or planning to go travelling in a French-speaking country, go there on business, or live there. Whatever your situation, you’ll want to be able to communicate effectively and naturally in French.
Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural French. The Easy Learning French Conversation has been carefully designed to bring these aspects together and give you language structures which you can use in conversation with confidence, knowing that you will be speaking French as spoken by French speakers.
Collins Easy Learning French Conversation is made up of 12 units, each illustrating the language used in a particular situation, followed by a summary which brings together the key phrases covered throughout the units. You’ll also find the One-stop phrase shop – a unit which contains all the important expressions and turns of phrase that help you to sound more natural in French.
A short grammar and verbs supplement gives you additional language support, ensuring that you have everything at your fingertips. Finally, the English-French glossary covers the most important vocabulary you may need to personalize your conversation.
Language allows us to express ourselves and interact with others. In any given situation, we perform different language tasks, such as asking for information, agreeing and disagreeing, complaining, making suggestions and so forth. To do this, we use linguistic structures (How…?, When…?, Could I…?, I’d like… and so on) which can be used in a variety of contexts. Each unit in Collins Easy Learning French Conversation gives you all the phrases you might need in a given situation, grouped by structure. English headings help you navigate through the structures to enable you to find what you want quickly and easily. Throughout the units, there are also tips headed Bon à savoir! which highlight important differences in the way English and French work.
A conversation, by definition, is a two-way process. It is as important to understand what is being said to you as it is to be able to respond. At the end of each unit, there is a section headed Listen out for. Each of these sections gives you a variety of the most typical phrases you might hear in a given situation. Becoming familiar with these will allow you to have a successful conversation with a French speaker. For further help with pronunciation, a free download with all the important structures recorded is available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources.
Communicating effectively in French isn’t just about linguistic competence – it’s also about cultural knowledge. For you to feel confident in a French-speaking country, it is useful to know more about French culture and lifestyle. At the end of each unit, the Lifestyle Tips will give you the information you need to gain a deeper insight into the language, the country and its people.
Why choose Collins Easy Learning French Conversation?
• easy to use all the key language structures you need to give you the confidence to hold a conversation in natural French
• easy to read a clear, modern layout which allows you to find what you need quickly and easily
• easy to understand the language you may hear from French speakers in a given situation
• easy to speak free audio download available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources
The Collins Easy Learning range
The Collins Easy Learning French Conversation is part of the best-selling Collins Easy Learning range, which includes the highly acclaimed Collins Easy Learning French Dictionary. Collins Easy Learning French Grammar and Collins Easy Learning French Verbs support you with all your grammatical needs, and the Collins Easy Learning French Words allows you to learn and practise your French vocabulary. The Collins Easy Learning series is the ideal language reference range to help you learn French.
There are some sounds in French which need a bit of practice, such as the French r, which is much more noticeable than an English r, and the very sharp u sound to be heard in words like rue and plu, which is different from the oo sound in an English word like ruin.
As in English, not all the letters in French words are pronounced – especially final consonants. The final consonant is not sounded in the following, for example: vert (green), grand (tall), petit (small), and ouvert (open). However, if the final consonant is followed by an e, for example in the feminine form of the adjective, the consonant is pronounced. The feminine forms verte, grande, petite, and ouverte all end with consonant sounds.
These are the main ways in which French vowels are pronounced:
| a | – a as in fat (patte, casserole) aw (bas, cas) followed by n: en as in encore (dans, sans, plan) |
| e | – uh (le, premier, repas) e as in set (merci, restaurant) followed by n: en as in encore (vent, entrer, cent) followed by r: ay (parler, dîner) |
| é | – ay (occupé, région) |
| è | – ai as in air (père, règle) |
| i | – ee (il, billet, vie, samedi) followed by n: a as in sang (matin, fin, vin) |
| o | – o as in spot (donner, mort) oh (mot, poser) |
| u | – followed by n: u as in sung (lundi, brun) |
To make the u sound for words like rue and pure, place your lips as if you were going to whistle and make a sharp ee sound at the front of your mouth.
| ai | – e as in set (mais, lait) followed by n: a as in sang (pain, copain) |
| au | – o as in gosh (gauche) |
| eu | – euh (peu, deux) |
| eau | – oh (couteau) |
| ou | – oo (genou, couscous) |
BON À SAVOIR!