Basic French Language Audio CD Course, Part A, Units 1-12.

Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Includes 15 audio CD discs, plus a 194-page textbook. Our customers rave about this French language Foreign Service Institute course, which was among the first developed for State Department personnel assigned overseas. It has been thoroughly field-test and revised, and we believe it is the best course available anywhere for learning French on your own. The FSI study method is unsurpassed, because the audio CD player becomes your "tireless teacher" repeating the same phrase, time after time, with no change in inflection, while you have time to respond during the pauses on the audio CD. You test yourself, correct your errors and repeat as often as you wish. All the voices you hear on the audio CD's are those of native French speakers. Once you learn a pattern you then learn how to use that pattern in many other contexts. In this way, you are not simply learning to mimic your audio CD's but to use your new language creatively. You learn from this course by listening and repeating, and repeating again. The process is very similar to the way you learned English, which you probably spoke fluently long before you could read or understand rules of grammar. After going through each lesson once with the book, you can then practice exclusively with the audio CD's while doing something else, such as driving, jogging, or walking the dog. Basic French Part A gives you a vocabulary of about 900 words and practice using the simpler forms of the language, and corresponds to a full college semester course. Brief "culture capsules" in English are an added feature of the course. They follow each lesson unit and provide insight into French customs and language usage. Produced with "advanced sound engineering" which enhances the tonal quality of the native speakers and the clarity of sound by at least 30%. FSI Language Courses never sounded this good. Finally, you can understand what they are saying. Advanced sound engineering is only offered by Bright Star Publications.