ImmersionPlus French by Penton Overseas (2002)

[Skynet]

This course uses 7 stories which are further divided into 3-5 short dialogues which are repeated thrice as follows:
a) Native speech to help get a sense of the natural pace and rhythm of the language,
b) Dialogue is repeated at a slower pace for pronunciation and comprehension purposes,
c) Dialogue is repeated at a natural pace again.

I must point out that in all dialogues an English translation is provided immediately after, and on the same page as, what each interlocutor has said.

The course is divided into 2 parts -

Part One: has 4 dialogues which are divided into 4 sections each (total = 16 short dialogues) that are arranged without any clear pattern.

Part Two: has 3 dialogues which are divided into 2-3 sections each that are arranged without any clear pattern and are much longer than those encountered in Part One.

Pros:
1. The spontaneity of the dialogues is incredible! These are not your run-off-the-mill predictable conversations and this makes them exciting to study! (I really enjoy seafaring and fishing, and this is the first course that actually provided me with the necessary vocabulary to talk about them!)
2. The conversations strike a balance between formal and informal speech.
3. Perfect for those who can't stand grammar: not a single thing is explained!
4. Provides ample listening and comprehension practice.
5. Provides ample speaking and pronunciation practice.
6. All audio is provided solely in French!

Cons:
1. Lack of grammar explanations: If you thought that Assimil had insufficient explanations, then I should say the following about this course: Run, you fools! ImmersionPlus French does not have ANY grammar explanations and assumes that you're already at the intermediate level.
2. This course simply cannot be completed by someone who is not already at the A2+/B1 level, so beginners should avoid this course as it is not designed for them. Edit: It was never designed for beginners. Thanks for pointing out the Amazon review (which I never read), Speakeasy!
3. 7 dialogues are just too short (48 pages!!!) to constitute a course. I wish they had made it more voluminous! I was able to comfortably complete this course in a week!
4. Apparently this course is taken from a parallel universe where France colonised the US because for some reason, the events in this course are happening to Americans in the US, but in French. What French immersion does one get from American football?

VERDICT:
I was very impressed by the course because, as Living Language Ultimate showed me, there is hope for self-instruction courses from the current millennium! However, it is certainly not the best (or cheapest) course available out there! For ~$56 for a new set (audios + book), I would rather recommend the $21.37 Assimil Using French instead.

[neumanc]

Thank you for your review of this dialogue-based short course. Just so you know, it can be bought at audible for a reasonable price, as are its couterparts for the other FIGS:
https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=ImmersionPlus. One can even download the reference material (i.e. the booklet), before having bought the audio. This way, everybody can judge for themself whether the course would be worthwhile for them. However, it seems that only the booklet for ImmersionPlus French is available, you won't get a booklet for the other courses, which renders them useless, unfortunately.

[Speakeasy]

Skynet, thank you very much for bringing this vintage resource to our collective attention. I much appreciate your manner of presenting your reviews! neumanc, thank you very much for the additional information.

As to the unsuitability of these materials for beginners “… This course simply cannot be completed by someone who is not already at the A2+/B1 level, so beginners should avoid this course as it is not designed for them…”, this is not really a disadvantage of these materials (Con) as the description on Amazon advises the prospective buyer that these materials were “… created especially for the intermediate and advanced foreign language students who want to improve their foreign language comprehension …”

Subsequent to making the above comments, I searched the HTLAL and came upon a previous review of this series:

Immersion Plus - HTLAL - April, 2005
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=389&PN=1

EDITED:
Tinkering.
Link to HTLAL.