French learning books, The best books to improve your French

So you want to learn French?
Books are a great source to learn or simply improve your French.
Unlike studying with computers they do not steal time from your daily schedule, you put the time you sitting on the buss or your lunch-break for improving your french.

There are two main types of books: Complete methods and exercise books.
These books usually come with a audio CD which can offer you invaluable assistance with pronunciation.

I would say if you are a complete beginner you are far better starting with a 'Method' book. as they offer a more round and complete approach to studying.

Method Books:
 I tried several books that I simply don't believe are worth mentioning.
the book which I found the most effective for learning French is:
ASSIMIL: New French With Ease
The book is structured with between 50-100 lessons (depending on the version)
Each of which has a dialog (with a corresponding audio file if you have your MP3 Player with you)
and an English translation on the other side of the page, after the dialog you have several exercises to complete.


Now I found it one of the most effective books to learn the general vibe vocabulary and basic grammar of French, it is convenient with all the answers translations and explanations readily available. Which is why you will most likely be able to find this book in your local library.
Or if you prefer you can also find it in amazon for 30$ and you have something to read on the plane!


Workbooks:
After I finished my Assimil book I decided I want something to ground in the rules grammar and conjugation.
Most workbooks I found were in French, which is alright, because by the time you start them you should already have the basics. (or simply a teacher to work them over with). 
Workbooks are usually rated in scales of A1-C2 after finishing Assimil I think I am roughly around A2-B1.

Workbooks are really a matter of personal choice, So I suggest you head to the bookshop or library and see them for yourself.
I particularly fond the A1 Grammaire en Dialogues (niveau grand dèbutant)
by Odile Grand-Clement
Don't let the title fool you as this book is perfectly fit for more experienced users too.
It comes with an audio CD and consists of dialogs, grammatical rules, and then exercises, then it features a test to see if you need to review some of the things in every chapter.




So, to conclude, Dig in your books! Bon Apatite

Learn french from home: software and websites

There are many resources to learn French on your computer, over here I will list the ones I found most effective and motivating.

Software: 
Unless your a pirate or sleep with a pillow stuffed with hundred dollar bills, French learning software could be quite pricey.
If you are looking for better deals I would suggest learning from free websites or just borrow a book from your library.



Rosseta Stone
Speed 5/10
Effectiveness 8/10
Motivation 9/10


Rosseta Stone is a pretty good method to learn French if you aint in a rush.
Plenty of repetition makes sure you remember what you learn. And the colorfull pictures keep you rather motivated, it took me a while before I got bored of this method.
As for speed, I found Rosseta Stone rather slow. As lessons tend to repeat alot.


Tell me more!
To be honest I wasn't too much impressed with Tell Me More as it seemed more like a workbook then a French Learning application.


French learning websites:
There are many website that offer to teach you french, over here I will list my top 10 french learning websites.

1. http://french.about.com/
This is probably my prefered website to learn french.
It has really good clear explanations on common confusions in the language, and a great step by step guide to learning the language.

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/
Also an excellent resource, I recommend practicing on it daily to keep your french fresh.

3. https://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/forstudents/freecourses/french
 Here is a really nice french step by step introduction course, although the it might be a little hard as the actors are native french that tend to speak really really quickly.

4. http://www.frenchassistant.com/default.asp
Nice website offering step by step lessons.

5. http://www.tolearnfrench.com/
Pretty nice website offering all around french lessons games and chat rooms. Really good if your having problems with motivating yourself.

6. http://www.learner.org/resources/series83.html
Has a interesting subject based approach to learning french with videos.

7.http://www.frenchtutorial.com/standard/toc.php
Quick beginner French tutorial.

8. http://www.onlinelearnfrench.com/
I found it a pretty good website to learn future and past forms.

9. http://french.yabla.com/
Pretty good french website with lots of useful tools.

10. http://www.ielanguages.com/french1.html
Pretty good for all levels of french! Just a pretty dull interface.

So don't waste your time reading this blog, GO practice your French!