There are so many apps/tools out there now to learn a new language. We are traveling to France in May. I took both French and German in high school but I need some refresher for enough French to get around for 10 days and to enjoy using the language. Recommendations?
Posted by
253 posts
I have tried Babbel - it was ok. A friend of ours moved to Italy several years ago and he used Pimsleur. I have used it as well and found it very helpful.
You may want to see if your local library has the Pimsleur cds or downloadable (via Libby or CloudLibrary, etc) Pimsleur lessons - you could try that before investing.
Also for free - you could try the Coffee Break French podcast (pretty helpful for travel) or Duolingo (not my favorite).
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
877 posts
I tried the free versions of Duolingo and Jumpspeak. I had High School and some college French a very long time ago. The apps both helped me refresh things I once knew but I wasn't thrilled with either one. Duolingo, by design, is very gamified. I felt I was getting good at "playing" Duolingo without improving my French. I also didn't like getting slowed down by minor typos I made since my focus was on speaking not writing, and the audio part, where you are supposed to speak answers, didn't pick up well on my devices so it wasn't helpful for improving speaking. I found Jumpspeak better overall, but somewhat more tedious. Jumpspeak only works on mobile devices, no laptop option. There were some tech glitches with my iphone model (a recent SE). One feature I liked is that it has you speak and then shows you what it heard, which can then help with pronunciation. Most of the apps offer some kind of free trial so I recommend trying out a few to see what works for you.
Posted by
PNW
33 posts
I second Pimsleur. I have been using it both as a refresher for one language and for learning a new language. You learn words and phrases you can use right away as a tourist. I had CDs a while ago and now use the app.
For variation, I also like Easy French on YouTube. Their videos cover a variety of topics and skill levels.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
Macon, GA Historic Central Georgia
1532 posts
No app or website will help. My suggestion is to sign up as an auditor at your local university and start with level 1. Also your local Alliance Française may offer online courses and certainly offers in person.
Posted by
Sydney, Australia
279 posts
Our local Alliance Française has online classes as well as f2f (we are in Sydney). Hopefully you can find a class in a better time zone for you!
Lavandula
Posted by
Denver, CO USA
678 posts
The BEST is the Alliance Française.
100% Français. Zero English crutch.
Excellent teachers.
I really enjoyed it.
Posted by
San Francisco
15969 posts
I second the suggestion of looking at Easy French, very well done and appropriate, very useful for reviewing and relearning, which one can never do much of when it comes to foreign language mastery, be it on diction, nuance of words, contractions, expressions, regionalism, and so on. I enjoy picking up even snippets from East French.
Bottom line: it helps.