Customer Reviews

Collins French with Paul Noble - Learn French the Natural Way, Part 1

5 star:		(105)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been quite a collector of French language courses over the years, and I would place this product at the top. This is an extremely approachable course, and constructed to make it easy to learn the fundamentals of French. Learning is made simple, but indeed never simplistic. The discs are broken down into small lessons, none over 7 or 8 minutes long, some much shorter. Very easy to pick up and put down, with never a sense of losing your place in the scheme of learning. The clever, intuitive style of the course, and the empathic style of speech from the author, with his unique strategies for learning, and constant revision, is quite a delight.

Having just completed the final 2 revision CD's, I was impressed that it just seemed natural for me, and the answers came out correctly and spontaneously. I am impressed by how quickly the course enables the student to talk in quite long sentences. Paul Noble certainly has the unique knack of explaining points of grammar which are so different from any other method I have encountered. This chap knows how to communicate.

100% recommended.

Bravo! Paul Noble on producing such a useful tool for learning French. I have just listened to his demo, and it is enough for me to know that he is adopting the most effective approach for any English-speaker wishing to learn French.

As a teacher myself, I too have been using such a comparative approach for nigh on two decades. And like Michel Thomas and Paul Noble, I have found that starting with the similarities is the fastest and simplest route between the 2 languages. I read in one of these reviews that Mr. Noble is being accused of 'ripping off' Michel Thomas. In defence of Mr. Noble, I cite my own experience: that through a root-and-branch comparison of the two languages, I arrived at the same conclusions as both men before either of them ever published their methods. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

The cornerstones of the comparative approach are universal observations and as such, not copyrightable. Its core concepts are * English is (broadly speaking) 'half French and half German'. * The vocabulary of English 70-80% of French origin (one can debate this figure, but the principle is solid), so with the right guidance, all English-speakers can generate 1000s of French words in very little time. *The structure of French is surprisingly comparable and parallel to that of English; consequently, the way you build and `think' a French sentence is very often the same as the way you build/think its English equivalent.
Even the micro-observations that Noble makes about structure and vocabulary eg(1): -ion words are the same in both languages, eg(2): -ic/-ical English words become -ique in French, eg(3): `I have progressed' and `I progressed' are the same = j'ai progressé are bread-and-butter tools of the comparative approach and as such, are in no way attributable to or protectable by one person.

So I say kudos to both Paul Noble and Michel Thomas. They are driving a (albeit too slow) revolution about how we learn European languages. They break with the old-school thinking that has paralysed us for decades with its insistence on grammatical differences and exceptions and irregularities. Instead, they demonstrate that French (like Spanish, Italian, German,...) is not so `foreign', and that all English-speakers have an latent potential to speak these languages in a way that is intuitive, painless and hugely motivating.

After having learned French at school, I was left knowing a lot of words, but being unable to use them in a sentence. Paul Noble's style is so different. He introduces words and concepts at a good pace, but gives tips on how to use them, when to use them, and how to make a sentence from the words. By the end of the second CD, he has introduced and reintroduced many of the words, and as he discusses, words are forgotten, that's fine, because he intends to continue to bring them into normal every day language.

And that's where the power of this entire package lies. It's everyday language, that is being developed. Paul will introduce a word or phrase, and then time is given to repeat it, but in French. An example of this, is "I would like to reserve a room for two people, for two nights with breakfast". It's also brilliant to have a native speaker involved to give the answer, and to continually be reminded how to pronounce words properly. One tip I'd suggest is that providing the French sentence, it's always useful to sometimes repeat it along with the French speaker. It's useful because you can detect quite easily when you've mispronounced a word or used the wrong word (such as la when it should be le).

As you begin to work through the package, Paul suggests that if you're finding it a little tough, just go back and replay that section of the CD. Now, I have done this a few times, and it's rather enjoyable being able to retrace some of the work that you've covered.

