French Language Books, Audio CDs for Self Study, Textbooks
1. French the Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car) by Henry N. Raymond, Audio CD, Publisher: Penton Overseas
An excellent self-study French language course.
2. French With Michel Thomas: The Fastest Way to Learn a Language, Audio CD, McGraw-Hill
Listeners learn in real time, fully understanding as they go along, turning words into short sentences, and then building them into longer, more complex sentences, until they are conversing in French.
3. Rick Steves' French Phrase Book and Dictionary by Rick Steves, Paperback: 194 pages, Avalon Travel Publishing
From ordering a cafe au lait in Paris to making new friends in the Loire Valley, it helps to speak some of the native tongue. Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling; an English-French and French-English dictionary; the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Louvre. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' French Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's sac a dos.
4. French I (Comprehensive) by Pimsleur, Audio CD
Provide a method of self-practice with an expert teacher and native speakers in lessons specially designed to work with the way the mind naturally acquires language information. The various components of language, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar, are all learned together without rote memorization and drills. The Comprehensive Program runs through three levels (thirty lessons each). Using the same simple method of interactive self-practice with native speakers, these comprehensive programs provide a complete language learning course.
5. The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Mastering French Grammar for Confident Communication by David M. Stillman, Ronni L. Gordon, Paperback: 448 pages, McGraw-Hill
A good grasp of grammar enables the foreign-language learner to build skill and confidence in communication. Here's the "ultimate," painless way for intermediate and advanced learners to brush up on the rules. Each grammatical concept is explained and then illustrated with lively sentence examples; extensive exercises offer practice at applying this knowledge in everyday conversation. Also included are "culture notes," authentic documents, vocabulary boxes, and verb charts, as well as a full answer key and index.
6. Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary: French-English English-French by Marie-Helene Correard (Editor), Valerie Grundy (Editor), Hardcover: 1986 pages, Publisher: Oxford University Press
This edition provides the most recent vocabulary for both French and English, as well as additional new supplementary material, most notably, a new encyclopedic supplement that provides a wealth of information on French society and culture, including famous places, regions, acronyms, institutions, film, politics, much more. It still provides the most comprehensive coverage available of the general, scientific, and technical vocabulary of contemporary French and English, with 355,000 words and phrases and over 540,000 translations. There is also over 90 pages of practical guidance for those who plan to reside in France, including over 100 model letters and postcards, help in writing job applications and CVs, and a completely new section on using the telephone in France.
7. Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary: French/English English/French by Marianne Chalmers (Editor), Martine Pierquin (Editor), Paperback: 1002 pages, Publisher: Oxford University Press
Affordable, compact, thoroughly up-to-date and packed with extra features, this intermediate-level French dictionary offers a complete guide to contemporary French and English as well as extensive help with grammar. This edition includes a brand new 32-page grammar supplement that focuses on the key points of French grammar. This supplement, along with a guide to grammatical terms, will provide invaluable support to anyone learning to speak, read, and write French. All of this grammar help is combined with a dictionary offering wide-ranging vocabulary--over 90,000 words and phrases, and over 120,000 translations. Verb tables, an A-Z guide to French life and culture, as well as example letters, emails, postcards, and resumes add further communication help.
8. Mastering French Vocabulary: A Thematic Approach (Mastering Vocabulary Series) by Wolfgang Fischer, Anne-Marie Le Plouhinec, Paperback: 544 pages, Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
This French word-power builder presents more than 5,000 words and phrases with translations into English. The feature that makes this vocabulary book distinctive is the way words are divided into themes, grouped together so that the foreign traveler or language student can find words related by subject. The subject themes include business terms, medical terms, household terms, scientific words and phrases, units of measurement, clothing, food and dining, transportation, art and culture:24 separate themes in all. The new second edition has been expanded and updated with increased vocabulary.
9. Complete Idiot's Guide to Intermediate French by Helene Knoerr, Alysse Weinberg, Paperback: 400 pages, Publisher: Alpha
A perfect basics builder. Readers will learn not only more about speaking, reading, and writing the language, but they will also study various aspects of the French way of life, including food, society, education, culture, money, and politics.
10. Advanced French Grammar by Monique L'Huillier, Paperback: 716 pages, Publisher: Cambridge University Press
This reference grammar book combines the best of modern and traditional approaches. Its objective is not only practical mastery of the language, but familiarity with its structure. The Grammar takes full account of modern linguistic research, but without excessive emphasis on formalism. It provides numerous examples based on the author's own experience of teaching French to English speakers. The norms of "correct expression" are given together with current usage and deviations. A substantial index of French and English words and of topics provides easy access to the text itself.