsleur French, Levels I and II
Pimsleur is a proven and highly-respected “audio only” programme for the independent study of a very wide variety of languages. Very generally speaking, the method introduces the target language rather slowly, using the principles of spaced repetition, in a manner that the student will develop are fairly strong understanding of the basic structure (grammar) of the language through inference. I liken it to learning the basics of swimming from one’s parents, in a warm wading pool, away from boisterous children and other distractions. About the only criticism that I have is that, even if you were to stick with the programme all the way to Level VI, you would still be in the shallow end of the pool working on the Australian Crawl and, while you might be able to execute a very solid Crawl, you would not be prepared to represent your University on their Water Polo Team (you know: fists, elbows, knees and other foul play under the churning water). That is, you would still have a hard time holding up your end of a genuine conversation (exchanging basic information is not, in my opinion, conversation). So then, despite the programmes’ limited scope, I genuinely and enthusiastically suggest that you begin your studies by completing Pimsleur French, Levels I and II. You may, or may not, wish to accompany this stage by referring to a very basic French Grammar. If you choose not to, you will pick up all of the necessary information in other courses.

2. Le Plat Principal
I would suggest that you choose one of the following. Of course, you could use them all, simultaneously, just to break the boredom.

Assimil French
The Assimil programme introduces the target language through approximately 100 short dialogues which are accompanied by a line-by-line translation, a few simple exercises, and some rather interesting but frustratingly opaque notes. Rather than adopt what-might-otherwise-appear-to-be the standard approach of a series of dialogues which take place in predictable situations (see above), the Assimil dialogues do not have an overall theme that binds them together; they’re just a collection of haphazard short conversations. While this approach might be a little disconcerting, at first, it resembles what happens in “real life”; that is, real-life conversations really do jump from topic to topic. While there are many members who are not so fond of the Assimil method, there are just as many who are “fan boys” and I suggest that you consider it amongst your options. The only criticism that I have of the Assimil courses is that the speakers on the audio recordings, with a view to assisting the student grasp the spoken language, speak artificially slowly. I wouldn’t be too concerned about this though, there are thousands-upon-thousands of opportunities for developing your auditory skills in French. The courses retail for something just less than 90 $US. Oh, by the way, I was quite serious about the accompanying notes; you should most definitely acquire a very basic French Grammar to accompany this otherwise excellent course. Otherwise, you'll find yourself asking the members of this forum a lot of needless questions!

FSI/DLI French
The FSI French Basic and DLI French Basic courses were developed in the 1960’s for the instruction of U.S. Government diplomatic and/or military personnel. They employ the “audio-lingual” method of instruction which relies on the presentation of the target language through a series of situational dialogues, accompanied by hours-upon-hours of sentence-pattern drills (hut, hut, hut!) to reinforce the basic structure of the language and its vocabulary. Although the method enjoyed the wide-spread support of American Academia during the period, it eventually fell out of favour and was replaced by variants of the “communicative” method. You’ll find supporters and detractors of the method amongst the members of this forum. The materials are freely-available on the Yojik website: https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/

Linguaphone French (Complete to Intermediate)
The Linguaphone method (the basic courses) introduce the target language through a lengthy series of extended dialogues and narratives. Typically, they follow an expatriate family’s return to the homeland for vacation during which the principal characters engage in many of the typical activities that a long-term visitor to the country would encounter. Although the current generation of courses is getting a little long-in-the-tooth, they are worth the detour, if only as supplementary materials. Until recently, Linguaphone used to operate in the U.S. through an authorized agent, but their website seems to have closed down. If you wish to order from the publisher’s head office, located in the U.K., I would suggest that you purchase “refurbished” courses. As an alternative, you can find used Linguaphone courses, in excellent condition, for sale on the internet, most notably on eBay.UK. While the method is solid, as for Assimil, the accompanying notes are the Achilles' Heal of these courses. Alors, la même solution s'impose (a simple grammar).

EDITED:
Typos, tinkering.
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