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Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:57 am
by James29
tomgosse wrote:If I may ask, where did you buy it and how much did it cost ?


I bought it online at Abebooks used for roughly $25 or 30. It is somewhat expensive, but I think it is well worth it. A quick look through the table of contents makes it look quite comprehensive.

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:36 am
by tomgosse
James29 wrote:
tomgosse wrote:If I may ask, where did you buy it and how much did it cost ?


I bought it online at Abebooks used for roughly $25 or 30. It is somewhat expensive, but I think it is well worth it. A quick look through the table of contents makes it look quite comprehensive.

Thanks. I found a used copy for $40. Still less expensive than the Amazon price. :) It should be here this week.

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 12:38 pm
by haziz
James29 wrote:The last few days I have been spending a couple hours a day working through French for Reading by Sandberg. It is amazing. I learned Spanish a more traditional way... Pimsleur, Michel Thomas, Assimil, FSI, etc. This method is totally different and I am loving it.

The book basically breaks down basic vocabulary and grammar into programmed phrases that build up to a reading at end of each chapter. It only teaches the learner how to read and it is entirely "passive." Now, just after three days, I am actually reading and understanding some very simple texts. This book has hooked me on French... I hope it remains to keep my interest. I've had a hard time sticking with French in the past.



Thanks for pointing out Sandberg. While hunting for a cheaper used copy of the French book, I discovered that he wrote another book with a coauthor on Spanish and immediately ordered that in both a paperback and Kindle edition. I am halfway through chapter one and I love it! Can't wait to receive the hard copy! I usually order both a hard copy (sometimes several copies) in addition to a Kindle edition. I prefer a "real" book (hard copy whether hardcover or paperback) but the Kindle edition comes in handy when I am in a restaurant waiting for food,on my lunch break, while traveling....etc.

The Spanish book BTW is much more sensibly priced, though I will definitely also order the French book when the time comes to learn French. So far chapter one is a little reminiscent of Madrigal but with a much faster progression and without the endless "el actor es popular", "el mono es inteligente" exercises.

These books really should be better known. From what I have seen so far, I highly recommend them!

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:01 pm
by James29
One thing I find myself saying to myself as I work through this French book is that I wish I had used it for Spanish. I think this approach would be even better for Spanish as Spanish spelling and pronunciation are very straightforward. With French I am not sure if I am butchering the pronunciation. I don't see how this book would work too well in Kindle format. I suppose it would work, but I'd prefer to have a hard copy and I am a big Kindle fan.

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:05 pm
by tomgosse
From December 25 to 30 Radio Neige-Folle is going to present The Little Prince and some Adventures of Tin Tin programs. I'm looking forward to them. :D

radio neige-folle.png

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 9:53 pm
by tomgosse
tomgosse wrote:
James29 wrote:
tomgosse wrote:If I may ask, where did you buy it and how much did it cost ?


I bought it online at Abebooks used for roughly $25 or 30. It is somewhat expensive, but I think it is well worth it. A quick look through the table of contents makes it look quite comprehensive.

Thanks. I found a used copy for $40. Still less expensive than the Amazon price. :) It should be here this week.

Amazon sent me an email saying the order was cancelled. It seems that the seller does not really have the book. The cost of a new copy is $61 on Amazon. A little pricey for a text book published in 1968. :(

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 10:31 pm
by tomgosse
Bonjour mes amis,

I added some links to cheesy education videos and some animation to the first post.

À bientôt
Tom

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:28 pm
by Doraemong's Pocket
Don't know if anyone uses it or not, but RFI has a good 'journal en francais facile' every day. It's only 10 minutes long and basically a round-up of the news that day. Speed is quite fast for me and some days I'm flummoxed, but overall it's a good resource to hear the language.

There is an app for smartphones that has RFI, the African version, music and you can also catch up on previous episodes of various things.

Edit - Here's the link for the main site: http://www.rfi.fr/

I'll try to put the link for the facile recordings in once my computer has stopped being a pig. There are also the transcripts of the records available on the site, too.

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 4:20 pm
by geoffw
Doraemong's Pocket wrote:Don't know if anyone uses it or not, but RFI has a good 'journal en francais facile' every day. It's only 10 minutes long and basically a round-up of the news that day. Speed is quite fast for me and some days I'm flummoxed, but overall it's a good resource to hear the language.


I've listened to RFI for years, and I started with these "easy" broadcasts. I never was able to figure out why they were considered "easy." I saw (and still see) little to no difference in difficulty compared to the standard news broadcasts (discussion segments are another story). The speed is pretty comparable and the vocabulary doesn't seem different. There's nothing wrong with these broadcasts, but no one should ever feel bad about having difficulty with this supposedly "easy" listening exercise.

Re: French Group 2016 - Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:52 pm
by emk
geoffw wrote:
Doraemong's Pocket wrote:Don't know if anyone uses it or not, but RFI has a good 'journal en francais facile' every day. It's only 10 minutes long and basically a round-up of the news that day. Speed is quite fast for me and some days I'm flummoxed, but overall it's a good resource to hear the language.

I've listened to RFI for years, and I started with these "easy" broadcasts. I never was able to figure out why they were considered "easy." I saw (and still see) little to no difference in difficulty compared to the standard news broadcasts (discussion segments are another story). The speed is pretty comparable and the vocabulary doesn't seem different.

Yeah, I agree with geoffw. RFI's Journal en français facile is not actually facile. If you can understand almost everything on your first listen, without using the transcript, you'd probably do fine on a B2 listening exam. They're great little news broadcasts, but they contain plenty of rapid French and frequent topic switches without a lot of context. A typical TV news story on specific topic is often slower and longer, with more context and more pictures.

One thing that I found very helpful around B1 was just going out and exploring different kinds of native media—there's a wide range of difficulty, and it's OK to search around for a bit until something works.