Traveling through France for 3 weeks in October and would like to learn some basic phrases such as; “may I have the check”, “I would like”, “where is the bathroom”, “We have reservations”, that sort of thing. I did this 15 years ago using index cards and it really helped. The French were kind when they heard I was at least trying. Wondering if there is a good website/app now that can do the same. Something I can listen to on my walks. Repetition works best for me.
Merci
Do you know Duolingo? I would use Duolingo to prime you in the basics of grammar and pronunciation and couple it with a tourist phrasebook. I don't know of an app that just teaches tourist French but someone else might.
Good luck!
Lavandula
I agree with Duolingo and it's free. I always use it before I visit France. I also use Rick Steves' French guide which is full of phrases & organized by places you'd want to use such as sleeping, eating, etc. It can be found here: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/french-phrase-book The book is small and easy to carry with you & also has a tear out sheet of useful phrases.
l'addition, s'il vous plaît
Je voudrais.....
Où sont les toilettes?
On a une réservation
Most of these are found in a simple French phrase book or you can look up on Google translate. Duolingo is good for learning the language but doesn't focus on travel phrases. Coffee Break French has some very helpful and entertaining podcasts, but I'm not sure if they do "travel French" episodes. It might be worth checking to see if they do, though. Let me put it this way, I minored in French so took many classes in college, but I honestly learned more on Coffee Break French than ANY class I took. (I used to listen to them while walking, too!)
There are YT videos galore which will walk you through these phrases, and you can listen to those while walking. They are free and VERY helpful, plus will give you context for the phrases - there are subtleties in any language that you just have to hear it before you get it.
I'm currently using both Duolingo and Babbel (got the lifetime all-language deal with Babbel). Of the two I personally prefer Duolingo. Combining these along with YouTube teacher Guillaume Posé has gotten me to where I test at B1 level. At some point I'd like to reach B2, but it's probably not really necessary.
StellaB, thanks for the tip on Coffee Break French. I'll definitely look into that.
Wondering if there is a good website/app now that can do the same. Something I can listen to on my walks. Repetition works best for me.
You're practically asking for the names of two audio CD programs that do exactly that. Start with Michel Thomas French which will introduce you to some of the "bones" of the language as well as some phrases. Then use the Pimsleur French series, perhaps levels 1 and 2. Since they're audio-based they work perfectly for your walks, and they're based on spaced repetition (especially Pimsleur) so you'll hear phrases over and over. Pimsleur CDs can be expensive to buy but they've been on the market so long many libraries have a copy. The cool thing about Pimsleur is that the phrases they teach you are so internalized you can just say them without struggling to recall.
Thank you everyone!!! I really appreciate taking the time to respond and pointing me in the right direction.
I agree that Pimsleur is an excellent series -- we no longer have computers with CD slots so they are now out for us. Duolingo is helpful but not so much for tourist phrases. I never studied French formally and Duolingo done every day briefly has upped my game a lot so that I am pretty comfortable shopping and asking basic questions in museums and in restaurants etc --
but to get ready for a trip I would just google tourist French and you will find lots of websites which give you the top 20 phrases you. need with pronunciation and master those.
I like Busuu. It's a mixture of audio and visual which is good for me as I am a visual learner.
If you are at all attracted to gamification, DuoLingo can be addictive. My husband started doing it almost two years ago to learn some Italian before we went to Italy. It has now been a year since we got back from Italy, and he is still competing in the tournaments and has a 700+ day streak going.
In addition to reviewing grammar books, I look at "Easy French," a very useful , charming, and authentic on-line approach. Index cards help also, ie whatever is best in the way to augment your language knowledge.
If you have a library account, see if they have the app Mango.
That's how I found it, though you can probably get it elsewhere.
It's like Duo Lingo but without the annoying sound effects.
Find out if there are local French language classes in your area.
I find Duolingo pretty useless. I wouldn't bother with it.
Since your focus is on learning tourist-related words and phrases, my suggestion would be to take two steps:
Buy Rick Steves' French phrasebook or any similar phrasebook from another company.
Use your computer to type in the phrases that interest you into DeepL or some other translation program and have it read the phrase back to you (slow down the speed if you need to) so you can get a sense of the correct pronunciation. French pronunciation can be a bit odd and there are a lot of silent letters, so hearing is better than reading.
I find Duolingo pretty useless.
Interesting. Very different from my experience. Just more evidence that everyone has a different learning style.
One of the problems with Duolingo is that 95% of the exercises ask for recognition of an individual word rather than production. We speak in chunks of speech, often with the same accompanying supporting words. Recognition is good for reading but not if you need to understand a string of words or need to produce a word.
If using Duolingo exercises, try using the vocabulary taught to write your own sentences in French. People need to work on production and dialogs, too.
I like Bob's idea of targeted sentences from the phrase books, but remember to put S'il vous plaît before or after your requests: S'il vous plaît, où est la toilette? SVP l'addition?
