D

I took 3 years of French back in High school (8 yrs ago). We will be going to France it the begining of January and wanted to freshen up on my basic and necessary French.<BR>Can anyone recomend a good book or CD. Any infio will help - THANKS

elaine

Hi D<BR>The problem with memorizing more than just &quot;hello, goodby, please, and thank you) is that, for example, if you ask for directions, you may not be able to understand the answer in rapidly spoken French. It's just as well to admit that you are not a fluent speaker; most people in service industries will speak some, or quite a bit of, English. They will appreciate your &quot;bon jour Madame&quot; or your &quot;Au revoir Monsieur.&quot;<BR><BR>However, Berlitz has a good phrase book with cassettes/cds. You need the tapes or cds so that you can hear someone pronouncing it. <BR><BR>Also, elsewhere on this Fodor's website there is (or was) an opportunity to practice basic phrases in various languages, with sound.

Don't worry

Same situation - 3 yrs of French in highschool 10+ yrs ago, and I was fine. You'll be surprised at what you remember - even just recalling the single words would be fine. Make sure you print off some food menu words from websites though, otherwise you wouldn't know how to order from the menu. There's a &quot;food menu dictionary&quot; webpage in this website: http://www.provencebeyond.com/food/index.html

marciab

I went to Paris alone for the first time ever in May 2002. I had one semester of French in college 32 years previous, nothing in between. I figured most people there would speak English anyway. Wrong. I stayed out near Bois de Vincennes, where there are not a lot of tourists, and I was having to speak French from the minute I got there. I somehow managed to do just fine for the entire week, although some days it was rather exhausting, not to mention daunting. I wished I had done exactly what you are doing, brush up beforehand.<BR><BR>I did have a Berlitz phrasebook and dictionary with me, one of the little ones, and it was a lifesaver, particularly in figuring out menus. I would also peruse it a bit in my room at night, and a lot of phrases came back to me. The single most valuable phrase I used was Je parle seulemente un petit peu de Francais. Most people were very helpful even if they did not speak English after I told them I only spoke a tiny bit.

francesca

If you have a few weeks to prepare, the Pimsleur tapes are really excellent. They helped me learn enough German to feel confident before moving there.

John H

Hi, D,<BR><BR>There are plenty of good resources on the Internet for learning or brushing up on basic French. Try some or all of the following:<BR><BR>BBC French lessons:<BR><BR>http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/languages/french/ <BR><BR>French lessons from Radio France Internationale:<BR><BR>http://www.rfi.fr/fichiers/langue_fr...ex_anglais.asp <BR><BR>French language courses from Radio Canada:<BR><BR>http://www.rcinet.ca/scripts/default...ursFR&amp;l=en <BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>John H.

jeanne

I suggest the Barron's French CD system. I found it at my library and, on my recent trip, found that I was constantly running into circumstances where I could use the phrases from their lessons. <BR><BR>Unlike you, I had never studied French, so I started with the Michel Thomas tapes, which gave me the basics. Then I moved on to Barron's. Their system puts characters in specific situations (a restaurant, at the train station, going shopping, etc.) with dialogue in French to match the situation. I found I learned more, faster listening to the French.<BR><BR>You will find it true that the French are appreciably warmer to those who at least try to speak French to them. <BR><BR>Bon Journee!

aaa

BONNE journ&eacute;e

jeanne

Merci

A

www.frenchassistant.com is another helpful site - good for a refresher

Sue

I agree the Pimsleur tapes are really good. I think they would be especially helpful to you since you already know some French. I took French in high school many years ago, and remembered alot of the grammar, but not basic conversational French. I have recently been working on the Pimsleur tapes and am almost finished with the French III course. They are well worth the cost (expensive!), but you have to keep at it everyday. Each course (I,II, and III) has 30 lessons, so it takes about 3 months to complete. I can't wait for my next trip to France! You can buy these tapes on the internet.