Answers
May 08, 2012 - 11:03 PM
For listening comprehension skills in Italian, French and Spanish, Yabla online is excellent as are movies and music.
May 09, 2012 - 02:49 AM
I looked at both Babbel and Yabla for possible improvement in my oral and verbal comprehension of longer sentences, but neither of those programs are free. I have already invested hundreds of dollars in a variety of French training materials and I really don't want to have to add to my costs. I am almost finished with French-1 in Fluenz; and I feel I have made tremendous progress in reading and typing in French while using correct grammar and spelling. But I cannot say the same for my progress in listening to and verbally repeating long sentences in French that are rapidly spoken. When I started Session 27, I really crashed and burned. Even the second sentence in the conversation, "Il est onze heures du matin," is spoken so rapidly that the six words might as well be combined into one as far as my hearing comprehension goes. And I can't even begin to repeat them that fast, which ultimately makes me give up in failure.
I can understand everything that Sonia says because she enunciates each word, which is really helpful for a beginner. Then I click on Next and suddenly find myself transported into a blazing fast world. I understand that French is spoken very, very fast in real life; but at Fluenz Level 1, at least, I wish the oral sessions were spoken a wee bit slower so that while I'm learning to listen to and speak French, I can at least have a chance to understand what they're saying and to try to wrap my tongue around the words.
Fortunately for me, I am mostly interested in reading and writing French; and Fluenz has been wonderful in that endeavor. Consequently, I will definitely continue on through Fluenz 5. Even after just finishing up with Fluenz 1, I can now return to my "French in Action" training program (an immersion program which I was struggling with before getting Fluenz) and can understand so much more of it now. I was actually able to read an entire chapter on my own with almost complete comprehension, and this is material about students creating a story in French and not about traveling and shopping. So I know for sure that my main goals will be met using the Fluenz program :)
I can understand everything that Sonia says because she enunciates each word, which is really helpful for a beginner. Then I click on Next and suddenly find myself transported into a blazing fast world. I understand that French is spoken very, very fast in real life; but at Fluenz Level 1, at least, I wish the oral sessions were spoken a wee bit slower so that while I'm learning to listen to and speak French, I can at least have a chance to understand what they're saying and to try to wrap my tongue around the words.
Fortunately for me, I am mostly interested in reading and writing French; and Fluenz has been wonderful in that endeavor. Consequently, I will definitely continue on through Fluenz 5. Even after just finishing up with Fluenz 1, I can now return to my "French in Action" training program (an immersion program which I was struggling with before getting Fluenz) and can understand so much more of it now. I was actually able to read an entire chapter on my own with almost complete comprehension, and this is material about students creating a story in French and not about traveling and shopping. So I know for sure that my main goals will be met using the Fluenz program :)
May 09, 2012 - 11:43 AM
Another user here had posted this website before and I've found it quite interesting (and I'm sure it will be more useful for me once I am past French 1).. http://multilingualbooks.com/online-r... There are numerous french radio stations. I have found that the stations which are strictly news tend to (but not always) speak slightly slower and more clearly.
May 09, 2012 - 11:56 AM
Hi Marilyn, I'm sorry if the speaking pace already in French 1 is quite fast. As with any language, it is usual that in the beginning it is quite difficult to follow, but at least in my experience the best way to go would be to listen as much as you can every day so that it starts seeping in until it becomes second nature. Even though you may not understand most of what they're saying, it is still helpful to listen to it while you keep learning the language. Just like when we were toddlers, we listened to thousands and thousands of hours to our native languages, before we could actually start even speaking. So this principle is very effective, and it has worked well with me while learning another language. That link which GingerW shared is very good, and you'll find plenty of options for listening to French there. Hope this helps!
May 12, 2012 - 12:30 PM
I love Fluenz, but I would have to say, having finished both Spanish 5 and French 5, that I think you need something more to develop useful comprehension. In this regard, maybe the immersion techniques have a slight advantage, although I still prefer the Fluenz method. If you want something free, and which you can probably start out understanding, there is a free immersion French course "French in Action" at http://www.learner.org/resources/seri.... Marylin said she had used this program in her comment. I mentioned a similar program in the blog on Spanish (called "Destinos"). As I said, it is immersion based, but if you have made it even through Fluenz 1, I think it will help with comprehension, at least I feel it has helped me.
May 13, 2012 - 04:26 AM
Just a followup on my experience with French in Action. As James also commented, this is an immersion program--the training videos (each about a half hour in length) are entirely in French as are the textbook, most of the workbook, and the accompanying audio CD's. Although some people find immersion training the only way to go, as a total beginner in the French language, I struggled through the first two lessons and found it very difficult to follow. I ended up spending lots of time looking up words in French dictionaries and trying to create my own written translation materials, which was really slow going. In contrast, I loved the Fluenz training program that I subsequently purchased because its format really worked for me. It was truly like a light coming on and the French language finally making sense. With the basics I learned just in Lesson 1 in Fluenz, I was able to revisit French in Action and to read and understand an entire new lesson, both their written and oral materials, with almost no need to look up any words. I was actually amazed by my improvement obtained through Fluenz.