I use these CD when I'm driving to and from work, so for about 15 minutes twice a day, I'm working through several of the sections of the CD. If the traffic is a little heavy, I'll just repeat the track. But it is quite astonishing just how easy the words, sentence structures and to an extent the pronunciation just simply sinks in. It doesn't take much concentration to follow Paul's instructions, and before long, the sentences are emerging without any problems.

The package is good, because each CD is broken into very manageable chunks of language. Therefore, you can go slowly, or speed up, and generally work at your own pace. I'm always amazed when I reach the end of a CD, and think that didn't take long, but how much I've learned! Because of the style of repetition and using it in a conversational way, words, and how to use them, tend to stay, so when Paul says a sentence in English, I don't need to think about it, translate it, and then try and put the words into a coherent sentence. It just comes out automatically - so that must mean I'm already thinking in French!

An excellent package. Well worth having. I'd recommend it heartily.

I passed GCSE French about 30 years ago, but then visited France and found out I couldn't speak the language, but wanted to learn.

For years I have expanded my collection of traditional bookwork-based, audio-supplemented French courses, such as Hugo, Accelerated Learning and Linguaphone. I have tried them all, but always given up in frustration after a short time. I tried Michel Thomas as well, but hated his thick accent, so quickly gave up on that too.

This course is the first home study French course I have ever finished. That fact alone speaks for itself.

Paul Noble is a brilliant teacher who has created a brilliant course. He teaches the language you need for a holiday or short stay. Although he avoids using complicated linguistic terminology, his course is in fact highly grammar-based, including past and future tenses, and pronouns such as le la les lui and leur, so you are given the essential foundations you need to build upwards from. He asks questions in English, leaves a generous pause for you to answer, and then his assistant who is a native female French teacher gives the answer so that you can check what you said and learn the correct pronunciation.

You aren't fluent at the end of the course, but know enough to get by as a visitor.

But the best thing about this course for me has been that it has at last opened a door, which up until now has remained shut fast, even though I have been banging my head against it for nearly three decades.

The penny has finally dropped with me that what matters is being able to understand spoken French, and say spoken French, rather than do bookwork French of the kind we did in school.

I have followed up Paul Noble's course with other 100% audio courses, such as Reader's Digest At Home with French and Linguaphone All Talk French.

And after all these years I have finally managed to get off the ground and fly.

Thank you Mr Noble and Collins.

Paul Noble is brilliant in helping you develop an understanding on the basics of the French Language. The Paul Noble method is easy to follow and listen to and is ideal to help start and develop your language skills. This course has provided me with a great foundation to further pursue and continue my interest in the language. Highly recommended for those starting out and interested in learning the French language.

It has been decades since I 'did' French at school. I have tried many times to rescusitate the memories only to be bored to death or just taken across the tourist-level surface. This course, however, was different. Intelligent and intuitive in the way Nr Noble presents the learning, with obvious understanding of how people learn (and how they get bored, or lost, and disengage), this course is the best I have found and I have enjoyed it enormously - while re-discovering much of my schoolgirl French, and learning a lot more besides.

I have found ths CD set great, French is not easy to learn but I found this easy to follow with great explaination of how to pronounce the words and tips on rembering them. Well worth the money.

Just what we want! Slowly going throught it and it seems to be working!!! Thanks!!! Easy to catch on to and simple to learn. Recommend it to anyone who is trying to learn French!

This is excellent for the many who already have school French ... I found it easy and very helpful ... I hope there will be an intermediate version soon ...

I decided to purchase learn french with Paul Noble after reading the glowing reviews on Amazon, and because I wanted to become multilingual and French is simply a beautiful language. I did know some limited French from school but not enough to maintain a conversation with a native.

I am only just embarking on the course but my experience so far has been immaculate. The method of not trying yo remember actually works! I am in my 2nd only and I could already book into an hotel, take a taxi and ask where certain attractions are! It is brilliant.

Obviously, the course on its own will not help you write French, you need to purchase a book for this (I purchased the Collins easy learning book in addition). Once you start this course you will realise how easy and exciting it is to learn another language! I even plan to learn Italian once I am confident with French!

Merci beacoup, Paul!

Bonne chance!