Rating: 
Summary: More Exercises Please
Review: "Ultimate French" is not an easy course book and I can understand some people's reservations. However, I have found it to be the most comprehensive and enjoyable book for adults who want to embark on a serious pathway to French language success. I began studying with the "Living Language" series (which I also recommend for drill practice) but eventually I wanted something that contained more than phrases. After exploring numerous options, "Ultimate French" was the only one which appealed to me and after purchasing the coursebook and audio cd's, I am more than pleased with my purchase. I echo other reviewer's dissatisfaction with the exercises after each chapter though. In fact, I emailed the publisher and suggested they provide a supplementary book just for exercises. Despite this shortfall, I recommend "Ultimate French" as a thorough introduction to the French language. I am looking forward to starting the Advanced course.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best French courses available (if not THE best)!
Review: After trying a few other "highly recommended" books I found the one that really works for me. I totally love it! The dialogs are fast-paced, close to natural speech and easy to follow. The explanations are very clear and pronounciation on CD is flawless. All grammar is presented in a very systematic way (unlike other books). And the best thing: the lessons are designed in such a way that you always stay motivated and ready for more (at least that's how it works for me). Nicely priced, too!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: How do you fit "two years of college French" into such a small book? Only touch upon topics briefly. The CDs are even worse. Basically select parts of each lesson are read once on the CD with pauses for you to repeat. Each CD lesson corresponds to a lesson in the book and is less than ten minutes long. Since even a dedicated student would would have trouble doing more than one lesson per day, you're looking at 10 minutes of audio per day max. That just doesn't cut it for someone who wants to really learn a language. The book would make a decent supplement to a good audio course and the audio portion of this course would make a less than ideal companion to some good books. Combined you get a course that is severely lacking. For a great audio course I recommend the Pimsleur series.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: How do you fit "two years of college French" into such a small book? Only touch upon topics briefly. The CDs are even worse. Basically select parts of each lesson are read once on the CD with pauses for you to repeat. Each CD lesson corresponds to a lesson in the book and is less than ten minutes long. Since even a dedicated student would would have trouble doing more than one lesson per day, you're looking at 10 minutes of audio per day max. That just doesn't cut it for someone who wants to really learn a language. The book would make a decent supplement to a good audio course and the audio portion of this course would make a less than ideal companion to some good books. Combined you get a course that is severely lacking. For a great audio course I recommend the Pimsleur series.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the beginner or someone who just wants to brush up
Review: I had a sudden desire to brush up on my French after taking three years in high school over a decade ago, so I picked up this book help me review. I found this book to be effective at teaching basic concepts while keeping my interest. The format is easy to read and organized well, the dialogues are never boring. I have other introductory French books which are less organized, difficult to read or follow, and have boring unrealistic dialogue. I tend to begin those only to stop part way through. However, Ultimate French is different. It helped motivate me to completion. I plan on starting the next book in the series, the Advanced Ultimate French book.BTW, I agree with the reader from Indonesia about the number of questions in each exercise. I feel I could get a better grasp of the concepts if there were more of them.
Rating:
Summary: My opinion about Ultimate French : Basic - Intermediate
Review: I like this book very much. It contains a complete French course for beginner. Native speaker-spoken dialogues, pronunciation guide, vocabulary, grammar usages, and excercises + key. You can rely on this book for studying French. Unfortunately there is not enuogh excercise. There's only 5 questions each section. That's why I put 4 stars for it. Otherwise, I would have put 5. To the author: if you want to publish a new edition of this book in the future, add some more excercise, 15-20 questions each section will do.
Rating: 
Summary: Do you really want to learn French?
Review: I've used different language sets to learn, or start to learn, a few languages and now have a clear idea of what works & what doesn't. Most sets are designed for the non-serious student who wants something "easy" or flashy. The problem with these is that you don't end up learning the language. Ultimate French is very high quality and even fun, but its method is not for the serious student. The drills are very weak. A series with audio tapes/CDs that works is the Foreign Service Institute lessons. These are also marketed by Barron's and the National Audio-Visual Center. I haven't tried Pimsleur, though.
Rating:
Summary: Do you really want to learn French?
Review: I've used different language sets to learn, or start to learn, a few languages and now have a clear idea of what works & what doesn't. Most sets are designed for the non-serious student who wants something "easy" or flashy. The problem with these is that you don't end up learning the language. Ultimate French is very high quality and even fun, but its method is not for the serious student. The drills are very weak. A series with audio tapes/CDs that works is the Foreign Service Institute lessons. These are also marketed by Barron's and the National Audio-Visual Center. I haven't tried Pimsleur, though.
Rating:
Summary: Educational
Review: It gave me a motivation to complete the course. I recomend it to all people who want to learn or brush up on French.
Rating:
Summary: Just a thought
Review: Just bought it recently. "User friendly" for fresh beginners who haven't got a clue or ear for the language.
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