Answers
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:28 PM
Thank you so much for the feedback. We're happy to hear that you are using Fluenz daily and that you are actively looking for extra resources. Whatever helps you is what matters.
Here are two resources we really like. Not sure it's what you are looking for but it's a first step :)
1. yabla.com (videos with subtitles- really useful for comprehension)
2. linguality.com (books with vocab on the side tab)
Enjoy...
Here are two resources we really like. Not sure it's what you are looking for but it's a first step :)
1. yabla.com (videos with subtitles- really useful for comprehension)
2. linguality.com (books with vocab on the side tab)
Enjoy...
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:32 PM
Congratulations! I share your love of the Fluenz software. I'm on the last third of the second level and looking forward to the third. Still it makes sense to round it out with other resources. So here are my faves. . .
Grammar:
The best resource online is http://french.about.com/. I signed up for the daily lessons and it complements the Fluenz lessons nicely. The best workbook is definitely French Demystified by Annie Heminway. It's easy to work on it during my commute to work.
Comprehension:
If you are looking for a challenge check out the free French in Action videos at http://www.learner.org/resources/seri.... It is an immersion experience and the opposite of the Fluenz philosophy of building your French on an English structure. BOY does this video validated that philosophy! On the other hand I find that I comprehend much more of this video than most of the material on yabla.
Apps
And if you have an iphone. Don't forget the apps. I have a French dictionary and some phrase programs that I play while other people are unwinding with solitaire.
Bonne chance!
Grammar:
The best resource online is http://french.about.com/. I signed up for the daily lessons and it complements the Fluenz lessons nicely. The best workbook is definitely French Demystified by Annie Heminway. It's easy to work on it during my commute to work.
Comprehension:
If you are looking for a challenge check out the free French in Action videos at http://www.learner.org/resources/seri.... It is an immersion experience and the opposite of the Fluenz philosophy of building your French on an English structure. BOY does this video validated that philosophy! On the other hand I find that I comprehend much more of this video than most of the material on yabla.
Apps
And if you have an iphone. Don't forget the apps. I have a French dictionary and some phrase programs that I play while other people are unwinding with solitaire.
Bonne chance!
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:33 PM
I never thought I would be a fan of podcasts, but I highly recommend the Coffee Break French podcasts created by the Radio Lingua Network. They have 80, 15-20 minute lessons and much like Fluenz, you are actually learning content that you would actually use in real life situations. Very enjoyable.
http://french.about.com/
I will second this suggestion. You name it this site has it and has it explained in detail.
http://audiofrench.com/
This site has hundreds of verbs and just about any conjugation, mood, tense and what not that you could possibly need. They also have audio samples for each verb, vocabulary lists, videos and more grammar related content.
http://french.about.com/
I will second this suggestion. You name it this site has it and has it explained in detail.
http://audiofrench.com/
This site has hundreds of verbs and just about any conjugation, mood, tense and what not that you could possibly need. They also have audio samples for each verb, vocabulary lists, videos and more grammar related content.
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:33 PM
Thanks so much for your responses! I've been using About.com and it's been very helpful. Another site that I like is BBC French.
A friend told me about BYKI and I downloaded their free French program and that's also been great to work with.
Thanks again for responding! =D
A friend told me about BYKI and I downloaded their free French program and that's also been great to work with.
Thanks again for responding! =D
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:34 PM
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-French...
I think this is an excellent resource for concise explanations on French grammar. Unfortunately, the situation with books is that you will not have a speaker to repeat each word properly.
www.igoogle.com
Igoogle has a great translator that offers pronunciation - good if you stumble across a word in French that you want to learn but are not sure how to pronounce. Very clarifying. It's a bit muffled and fast sometimes but better than nothing.
I think this is an excellent resource for concise explanations on French grammar. Unfortunately, the situation with books is that you will not have a speaker to repeat each word properly.
www.igoogle.com
Igoogle has a great translator that offers pronunciation - good if you stumble across a word in French that you want to learn but are not sure how to pronounce. Very clarifying. It's a bit muffled and fast sometimes but better than nothing.
Jan 25, 2011 - 05:34 PM
Sorry for the DB but this is also a great resource.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/page/g...
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/vp - verb practice, very handy
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/
It's basically an online class program developed for students at the university of austin but free for anyone to use.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/page/g...
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/vp - verb practice, very handy
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/
It's basically an online class program developed for students at the university of austin but free for anyone to use.
Jan 29, 2011 - 04:16 PM
I'm currently in Fluenz French 3, and agree with Sarah's recommendation for the Ultimate French Review and Practice. My French collection (ordered entirely through Amazon) includes that as well as:
Barron's 501 French Verbs
Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar by Annie Heminway
Advanced French Grammar by Veronique Mazet (I'm not quite ready for this one yet!)
Easy French Step-By-Step by Myrna Bell Rochester
French Made Simple by Pamela Rose Haze
The verb book was my constant companion studying Spanish in high school and college, and I find the French version just as valuable.
The other books have exercises that I started doing in conjunction with Fluenz, but it can be challenging to correlate them. Sometimes I've done work in the books that is later presented by Fluenz and I've either been pronouncing it wrong or it makes me pay less attention to the Fluenz lesson since I've already covered it. For example, I learned "je voudrais changer de l'argent" on page 11 of French Made Simple, but I didn't learn "changer de l'argent" until lesson 1-23 and "je voudrais" instead of "je veux" wasn't introduced until lesson 3-2.
Though in English rather than French I love Speak the Culture France by Thorogood as well. I read it on those days when I'm not mentally ready for learning new French material so I am able to immerse myself in French culture instead.
I hope this is helpful for you, and I am thankful for all the listening resources listed by others! Bonne chance!
Barron's 501 French Verbs
Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar by Annie Heminway
Advanced French Grammar by Veronique Mazet (I'm not quite ready for this one yet!)
Easy French Step-By-Step by Myrna Bell Rochester
French Made Simple by Pamela Rose Haze
The verb book was my constant companion studying Spanish in high school and college, and I find the French version just as valuable.
The other books have exercises that I started doing in conjunction with Fluenz, but it can be challenging to correlate them. Sometimes I've done work in the books that is later presented by Fluenz and I've either been pronouncing it wrong or it makes me pay less attention to the Fluenz lesson since I've already covered it. For example, I learned "je voudrais changer de l'argent" on page 11 of French Made Simple, but I didn't learn "changer de l'argent" until lesson 1-23 and "je voudrais" instead of "je veux" wasn't introduced until lesson 3-2.
Though in English rather than French I love Speak the Culture France by Thorogood as well. I read it on those days when I'm not mentally ready for learning new French material so I am able to immerse myself in French culture instead.
I hope this is helpful for you, and I am thankful for all the listening resources listed by others! Bonne chance!