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French: Beginner (Collins Language Revolution)

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Authors: Tony Buzan, Jonathan Lewis
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł19.99~~
Buy New: Ł9.99
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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

20 reviews
Sales Rank: 3515

Media: Paperback
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.1 x 1.7

ISBN: 0007255942
EAN: 9780007255948
ASIN: 0007255942

Publication Date: March 3, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 20

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Fun and interesting way to learn April 6, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have always wanted to make more of the languages that I learned in school but over time they have slipped from my mind and I find myself a complete beginner once again!

The beauty of the Collins Language Revolution is that you really do take things in and even remember what you are learning. And on top of all that - it's actually fun!

The pack consists of two cds, one to listen with the book and one that you can take out and about with you, and a book to aid the learning. The book itself is colourful, interesting and doesn't look intimidating which has put me off other similar courses before. The book also has clear instructions on which track on the cd corresponds to which part of the book so you know when to pause and do the exercises before moving on.

The French words are broken down into green words: those that are similar to English, amber words: that are similar or remind you of the word in English and red words: those that have nothing in common with the English word. This helps you see how difficult you might find the words as you come upon them on the book/cd. The main premise for this course is that you are using imagination and association to learn and remember the French words. And it really does work! I've always thought of French as a very difficult language to learn but it's made surprisingly simple using this technique and the exercises in the book

Another plus point for this course is that the voices on the cd aren't annoying. Both the man and woman have clear, understandable voices that you can easily try to mimic.

Overall, if you've ever had difficulty learning languages before, are a complete beginner or someone who wants to brush up on old skills - then this is definitely the course for you. It's fun, interesting and interactive and you really can't go wrong. Definitely 5 stars.

4 out of 5 stars

Effective March 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The book uses brainstorming (with little pictures, if you feel so inclined) as a method of revision. There's also a helpful audio cd packed it. The text book is in a nice friendly format and doesn't overload you too quickly. While it still takes an awful lot of work (learning French is by no stretch of the imagination 'easy') it does seem to stick. I've been at it off and on a few weeks now (after not touching the language since high school) but the basics are starting to feel familiar. Don't expect to pick it up and start chatting away like Jean Reno. It's still difficult. The course here, though, seems to work if you give it the time required.

4 out of 5 stars

Getn da lingo March 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is a nice intro to French and the Mind Mapping techniques of psychologist Tony Buzan. All are very simply to follow and fun to learn. The Mind mapping techniques can be aplied to other memory tasks. So you get 2 for 1 here. Great value.

4 out of 5 stars

Thorough and well done, but not revolutionary March 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is a well-presented course which consists of a course book, and 2 audio CDs, one to listen along to while you are using the book, and the other a stand-alone to reinforce your learning which you can use anywhere. It comes to you in a sturdy plastic case (which is quite a bit bigger than it needs to be.)
It goes over well-trodden ground, starting in the cafe, and moving on to other situations which a tourist to France might well encounter. Where Tony Buzan's contribution comes in is with the mind maps to help you remember. I liked the way the course pointed out words which you could remember which are similar to the English and those which appear to be similar but in fact are not. (My language teacher used to call these 'false friends'.)
The packaging also makes reference to extra online resources, although the site was down when I tried it. This could well be because it is a new product, and I'm sure Collins will make the extra material available.
This is a well put together product, but I'm not sure that it's radically different to any other language learning product on the market, and for this reason, it gets 4 rather than 5 stars. You won't just wake up one day and find yourself speaking French if you keep this on your shelf (or listen to it when you are asleep), but if you are serious about learning, and keen to work hard, this will be a really useful assistant.

5 out of 5 stars

Tres bien! March 20, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I was pleasantly surprised by this product, as it really does deliver. I learnt French for 5 years whilst in secondary school and haven't spoken it now for almost 20 years. So although not a complete beginner, I would certainly consider myself a novice.

The 207-page A5-sized book comes with 2 CDs (1 to use with the book, and the other to listen to 'anywhere'). The learning is based on association where you associate what you are learning with something you already know. In the book the French words are divided into 3 categories: Green - words that are the same or nearly the same in English as in French, Amber - French words that may remind you of words in English that are not the same but similar, Red - French words that may have nothing in common with their English translation, but you can remember them by finding a funny, memorable association. For example, for 'pression' (which means a draught beer) the book tells you to imagine that a barman has to "press on" a button to serve your draught beer!

The 10 topics covered are: The Cafe, By taxi to the hotel, To the tourist office, At the museum, In the restaurant, Shopping, What time, At the market, Soloution, Goodbye!

There is a page on how to pronounce French, but also every key word you are taught has an Englishman's pronouciation, eg 's'il vous plait' being 'seel voo pleh' (which means 'please'). Of course, you also have the 2 CDs to help with pronounciation.

Finally, our above-average nearly 7-year-old daughter had a go at the 1st section with me (The Cafe) and by the end of the unit was able to understand all the words taught, remember them correctly and order a drink in a cafe! She can still remember it all now and I never went through it with her again!

I would highly recommend this to anyone wishing to learn French in a fun and successful way!