Learn French by Podcast

Rating: 9/10
Publisher: Plus Publications
Website: learnfrenchbypodcast.com
130+ Lessons

Pros
All audio content is free.
Caters for beginners, intermediate and advanced.
Well crafted PDF lesson guides (paid for).

Cons
Not much, really. Jingle gets a bit annoying after a while.
Only 5 lessons for advanced listeners.

Conclusion
Tightly packaged and presented, this podcast is very professional. Clear, short conversations are presented, repeated and then sections unpacked and explained clearly with further examples. Excellent. Highly commended.

Have you tried Learn French by Podcast? What did you think?



Further comments
Another UK based publication, this time from Ireland, with an Irish presenter and native French speakers. Each audio lesson contains a short conversation between 2 native French speakers. The repetition is useful to reinforce listening skills before a comprehensive explanation of the discussion is presented. Extra practice is offered by showing alternative situations for phrases etc.

This series assumes a little at the start, so complete beginners may need some extra help at the beginning. Looking forward to the video offerings in the future.

Comprehensive notes are well produced and very clear, but these need to be purchased.

So, too, the magazine Francais Plus is available for purchase, which has been produced for 10 years mostly for the Irish student market.

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Coffee Break French

Rating: 9/10
Publisher: Radio Lingua Network
Website: coffeebreakfrench.com
80 lessons

Pros
Great pace, easy for beginners, excellent attention to detail, builds language skill not just memorising phrases.
Cons
Free package a little bloated with promotion

Conclusion
Comprehensive series, very professionally recorded and edited, starting at the very basic and progressing to intermediate. Excellent. Highly commended.

Have you tried Coffee Break French? What did you think?

Further Comments
A highly produced package, professionally presented and the audio is free.
Presenters are based in the UK, and they have quite thick accents in English, but French accents sound pretty good. Mark, the presenter, is a self-confessed grammar nut, but he breaks down the rules into simple and clear examples.

I like the fact that a student is also recorded during the presentation. This allows for student/teacher interaction without sounding stilted.

Lessons are about 20min, but contain a fair bit of padding. It gets a little repetitive having the add-on products advertised often, but knowing these are available is important.

Paid extras - Lesson guides; Enhanced podcasts; Bonus listening materials; Abridged versions of episodes (skipping intro and ending); Wordlists; Exercises; No ads.

I came across this audio podcast through iTunes, but you can also find it on the web at coffeebreakfrench.com

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Best Language Learning

Hi All,

Wanting to learn a language but didn't know the best places to start?

I've taken up learning foreign languages as a mature adult, and finding it fantastic.

There are SO many great resources online, and using blogs, podcasts and video is a great way of learning a language, especially as they are usually a regular series, encouraging you to continue in your studies.

So which ones are the best?

I thought I'd start a blog to help others to find great resources to learn foreign languages, without spending heaps of time, and possibly money, finding them. Wouldn't it be great to have a review of these resources, written by someone who has tried them, and offer a clear opinion on the style, content and usefulness of the material?

Let's join a discussion and talk about the best on the net.

I'll post a few reviews of my own, having been learning French, and I'll attempt to learn Spanish at some time in the near future.

What are your favourite resources for learning a language?

Other Related Posts:

Coffee Break French

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Intermediate French by Berlitz

Michel Thomas Method French Advanced

HUGO in 3 Months: French

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Learn French by Podcast