I've been using Duolingo for the past year to learn French, and for several years to keep from losing all my Italian. I try to construct phrases in my head that I might need for our trip next month. Hopefully I'll at least get "points" for trying. The weakest point of the app in my opinion is practicing proper pronunciation--it accepts anything you say that's kinda-sorta close. I ended up taking a basic French class at "senior citizen college"--once a week, no homework, but plenty of practice in pronunciation. The Easy French videos mentioned above are one of the things the instructor used to help us hear French, and to teach French culture. He also referenced the University of Texas website: https://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/ which offers open access to French vocabulary lessons, videos and more. Bon chance!
I enjoy the Earworms Learning method, repetition with some music cues, and have used it for French and Italian. It’s very much focused on useful phrases etc for travelers. Some of them are available on Spotify, and they’re all on Audible for purchase.
Having just returned from France and having minimal French knowledge, if you’re in a tourist area and utilizing tourist type facilities, I found the knowing the nouns with questioning inflexion, and polite responses were generally enough. Most people in the service industry know some English but you should know a few phrases: bon jour is used as you enter a store or cafe. L’addition svp. Merci. Au Revoir, Toilette? In cafes and restaurants there generally are signs pointing the direction. Know: droit, gauche, froide, chaude. Learn to count 1 to 100. Vin blanc or rouge. Brière pression or bouteille, cafe crème or au lait, grande etc. Le menu svp if you haven’t already been given one will allow you to see what is available. Get used to the metric system as liquid quantities are given as cl, e.g vin blanc 12.5cl is about 4 oz. Prices shown on menus are all-inclusive with no extra taxes and no tips are required except if you’re in an area with lots of Americans, you might get asked for a tip and the terminal given for your card may offer tip options. Smaller cafes and bakeries can operate by pointing. Note that if you want to indicate a number using your fingers, the thumb is number 1 and is often assumed, so be careful or you might get one more than you expected.
Notwithstanding all the above, the locals seem to appreciate if you use French to the best of your ability. Speak slowly and clearly. Lentement svp.
Bon journee.
Bon journee.
bonne journée! And yes, you have some very good tips for just getting by (I'm trying to learn the same set of phrases in Italian).
Bonjour is the greeting when you first encounter someone, while bonne journée is usually said when you leave (like leaving a store) and means "have a good day."
StellaB, you are correct. My French spelling is terrible and I always had trouble with the sex of a noun and thus getting an adjective to agree.
Also, I have to ensure that my brain knows which country I’m in otherwise the basic words may come out in the wrong language. Buenas noches.
My French spelling is terrible and I always had trouble with the sex
of a noun and thus getting an adjective to agree.
With bonjour and bonne journée, it is best to just remember them as set phrases which have slightly different meanings. One means "good day" and the other means "have a nice day." In French it is kind of confusing because jour is a masculine noun which means a day as a unit of time while journée is a feminine noun which refers to the course of a day. Same thing with "soir/soirée." Bonsoir = good evening and bonne soirée = have a nice evening. For a year there is an/année. Bonne année is how you say Happy New Year.
I tend to geek out a little over French, I've spent many years studying it but will NEVER master it!
I also like Pimsleur and find that the teaching method they use works well for me. I'll likely never be fluent using online courses, but they provide enough language skills to cover the important points when travelling.
I'll likely never be fluent using online courses
I have the same thought, but I'm really looking forward to being in France and improving my comfort communicating in French.
but I'm really looking forward to being in France and improving my
comfort communicating in French.
True, immersion is the #1 best way to improve your communication level.
Even after YEARS of studying French, minoring in French in college, and spending about a year in France, I can only speak it passably. But without having done immersion experiences, I wouldn't even speak it that well.
I agree with Elizabeth and Bob. We speak in chunks of phrases that are not necessarily direct translations. My two cents, follow Bob's suggestion. It takes no more time than using Duolingo and you can focus on the key phrases you're hoping to use while in France. And always remember to say "Bonjour" upon arrival anywhere; "S'il vous plaît" when asking question or responding to a question (ie: Oui, SVP); And always say goodbye "Au revoir, bonne journée, merci, etc."
Enjoy your visit!
I've really liked JumpSpeak. you get both vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and you get to speak it and get corrected. There's also an AI feature that will converse with you. I've enjoyed it a lot.
After a couple of months with Duolingo I knew the French word for every family relationship and how to say I have a pet owl, dog and cat….no I really didn’t find it that useful
In my experience …
Pimsleur is good if you speak no French and need to just get started. We’ve gotten it from the public library for Italian.
If you have a couple of years of high school French or more … and forgotten some but you’re trying to get it back and/or you have issues with pronunciation …
Try https://languatalk.com/blog/tag/french-podcast/. Gaelle does a nice job on that and you can read and listen at the same time. It is slow French and she provides some translation in the process. And it’s free. Nice stories of her life experience and interviews with folks from all over France about their cities or regions.
If your French is better yet, try One Thing in French day. Free without French text and about 4 Euros a month with text. https://www.onethinginafrenchday.com/ Laetitia lives in or near Paris and speaks at a more regular, conversational pace about her and her (grown) daughter’s daily life in and around Paris.
Bon Voyage.
