Get Started in Beginner's French: Teach Yourself

Catrine Carpenter

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781444131321
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Are you looking for a course in French written for the absolute beginner who has no experience of learning a foreign language? Get Started in French will give you the confidence to communicate in French. Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online. The emphasis of the course is placed on communication, rather than grammar, and all the teaching is in English, so that you will quickly and effortlessly get started in French. By the end of this course, you will be at Level B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages: Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Learn effortlessly with new, full-colour easy-to-read page design and interactive features: NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of France.TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.The course is available as a book (9781444100709), as a pack comprising the book and double CD (9781444100716) and as a double CD (9781444100723).

1

Bonjour
Hello

In this unit you will learn how to

• Say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’
• Exchange greetings
• Observe basic courtesies
• Ask people to speak more slowly

Before you start

Read the Introduction to the course. This gives some useful advice on studying alone and how to make the most of the course.

Make sure you’ve got your recording

next to you as you’ll need it to listen to the Pronunciation guide and Dialogues sections. If you don’t have the recording, use the Pronunciation guide in the book.

Study tips

Remember that studying for 20 minutes regularly is better than occasionally spending two hours in one go.

1 Listen to the Dialogues once or twice without the book (read them if you haven’t got the recording).

2 Go over each one, bit by bit, in conjunction with the Key words and phrases and notes underneath the dialogues.

3 Read the Grammar section very carefully and study it.

4 Read the tips on How to learn vocabulary and How to pronounce.

5 Go back to the Dialogues and Key words and phrases for more listening and studying, this time using the pause button and repeating aloud after the recording.

6 Do the Activities including Things to remember, check your answers in the Key to the exercises and tests and test yourself with the Self-tests.

Essayez! Have a go! Can you think of any French words you know such as the words for ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’? Say them out loud, and then look at the Key words and phrases to check the answers.

Key words and phrases

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bonjour	good morning/afternoon, hello
bonsoir	good evening (after 5.00 p.m.)
bonne nuit	good night (when going to bed)
au revoir	goodbye
bonjour, Madame	good morning (Madam)
bonjour, Mademoiselle	good morning (Miss)
bonsoir, Monsieur	good evening (Sir)
au revoir, Messieurs-dames	goodbye ladies and gentlemen
oui	yes
non, merci	no, thank you
merci	thank you
merci beaucoup	thank you very much
s’il vous plait	please
d’accord	OK
pardon	sorry (to apologize), excuse me
comment ça va? ça va (informal)	how are things? fine
(très) bien merci	(very) well thank you
comment vas-tu?	how are you?
comment_allez-vous? (formal)	how are you?
je vais bien et toi?	I am well – how about you?
et vous? (formal)	and you?
vous parlez_anglais?	do you speak English?
parlez plus lentement	speak more slowly

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Insight

When you se...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Meet the author
• Photo Credits
• Only got a minute?
• Only got five minutes?
• Only got ten minutes?
• About the course
• Pronunciation guide
• 1 Bonjour Hello
• 2 C’est combien? How much is it?
• 3 Je m’appelle … et vous? My name is … what’s yours?
• 4 Vous habitez où? Where do you live?
• 5 Quelle heure est-il? What time is it?
• 6 Pour aller à …? The way to …?
• 7 C’est comment? What is it like?
• 8 Vous aimez le sport? Do you like sport?
• 9 Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire? What should I do?
• 10 à l’avenir In the future
• 11 Les courses Shopping
• 12 Se reposer, dormir Resting, sleeping
• 13 Bien manger, bien boire Eating and drinking well
• 14 Les transports publics Public transport
• 15 Faire du tourisme Sightseeing
• 16 Sortir Going out
• 17 Bonne route Safe journey
• 18 L’argent Money
• 19 Savoir faire face Troubleshooting
• Taking it further
• Key to the exercises and tests
• Appendix: numbers
• Rôle-play scripts
• French–English vocabulary
• English–French vocabulary
• Index
• Copyright