Refreshing my high school French 45 years later

We've had great success learning Italian using Pimsleur, which we find the easiest method to use by far. Found it especially helpful brushing up on High School German a few years ago.
With an account at your local library you can access a shared online resource called OneClickDigital which has all of the Pimsleur languages available to download for free. Their eAudio format works well on iPods, smart phones, etc. Can try it at no risk to see if it works for you. Some larger libraries may have the CD's, but we've found that downloading to our iPod's is much more convenient.

I used Pimsleur's Conversational course for Hungarian and really loved their method, plus I learned with the proper accent...not that I fooled any Hungarians I spoke to. I'm considering getting their more expanded set. I would have bought Rosetta but they don't offer Hungarian, and the price is steep.

I was in Paris last month and was surprised at how much of my high school French came back to me, words and even grammatically correct sentences.

I like Pimsleur a lot. Even when it feels like it's not working, I've been surprised at actually going to the country and finding I remembered lots more than I realized I would.

Another great way to brush up (as opposed to learning from scratch) is to watch movies. This way, you hear the language naturally spoken, rather than the artificial diction of language tapes. Of course, you have to make sure you don't pick a movie with too much slang; the French equivalents of Goodfellas, for example, will teach you all kinds of new words, but not the ones you want as a visitor!

I'll check my lists when I get home, but off the top of my head, here are some that are both good for hearing French, and good movies period:

Bay Of Angels (Baie des anges)
Elevator To The Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'eschafaud)
Diva
The Dinner Game (Le diner des cons)
The Valet (La doublure)

I used the Pimsleur Language Learning System to review my high school French ( before my trip) & I found it to be very helpful.

I actually found the CD's at my local library & listened to them whenever I was driving to/from work.
The most difficult aspect of learning/ reviewing French, is the pronunciation.
Listening to French as much as possible will train your brain & it will be easier to recall what you once learned.

Have you looked at Duolingo? It's free and available online (in browser) or as an app for your phone or tablet. Similar to Rosetta Stone in methodology.

I've used Pimsleur for four trips to France and have been very pleased. I'very even been told that my French is very good, though I suspect "for an American" is silently tacked on. Personally, I much prefer the Pimsleur method to Rosetta Stone. I think for a tourist you learn much more useful vocabulary and phrases.

Pimsleur goes slow, in the sense that you invest a lot of time relative to the vocabulary and grammar learned. If you took 2 or 3 years of HS French then you got much farther than Pimsleur can take you. Don't get me wrong, I think Pimsleur is great for someone starting from scratch and is worth doing the 1st 30 lessons or so although not much more than that. But for you I think this 16-lesson subset of what comes from a 90-lesson intro program isn't worth $40; it will cover relatively little.

Instead I'd say you want a 2-pronged approach. You need to refresh yourself on the language basics of at least some grammar, and you need vocabularly. I'd say start with Michel Thomas, often available free at a local library. A fun course, a bit similar to Pimsleur but less focused on the spaced repetition that is the hallmark of Pimsleur. For vocabulary get a list of the 300 or so most common words and learn them. Mnemonics and free programs to drill you will help here. After that, if you are ambitious, try the Assimil French course. It actually may be somewhat akin what you would have learned in HS in terms of the depth of the language it covers.

Ellen,

Another vote for Pimsleur. I've been using it to learn Italian and while I'm not fluent, I can manage quite well. I also have a Pimsleur French course and have found that's really helped to bring back my high school French. I was very surprised to receive a compliment on my French from a shop keeper while in Lausanne last fall. That brightened my whole afternoon!

Where in France? I was in Paris last year for 2 weeks and after the formal greetings were over, everyone there switched to English, except supermarket checkout clerks and a couple of neighborhood bakeries.

Later I was in eastern France, and in the smaller towns and villages, I used French a lot.

Even if you buy something else, try Duolingo. It's fee and you will like it.

Just remember that when you start speaking French, you might not understand the rapid-fire responses you receive, especially if coupled with regional accents.
If you feel the need to understand basic information like basic polite phrases, menus, directions, and so forth, use whichever method you prefer. But beyond that, you probably won't be getting into heavy conversation with anyone, because for them, it's faster and more efficient to speak English.

Pimsleur has worked very well for me, building upon and expanding my High School French. As others have pointed out, you can't achieve fluency in a hurry but I've managed to buy things, ask directions, even make jokes in French. It's also true that people you are speaking to in France may well want to switch to English, but that's not always going to happen and I believe that it's generally appreciated when you make an effort to speak French.
All together Pimsleur has 5 levels (they call them "phases"), with 30 lessons in each. There are other learning aids available as well (flash cards, reading supplements, etc). I find it helpful to see how a word is spelled if it's new to me. The Pimsleur customer service reps have been very responsive when I've needed help.
All in all I'm a big Pimsleur fan. I can't compare it to any other method because I've had no need to try any others.
I'll be glad to answer any questions that I can.

I LOVE the Pimsleur cd's. I learned pretty good tourist Italian and brushed up on my high school French for a trip last year. You should check - I was able to get them from my public library. I breezed through 1 & 2 and started to get better with 3. I highly recommend them and I loved being able to really speak french while I was there - especially in the countryside it was helpful. Sue

I will make a case for Coffee Break French, also available at no cost on the web. The language is presented in 20 minute segments, appropriate for a coffee break or a nice walk. It provides French for the visitor as well as the grammar to construct your own sentences.

Definitely start at your library and see what they have to offer. I'm currently using a couple of "Playaway" language programs from my library. They are just small self-contained MP3 players that contain various language programs. You plug your headphones in and listen whenever you want.

You might try BBC Languages/ French, which consist of about 20 brief stories and situations along with interactive speaking, quiz questions...most of the situations are in Lyon and the south of France. The lessons are all free.

Coffee Break French...so good! Try it, you'll like it!

Coffee Break French...so good! Try it, you'll like it!