What is Reddit's opinion of Easy French Step-by-Step?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

You cannot self teach with that book. It's meant to be a teaching aid for a group class with group exercises. It's not a workbook that you can follow by yourself.

I suggest a workbook to start called Easy French Step by Step if you want to learn a minimum of French before going to the class

https://www.amazon.fr/French-Step-Step-Myrna-Rochester/dp/0071453873

I’ve been using this one: Easy French Step-by-Step

I'm not sure about skill share but Easy French Step by Step is a good workbook.

I like this book personally. I haven’t completed it yet, but so far its good. (About two weeks in) Combined with the coffee break French podcast you can learn a lot. I highly recommend that podcast, too. It’s boosted my pronunciation quite a bit.

I'm fluent in English (native) and Spanish too. It was easy for me to learn French because it sounds similar to both of those languages. French and English share a lot of vocabulary, so like you I recognized several words and figured others out. What takes time to learn is pronunciation, but it's not too hard. I think French is a beautiful language, so that helped motivate me to learn.

There's a textbook I think you may find useful. It's Easy French Step-by-Step. I got it to brush up on grammar, but I suggest you don't overload yourself with language rules. I also found it really helpful to listen to French audio at least an hour a day. Three years on and I can understand a lot of what is said on French news.

i torrented a copy years ago when i first learned. Its no better than any other electronic resource, including free ones.

Rosetta were one of the earlier decent language softwares around in the 90s. that justified a high price at the time. its really not worth it nowadays. I think the only way they are still making money is by historical reputation.

Start with Duolingo, listen to lists of french music, and get a text book like this one which excellent and save your money.

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I do know some french but not to the point of being able to communicate fluently. I thought of stating what i want in French but if they talk to me later I probably won't be able to understand much, especially if they talk in normal everyday speed.

I used Duolingo last year when i began. It's pretty nice but there are certain things that it lacks so my boyfriend found an online book that is super nice and he also helps a lot with my questions or might occassionally make me small exercises or say things in French, which is great. That's the book if you're interested but he somehow managed to download it for free. However, i don't feel confident talking to strangers yet. I can say and understand loads of things but this is something specific.

I'm hearing this too. Additionally, such was pointed out to me in the first few pages of this textbook

If you're looking at a simple introduction to French at a beginner level I'd recommend Easy French Step-by-Step. It's a cheap option so even if it isn't perfect you can't beat the price.

https://www.amazon.com/French-Step-Step-Myrna-Rochester/dp/0071453873

I got this for French and Spanish and I like it so far but I haven't gotten too deep into it yet. I was in the same boat as you so I'm using it to try and relearn the structure of the language just to fill in some gaps and voids in my knowledge.

The best book for me was this one :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071453873/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Gc2pFbQY9QC81

Lots of grammar exercises in each chapter.

I have been using this book for self study with good results. As requested, it explains French grammar in English

There was a thread posted recently, asking for self-study resources. I listed off my own thoughts on the products I'd come across. You can find my post here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/French/comments/gtzxe/what_are_some_good_french_selfstudy_resources/c1qb9zt

To summarize it: loving Pimsleur for the pronunciation aspect, and am using it in conjunction with the book Easy French Step-by-Step. It has acted as a great foundation so far, building up grammar rules, vocabulary, and common idioms at what I consider an ideal pace. I've never felt like too much of one thing was pushed on me at once, and the exercises common throughout each chapter work really well in helping to ensure you understood the material.

As an aside, if there is one thing I could recommend for Pimsleur, it's to not take it too seriously. Don't spend all your time trying to replicate the exact sound and intonation of the words or phrases you hear, and don't be angry at yourself when you try to roll an 'R' and end up with what sounds more like an engine failing to start. Try altering the part of the word you emphasize, and the volume at which you say it. Use a querying tone, a demanding tone, an uncertain tone -- just break up the monotony, and get a feel for the word in multiple contexts.

To be clear, I'm not advocating you ignore how they are saying it -- getting as close to that as possible is your ultimate goal -- just take an occasional pause in the recording to say it a bit differently, to get a feel for how it sounds. Maybe break it down. For example, if you're trying to say, 'américain', and keep choking on that magical, foreign 'r' sound, don't repeat the whole word in the next pause, just repeat 'méri' over and over a few times, trying to get that one sound right. Change the shape of your lips, the position of your tongue, the way you move your jaw, and so forth.