French Language Resources
Learning Resources - Software - Books and Audio
French is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and today by about 350 million people around the world as either a native or a second language, with significant populations in 54 countries. French descends from Latin (spoken during Roman times), along with all other Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Catalan and Romanian). Additionally, there is some influence from Celtic and Germanic languages. It's an official language in 31 countries, known as La Francophonie in French, "the community of French-speaking nations". Many of these nations reside in Africa, with a scattering around the remainder of the globe. Per the Constitution of France, French has been the official language since 1992. France mandates the use of French in everything governmental , public education and binding contracts; one cannot even advertise without the inclusion of a French translation. Nearer to home, about 7 million Canadians are native French-speakers, most in Quebec, and French is one of Canada's two main languages (Of course English is the other). Provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms deal with Canadians' right to access services in both languages, including the right to education in the minority language of each province (even in Western Canada), based on population. By law, the federal government must both English and French, proceedings of the Parliament of Canada must be translated into both these languages, and most products have labeling in both languages. Start Today! There is no time like the present, and never have so many resources been at your disposal for learning a foreign language. Check out the links and descriptions below to find a program that fits your needs.
French Learning Resources on the Web
Offers podcasts for learning the French language, updated daily. Some of the material is free and the quality is good. If you like the software, there is a pay service available for a reasonable cost which included full site access. A free 7 day trial is available for your evaluation. Sorta free, sorta not. When you register you get a 14-day trial and access to the sites excellent program, which includes well done sound files. After 14 days, you lose access to the sound, but everything else remains free. Good news, is that its a good product, and the annual service cost is only around 30 bucks. Try it out, it's really quite thorough.
French SoftwareExcellent French vocabulary builder for the DS. Click the above link for a full review of the Spanish version. Rosetta Stone V3: French, Level 1, 2 & 3 The excellent Rosetta Stone program (see Review). Find out if Rosetta Stone products are right for your learning needs French Books and AudioClick on the above link for a full review! |