I feel that Fluenz and French in Action really complement each other. Fluenz provides the needed English assist in a friendly, repetitive format that allows you to retain what you learn and to gain a good foundation needed for more advanced studies. French in Action adds to that foundation by providing lots of practice with French conversations spoken by a variety of native French speakers. Because I see these programs as complimentary rather than competitive, I am including information for French in Action -- I hope this is okay.
The potential downside to French in Action is that it can be become quite costly if you purchase all the materials that make up each training "package" (textbook, workbook, audio CD's needed to use the workbook, and, optionally, the videos). The training comes in Parts 1 and 2, a total of 52 half-hour lessons, 26 lessons in each part. You can purchase just Part 1 if you wish.
You can watch the videos online on the learner.org site for FREE if you live in the U.S. or Canada http://www.learner.org/resources/seri....
All training materials for each course can be purchased individually. If you want to purchase everything for Part 1, you can also buy a DVD/Print package for for $429.95 from the training site, which saves you about $80 over purchasing them individually ( http://www.learner.org/catalog/series...).
You can, of course, simply watch the videos for free to practice your conversational skills. But to get the most out of the course, you will likely want to purchase the following for Part 1:
Textbook (1997 hardback, 352 pages - predominantly text version of the videos) - $45.86 from Amazon; also available from the training site
Workbook (paperback, 400 pages - provides actual lessons to teach you French) - $20.81 from Amazon; also available from the training site
Audio CD's (32 of them in package - required to perform the workbook lessons) - $160 from training site; $190.91 from Amazon
You can optionally download the videos from the training site ( http://www.learner.org/catalog/series...) in WMV format--Windows Media Video--for $225 for each part. (I don't know about the legality of downloading them from YouTube.)
You can see a half-hour English-narrated Introduction to French in Action on You Tube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojMErQ...) and a sample all-French lesson ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjlqMQ...). Other lessons are also available there. You may need to give the videos a little time to load before they can be played.
I feel that Fluenz and French in Action really complement each other. Fluenz provides the needed English assist in a friendly, repetitive format that allows you to retain what you learn and to gain a good foundation needed for more advanced studies. French in Action adds to that foundation by providing lots of practice with French conversations spoken by a variety of native French speakers. Because I see these programs as complimentary rather than competitive, I am including information for French in Action -- I hope this is okay.
The potential downside to French in Action is that it can be become quite costly if you purchase all the materials that make up each training "package" (textbook, workbook, audio CD's needed to use the workbook, and, optionally, the videos). The training comes in Parts 1 and 2, a total of 52 half-hour lessons, 26 lessons in each part. You can purchase just Part 1 if you wish.
You can watch the videos online on the learner.org site for FREE if you live in the U.S. or Canada http://www.learner.org/resources/seri....
All training materials for each course can be purchased individually. If you want to purchase everything for Part 1, you can also buy a DVD/Print package for for $429.95 from the training site, which saves you about $80 over purchasing them individually ( http://www.learner.org/catalog/series...).
You can, of course, simply watch the videos for free to practice your conversational skills. But to get the most out of the course, you will likely want to purchase the following for Part 1:
Textbook (1997 hardback, 352 pages - predominantly text version of the videos) - $45.86 from Amazon; also available from the training site
Workbook (paperback, 400 pages - provides actual lessons to teach you French) - $20.81 from Amazon; also available from the training site
Audio CD's (32 of them in package - required to perform the workbook lessons) - $160 from training site; $190.91 from Amazon
You can optionally download the videos from the training site ( http://www.learner.org/catalog/series...) in WMV format--Windows Media Video--for $225 for each part. (I don't know about the legality of downloading them from YouTube.)
You can see a half-hour English-narrated Introduction to French in Action on You Tube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojMErQ...) and a sample all-French lesson ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjlqMQ...). Other lessons are also available there. You may need to give the videos a little time to load before they can be played.
May 13, 2012 - 07:24 AM
The French in Action Marilyn is talking about I think includes videos, text and other materials. I believe it is not inexpensive. But the videos alone are available free either from time to time on PBS, or at the website I gave. For me, these videos are now very useful for improving my listening comprehension AFTER I have achieved a reasonable level of proficiency via Fluenz. The full series gives about 25 hours of listening to French, and it is spoken by native speakers in a clear and understandable way. Of course, we would all like to follow the faster clip of speech in films, on the street, etc., but maybe that can come later.
May 13, 2012 - 11:25 AM
I am going to France later this week for two weeks. That will give me an idea of how effective my Fluenz effort has been. The "French in Action" does look promising. If I decide to continue French upon my return from France I may try it. Merci.
Nov 30, 2012 - 12:54 PM
One thing that may help is looking away from the written phrase on the screen during any of the audio workouts, especially the workouts at the very end of each session. I generally don't allow myself to look at the phrase until I can repeat the phrase and understand it's translation. Of course sometimes I'm stuck and can't quite make something out. A lot of the obligatory liaisons combined with the speed at which it's said will throw me off. But I believe this has helped a lot.