|
Our Review Costs & Features User Reviews |
|
Editor's Star Ratings:
Emphasis on Speaking / Pronunciation: | |
Emphasis on Writing / Grammar: | |
Variety of Learning Materials: | |
Features: | |
Ease of Use: | |
Customer Support: | |
Value for Money: | |
Overall Star Rating: |
Editor's Review:
Learn French the Fast and Fun Way is a beginners French text book that will bring back memories of your school days. While it is still well presented and easy to read, the course is starting to look a bit dated in comparison to some of the modern multimedia courses we have seen. However, it does as it says on the tin and will have you speaking some basic French in a relatively short time, providing you put in the effort!
The Learn French the Fast and Fun Way course is just a good old fashioned book with no accompanying CD, DVD or anything else to get in the way. It's a reasonable length, but still won't take you much past beginner level French. Inside the book are some cut out flashcards which can be used to help memorize the important vocabulary from the lessons, which is a nice addition. Furthermore there is a detachable dictionary booklet, which contains a handy food, drink and wine section that you can look up while you are in a restaurant.
As we mentioned, the course itself does feel a bit old fashioned in its structure and layout. The situations it deals with, too, feel a bit outdated and you certainly won't find any up to the minute vocabulary here. However, it still does the job and gives you a good introduction into French grammar, which is something a lot of multimedia courses gloss over. The cartoon-style illustrations throughout the book cheer things up a little, but we think 'fun' might be going over the top a bit! As with any course, it will still be hard work if you want to learn properly.
By being a book only course Learn French the Fast and Fun Way misses out on some of the really useful aspects of multimedia courses. Audio lessons are one of the most useful ways of learning a language as it gets you into the way of understanding and pronouncing things properly and this is sorely lacking from Learn French the Fast and Fun Way. Phonetic pronunciations are given, but it's not quite the same as hearing the real thing from a native speaker.
Learn French the Fast and Fun Way is an average book based French course. If, for some reason, you really want just a book there are better ones out there that are a bit more up to date. However, a mixture of media is probably the best way to learn a language so for a range of different products why not check out our top ten list of the best we have found.
Click on the button below to select from a list of sites that sell Learn French the Fast and Fun Way (Elisabeth Bourquin Leete)...
« Back to our Top 10 Teach Yourself French Guides Reviews