Foreign language programs

[EACarlson]

Anyone used any computer programs to learn a foreign language? Any recommendations or ones to avoid? My wife and I are going to Paris in 2021 and would like to be able to speak at least a little of it before we go.

 

[clori]

My daughter used duo lingo to learn some Hungarian phrases before our trip to Budapest. It wasn't enough for long conversations but helpful for some of the basics. My Hungarian niece lives in Budapest and was impressed by how much my daughter had learned.

 

[dish rag]

Anyone used any computer programs to learn a foreign language? Any recommendations or ones to avoid? My wife and I are going to Paris in 2021 and would like to be able to speak at least a little of it before we go.

While I’ll doesn’t offend me, it will be very offensive for many to use the term foreign language. I think now they want it referenced as world language.

 

[BadPinkTink]

While I’ll doesn’t offend me, it will be very offensive for many to use the term foreign language. I think now they want it referenced as world language.

never heard the term world language, that to me is PC going to far. The more usual term here in Europe where speaking multiple languages is normal, its referred to as learning a second language.

Also other terms used are
referring to someone as being multi lingual
a country where English is not the first language
a person whose first language is not English

 

[NYCgrrl]

Anyone used any computer programs to learn a foreign language? Any recommendations or ones to avoid? My wife and I are going to Paris in 2021 and would like to be able to speak at least a little of it before we go.

Rosetta Stone, and Pimsleur, have TNT programs that are available digitally but for pay. DGD, used a proprietary supplemental program to add on to her RL extracurricular classes. She has been studying for a bit under 1.5 years now and went to France this summer. Spoke with my French native speaking in law family and by all accounts, her accent and comprehension level were quite good. DGD helped her cousins with English, (they learn in school) and they assisted her with French idioms.

I'm really jumping the gun here though. How long are you going for and how much are you interested in learning? Meaning do you want to be able to ask and respond and comprehend to common tourist phrases or the ability to meet native speakers and carry on a spirited conversation?

 

[EACarlson]

We are looking at 8 days. Spending some time with family friends that live there as well as doing most of the touristy things, including DLP. I took some French in HS so I can ask where the bathroom is, let them know I'm a stupid American and such. Would like to be able to have a conversation without having to ask everyone to slow down.

 

[EACarlson]

My daughter used duo lingo to learn some Hungarian phrases before our trip to Budapest. It wasn't enough for long conversations but helpful for some of the basics. My Hungarian niece lives in Budapest and was impressed by how much my daughter had learned.

I've been on Duo Lingo all morning now. It's great for me where at one point I was almost conversational in French, but probably going to consider another option for my wife.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We are looking at 8 days. Spending some time with family friends that live there as well as doing most of the touristy things, including DLP. I took some French in HS so I can ask where the bathroom is, let them know I'm a stupid American and such. Would like to be able to have a conversation without having to ask everyone to slow down.

Ack been there done that. My first trip to France with minimal French was to meet my in-laws w/o the ex who was stuck in some sort of immigration Hades. He needed his passport to prove to the US authorities he hadn't exceeded his visa and the French Consulate in NYC wouldn't re-issue it as there was some sort of kerfuffle about his mandatory military service thus alone I went. Neither of his parents spoke anything but French so there was quite a bit of hand gesturing and picture drawing. Learned my lesson and "nevah" visited another foreign language country w/o doing more homework .

I think https://learn.pimsleur.com/learn is the easiest way to learn digitally with Rosetta Stone being a close second.
For sure Pimsleur has a way to break down costs and possibly Rosetta does as well. Pimsleur allows you to break lessons down by cost so there is no need to pay for the full course (80 hrs) unless you want to.
These were the 2 apps I considered getting for DGD before opting for the one from her school, Alliance Francaise, which is only available to their members.

Duolingo is fun particularly for those who are familiar with video games but last I heard doesn't do much for proper pronunciation and has some grammatical errors in the French version (don't recall the specifics but at least one made me giggle); the price tag is a goodie though.

I've heard of Memrise and Babbel, and think they are also great for writing in foreign languages but are not immersive. Still, the three of them allow for productive fun time.

HTH and enjoy yourselves.

 

[wenrob]

Both my girls use Duo Lingo. One Greek the other brushing up on her Spanish. Be warned though, apparently the app hassles you when you’re due for a lesson.

 

[EACarlson]

Duolingo is fun particularly for those who are familiar with video games but last I heard doesn't do much for proper pronunciation and has some grammatical errors in the French version (don't recall the specifics but at least one made me giggle); the price tag is a goodie though.

I think I found the error. I remember distinctly being told that all mixed gender groups would use the masculine form, in the app it uses the feminine.

 

[NYCgrrl]

You mean the use of the definite article, les and the indefinite, des? Yes, it's masculine no matter what the gender of the plural nouns or adjectives .

Since it sounds like your wife has less French then you unless she's really interested in learning this language I'd just use whatever article I recall at the time; the idea of what is being spoken of will still get across. Sort of like when my German speaking friends ask for vodka but pronounce is "wodka".

