From the article: Buying French Supplies
As a die-hard francophile, I tend to cut other corners in order to be able to afford the very best French tools, but that's not always possible. I've come up with a list of tips to help you find your "must have" French supplies at the best possible prices, and I'd love for you to share your money saving tips. Share your tips
Next to nothing
- The only French learning tool I spend money on is Yabla.com subscription. It's just under $10 a month and I use it every day. If you're really serious about learning, Yabla is great. However, if you're only a casual learner who practices only a couple times a week, you might not want to do it. As for reading materials and other lessons, I have my subscription to this site here, and I read the online version of Le Monde and other French language newspapers. Then, don't underestimate the value of books.google.com. You can find some really great French books and novels there for free! Just download them as PDFs and voilà! Also, listening to French music and French online radio can nudge your mind to start thinking in French. Bonne Chance!
- —Guest Linda
amazon.co.uk
- I had the same experience when I tried amazon.fr, from which I have bought print books in the past. However, there are many many French titles available through amazon.co.uk (I am British) so persevere - you may find them in your part of the world.
- —Summerliz
fyi re kindle books on amazon.fr
- I tried to order kindle books from amazon.fr but found that this was not possible. These were all labeled "...pas disponilbe dans votre pays" :-( I wrote to them and found that these are only available to customers in France and a few other areas (Luxemborg, Monaco etc). Amazon.ca (Canada) doesn't seem to have any kindle products at all. C'est bizarre, non?
- —nuspar
Don't forget Kindle
- Kindle can be a great saver where books are concerned - there are classics available for almost nothing, and good savings on other books - fiction, dictionaries, language learning materials included. What's more, not only do you get the book instantly in most cases, but you save trees!
- —Summerliz
Don't forget half.com
- I've been able to find very cheaply (less than $15 incl shipping) le robert micro dictionnaire de la langue française (hardcover) on half.com from a seller. Also, when you're looking for french language only books/CD's/videos etc. I also go to the french TV websites (canalplus.fr, france2.fr, tv5.org, etc.) - where they have interesting short (and long) news, documentaries, video blogs to help comprehension. Resources are plentiful online!
- —Guest Sarah
Spending is overrated :)
- I find that french can be perfectly well learned with the wealth of information that can be found for free on the web. for grammar rules i absolutely cannot see the logic in I consult this blog, and anything beyond that i learn 'by feeling' by just repetition. As for a dictionary, even if some may disagree i find the French > english and vice verca Google Translate very useful and extensive, including the pronounciation tool. The only thing i do spend money on are books, but i just bought a whole bunch for scratch in a french bookstore sale this summer :D. As for listening/oral skills, i use french children's cartoon. i especially like to watch the french pokémon dub, which is well made and easily acquirable on the web. (http://www.telecharger-megaupload.com/pokemon-saison-1-francais.html). As for practise on speaking, i advise downloading skype, getting a good mic and heading over to the skype forums and meet up with other people willing to practice french with you. hope this helped
- —Guest Tim
Abebooks.com
- Abebooks is sometimes a great source for texts and reference works (you might have to dig for those in French) and for travel works as well.
- —OtherDave
Amazon.fr for use in the USA
- I've purchased several dictionaries, grammar books, hard bound Asterix comic books from Amazon.fr and saved a considerable amount of money (even with shipping) over the Amazon.com cost. For example, I purchased the Oxford Hachette Bilingual Dictionary (used in our French school here in the USA) for less than half the cost using the French branch of Amazon. Further, I almost always received the packages within a week--but I do live on the east coast of the USA. Not sure how long shipping would take to other places here.
- —goodhikers
Keep Quebec in mind
- Like you, Laura, I'm frugal (or at least careful with my dollars or euros). When shopping for French books, I always check several Quebec-based sites, plus Amazona.ca to get a range of prices. I believe that because of the volume demand for French material in Quebec, it serves as a distribution hub, and often prices are very good. Same goes for Amazon.ca (based, I believe, in Ontario). Sites to try are archambault.ca (huge Quebec music and book chain) and www.renaud-bray.com (another big book/music/CD/DVD retailer). An example: last fall in Paris I admired a new dictionary of "expressions quotidiennes": On va le dire comme ça, published by Balland. In France, it was 32 euros (about $45 to $48 US or Cdn), and it must weigh two pounds. I got it for $41 from Amazona.ca, and didn't have to lug it home because shipping was free. Happy shopping.
- —mcmunch
