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Living Language Ultimate French | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| webjunk Newbie Mongolia Joined 5122 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 1 of 7 11 April 2010 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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Howdy
I'm relearning french from my school days. I'm 2/3rds through Michel Thomas's basic 8 cd course, which has worked very well with my learning style, but I am missing the written course notes and exercises that other courses have. My library has learning language ultimate french and I've spent a small amount of time reviewing it before starting MT. Questions - does anyone know the differences between Living Language ultimate french 2004 and 2008? I'm looking at ordering the work book that goes with the course - but my library has the 2004 course cds. - how does living language compare to Assimil? I'm after more grammar and structure than parroting phrases like 'there is a problem with the refrigerator' Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| microsnout TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Canada microsnout.wordpress Joined 5252 days ago 277 posts - 553 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 2 of 7 11 April 2010 at 6:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have used this program (2004). I liked it because the book contains good grammar explanations and exercises
and like to know that sort of detail. Unlike a grammar reference book (like Schaum's Outline which I also like) the LL book presents grammar incrementally, revisiting topics several times to explain how they relate to newly learned topics. I did all the exercises in the book twice - the second time just as a review after not studying for several months. I don't know much about the 2008 version except that it seems to include several more disks of something. Probably little else changed. The 04 contained two sets of 4 CDs, the lesson audio and a second set just for listening - like in the car. I have never used Assimil so I can't compare its effectiveness for learning but I have seen the Assimil book and it is clear they are very different as it contains next to no grammar explanations. If I were starting over I would try to use both together. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| vikramkr Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5850 days ago 248 posts - 326 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese | Message 3 of 7 12 April 2010 at 4:00am | IP Logged | ||
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I think that Assimil (New French with Ease and Using French) and Living Language French (Ultimate and Ultimate Advanced) would be a powerful combination. Edited by vikramkr on 12 April 2010 at 4:01am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5346 days ago 938 posts - 1839 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 4 of 7 12 April 2010 at 9:35am | IP Logged | ||
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I have used both Assimil and Living Language Ultimate - I did the Living Language first and then Assimil - If I did it again (as I am with German) I would use the Living Language after Assimil as it makes explicit what you learn instinctively in Assimil. Think of the repetition as revision!
I would also do the Living Language course with a denser grammar book and dip into the grammar book using the LL lessons as the basic game plan (e.g. when LL teaches possessive pronouns read up on it in the grammar book). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5128 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French | Message 5 of 7 12 April 2010 at 10:57am | IP Logged | ||
You may be interested in checking out Liberté, by Gretchen Angelo. It’s a college textbook that can be downloaded legally and for free at http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/ There’s plenty of grammar and exercises (most of them with answer keys) but unfortunately no audio so it’s probably better to use it in parallel with other materials. I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for, but I hope it helps. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Chris Heptaglot Senior Member Japan Joined 6902 days ago 287 posts - 452 votes Speaks: English*, Russian, Indonesian, French, Malay, Japanese, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Korean, Mongolian | Message 6 of 7 15 April 2010 at 7:41am | IP Logged | ||
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I emailed Random House to ask about the differences and never got a reply.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5121 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 7 of 7 15 April 2010 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have a set of the Advanced Ultimate French and I must say that, they are good. The 4 CDs offer good listening practices...
By the way, have anyone of you used the "Practise and improve your French" series? I remember they came along with 4 cassette tapes and 2 books...personally, I enjoyed them the most, out of all the CD materials out there in the market currently, but unfortunately the publisher (passport) no longer publishes them anymore, since the company was bought over by another one... The storyline, the background music, and the lively dialogues make the learning process so much more interesting! Furthermore, the speakers are from Geneva (I believe), hence, it's slower than the spoken French of Parisians. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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