Product Description
WindowsNT/98/2000/95/XP/MacOSX – For Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
– Repetition of excerpts of complete conversations
– CD-Rom with booklet containing actual transcripts of French natives
– Color-coding shows what is and what is not pronounced in spoken French
– Successfully used in American Embassies “This CD Rom is a “Must” for learning how the French REALLY talk!”
William Martin, retired political editor, The Oakland Tribune”I’ve tried… More >>
SmartFrench: Learn French from Real French People
#1 by A. J. Christian on August 29th, 2010
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The hardest–and certainly most crucial–part of learning any language is how to properly speak and to understand when others are speaking to you. You can certainly learn every last word and grammar rule in the French language, to the point that you can read the complete works of Victor Hugo in the original French, but if you can’t understand when a Parisian asks you what time it is, you might as well not speak any French!
With each lesson, you are slowly taken through an excerpt of an interview with an authentic French person, some of whom are highly prominent individuals in government, fashion, etc. while others are “regular people.” This diversity of interviewees is one of the highlights of this program, as the Achilles heel of many audio programs is that there may be just one or two speakers, usually one male and one female. In this program, however, you’re provided over ten male and over five female speakers, giving you a much wider range of voices and speaking styles. Furthermore, the interviews are all very informal, so instead of the nameless male voice of another program speaking sentences in a typically over-enunciated and “proper” (ie. unrealistic) manner, you’re seeing and hearing French people speaking like they do when they’re just lounging around the house.
The layout of the program is very basic, but effective nonetheless. (I’m always willing to trade flashy animations for effective instruction!)
There are a few hiccups in the program, though they are quite minor. A couple of times when Mr. Aubert is going over the text, especially when it’s the section of the lesson where he’s pausing about twice a sentence, he sometimes skips a sentence. This led to a little bit of confusion, as I was of course expecting a completely different sentence, but it only happens a few times, and he goes over every interview several times, so even if he accidentally skips over a sentence in one section of a lesson, he’s undoubtedly already said it for you in an earlier section or will not miss it in the next section (as I wrote above, it almost universally happens only during the stop-and-start sections–he quite obviously just lost his place a few times).
Another small issue is that the English translations could use quite a bit of polishing. For some of the lessons, I found it actually more confusing to read the English translation than to just try to figure out the French! But since this is a program to help you with your French and not to teach you English, it’s of negligible concern to me.
In all, I wholeheartedly recommend this program. It’s deceptively simple and effective in improving your listening comprehension. There are a few issues that exhibit an unfortunate lack of polish, but they are small defects in a very effective program.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Patricia J on August 29th, 2010
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If you want to be like the majority of Americans who have taken a foreign language in high school or college and can hardly decipher a word of conversational French then Smart French is not for you. On the other hand, if you feel that the value of learning a foreign language is to understand NATIVE speakers and hear the language as it is actually spoken then Smart French is a MUST buy. This program will completely demystify the art to French spoken language–and it is an art. When I heard my first lesson I honestly felt betrayed by my other programs–why didn’t they simply tell the truth about French pronunciation like Smart French does? That is why if you have had years of instruction or not even one French lesson this program will benefit you.
You get a booklet with the written dialogues, the alphabet, and helpful pronunciation tips. You also get a a CD software program which effortlessly takes you through a rich library of interesting conversations. You can watch the video and audio together or listen to the audio alone. The secret to Smart French is that it breaks it down for you–lesson by lesson. One of the most important things in learning a language is to utilize your listening skills–something that had always terrified me until Smart French. Go through each dialogue step by step and you will lose your fear and finally gain the confidence to trust your ears. Then pick up your old language books, tapes, and French movies and you will be amazed when you finally understand the speech patterns. I highly recommend this program–ENJOY!
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Anonymous on August 29th, 2010
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With an impending vacation to Paris, I wanted to become familiar with the French language, having never studied it before. I’ve read and listened to nearly every major French language program out there, including Barron’s, Berlitz, Michel Thomas, Living Language French, Teach Yourself French and Instant Immersion. Smart French is by far the best, both in value and in what it teaches. I couldn’t understand why after studying these other methods, when I watched a French film, I could understand little to nothing of what was being said. After purchasing Smart French and working each of the interactive lessons, I finally get it. What is taught in the textbooks is not the way the French actually speak. They contract so much that the written French is quite different from the spoken French!
A child learns a language first by hearing it spoken and mimicking the sounds, then by attaching meaning to the words. This is what Smart French does. It teaches you to hear first, repeat the sounds that you hear and translate later. First you learn to hear, then speak and finally to understand. All the other methods teach basically the same way and method, while Smart French is very different. I wholeheartedly recommend Smart French!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Margaret L. Lee on August 29th, 2010
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This program is wonderful. Listening to “real” people speaking the way they actually pronounce words is very helpful. And I like the way the lessons are laid out – step by step.
I know very little French already (I took French in high school, nearly 50 years ago).
This program has helped me immensely. I’ve tried other French language learning programs, and they are either too “stilted” or not thorough enough. This one is just right.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Jennifer N. Hemphill on August 29th, 2010
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If you are interested in learning how native French people really sound like when you are not in France, this is the language program for you.
It is an interesting program that if the steps are followed, that is, variations in hearing and repeating the monologs or dialogs with annotated notes on pronounciation or grammar, one can actually begin to understand what is spoken. There are three levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced. The monologs/dialogs are spoken by a variety of people in different professions, which makes the CD much more interesting than most language tapes. Then ,there are the videos of the people doing the monologs which are fun to watch and try to speak or read along with. It is at a fast clip, probably as fast as we sound to non -English speakers.
I am really glad I purchased Smartfrench and look daily to studying French. Having had high school French and one year of college French almost 35 years ago I also feel confident that when I go to Paris this summer, I will be comfortable with my French understanding and speaking because of Smartfrench.
Rating: 5 / 5