Hi All, I will be in Paris from 2 September to 6 September. Then train to Luzern for the next 5 nights. Then train back to Paris..an overnight and airport to fly back to New York. I studied french in high school for 3 years. I can get along in very basic french.
I will practice my french at every opportunity but I am meeting and staying with my friend from Algeria. I guess I am one of the lucky ones because he speaks fluent french and English.
So he can talk and translate all the time. I feel I should speak when addressed so I will practice.
Neither of us speaks German so I want to get a handle on that. Any recommendations? Pimsleur? Anything else?
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
Duolingo is a great little app that I've been using lately to brush up my French. They have apps in numerous languages and I find that it's a little more sophisticated as far as phrases and usefulness than some other language learning software I've tried. Rosetta Stone is expensive but I've used it in the past and it's pretty effective if you keep up with it.
Posted by
Lakewood
37 posts
I have really enjoyed learning French with Coffee Break French from Radio Lingua. I have also used Pimsleur and I like Coffee Break French better. I believe that that Radio Lingua also has a Coffee Break German now. They also have some YouTube videos that go along with the lessons and Walk, Talk and Learn French. If you have already learned some French and are not a beginner, start with Lesson 31 where they go to France and have real-time conversations.
http://radiolingua.com/shows/french/coffee-break-french/
http://radiolingua.com/category/shows/coffee-break-german/
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I was in Berlin last year and only knew a few words of German. Everyone I met in the hospitality industry spoke some English (not the case in France), so you should have no problem in Germany, in case the language lessons don't take.
Posted by
Green Bay
21217 posts
You should have no problem with English is Luzern. Also, since Switzerland is officially quadralingual (German, French, Italian, Romantsch), French should also work as a back up.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Romansh is a national, but not an official language for the Confederation. It's one of the three official languages for the canton of Grisons.