 

[mommasita]

I took a look and played around, and it seems pretty neat. As a Montréal-er, born and bred, I have been speaking French for my entire life, although I am English

A few things to remember, when asking use VOUS. Avez-vous des toilettes? A lot of people use tu, and this is considered inappropriate. It’s a sign of respect.

I think what you meant above was un was masculin and une (anything with an e on the end is feminine), this is quite difficult. Nouns ending in b, c, cle, d, k, l, m, oir, p are typically masculine, but not that numerous in French. New words, often coming from English, like new technologies, ending in “ing” and “isme” are usually masculine. Don’t worry, lots of French people make mistakes.

Also, there are many silent letters at the end of French words

 

[Libbysmom2000]

never heard the term world language, that to me is PC going to far. The more usual term here in Europe where speaking multiple languages is normal, its referred to as learning a second language.

Also other terms used are
referring to someone as being multi lingual
a country where English is not the first language
a person whose first language is not English

World languages is often used in academia. I don't see how referring to a language that isn't the primary language spoken in a country as being a foreign language is offensive. I'd expect someone in France to refer to English as a foreign language.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I took a look and played around, and it seems pretty neat. As a Montréal-er, born and bred, I have been speaking French for my entire life, although I am English

A few things to remember, when asking use VOUS. Avez-vous des toilettes? A lot of people use tu, and this is considered inappropriate. It’s a sign of respect.

I think what you meant above was un was masculin and une (anything with an e on the end is feminine), this is quite difficult. Nouns ending in b, c, cle, d, k, l, m, oir, p are typically masculine, but not that numerous in French. New words, often coming from English, like new technologies, ending in “ing” and “isme” are usually masculine. Don’t worry, lots of French people make mistakes.

Also, there are many silent letters at the end of French words

When I think of silent letters in French it reminds me of English pronunciations and the oddness of it (think wood and would as an example) at times. The nice part about French pronunciations are they are much more consistent.

As for un and une, I can't think of any instances when they are used as plurals but I've forgotten a lot down through the years.

I like your tip on the use of tu and vous. I always go for vous when learning a Romance language since it's harder to be wrong and anyone intimate will know I'm learning and accept w/o feeling hurt.

 

[mommasita]

No you wouldn’t see un or une in plurals, as it’s one, singulars.
You are correct !

I speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, all fluently, in that order, and honestly French is the hardest one to me. It has always given me a run for my money. In particular writing it, there are just sooo many tenses, and I do it daily. One would think at 50, I would have perfected it. Lol

 

[EACarlson]

You mean the use of the definite article, les and the indefinite, des? Yes, it's masculine no matter what the gender of the plural nouns or adjectives .

Since it sounds like your wife has less French then you unless she's really interested in learning this language I'd just use whatever article I recall at the time; the idea of what is being spoken of will still get across. Sort of like when my German speaking friends ask for vodka but pronounce is "wodka".

More Ils and Elles than les and des. I also noted the tu rather than vous. Which I guess I would use among friends but not with strangers on the street or those I am conducting business with.

 

[NYCgrrl]

No you wouldn’t see un or une in plurals, as it’s one, singulars.
You are correct !

I speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, all fluently, in that order, and honestly French is the hardest one to me. It has always given me a run for my money. In particular writing it, there are just sooo many tenses, and I do it daily. One would think at 50, I would have perfected it. Lol

I always wish that I spoke more than atrocious tourist Italian that doesn't go much past menu usage but as I like to say there's still time. Spanish was the first language I studied and living in NYC it's easy to keep up with although I have to be careful not to lapse too much into Latino Spanish. My spoken high German is fading fast from disuse although I can still insult someone in Schweizerdeutsch, LOL.

DGD is giving me a need to polish up my French since she's learning it now so that's a good thing. Think I'll give one of those free apps a try just to keep me in good form. Speaking German was always harder than French for me but Spanish the easiest of the 3.
When I get above my "pay grade" I've nooo problem combining any of the Romance languages' grammar to get a point across. Odd but it usually works .

 

[NYCgrrl]

More Ils and Elles than les and des. I also noted the tu rather than vous. Which I guess I would use among friends but not with strangers on the street or those I am conducting business with.

Don't forget tout, toute, and tous; always good for a laugh.

 

[EACarlson]

When I get above my "pay grade" I've nooo problem combining any of the Romance languages' grammar to get a point across. Odd but it usually works .

Neither my French or Spanish is good enough for a conversation, but I have been known to mix up the two when I worked in a commercial kitchen. My food spanish was ok, then I would try to say something else and my HS french would come out. Most of the time they knew what I wanted to say.

 

[Colleen27]

If your library has access to it, I find Mango more useful than Duolingo. I've used both to work on my Japanese, and my daughter, who spent a summer living there and is majoring in the language now, has a better opinion of the usage in Mango. Duolingo tends to be more informal, which might not come into play as much in French as in Japanese, while Mango teaches the "polite" forms that would be expected in casual encounters.