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 a bit of the "bones" of the language. 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.
