App Detail » Elemental French Preview

What's New

Switched the sounds for nasal oe and nasal e; many thanks to A, a french teacher, for spotting this error.

App Description

At some point in your French studies you might sense that you haven't quite mastered the basics elements, at least to the point where they've become second nature; maybe you've avoided addressing this problem because you're embarrassed to admit that you're not entirely comfortable with such 'beginner stuff' as the alphabet or numbers or precise pronunciation or the seeming randomness of noun gender.

This is more common than you think; the good news is that you can start to build a stronger foundation today.

With this app you can focus fully on four key elements: Alphabet, Numbers, Phonemes and Noun Gender.

All audio files have been carefully recorded by a native, French speaker, in a professional studio.

Please note that this is the preview version of 'Elemental French'; while it is fully functional, it is limited in that there there are only 8 letters, 8 numbers, 8 phonemes and 4 gender patterns.

#### Alphabet ####################

* Besides a quick and easy Reference, you can also Practice your aural recognition with either the entire alphabet or just a selection.

* At any time you can view your Report Card and see the journal of Quizzes that you've taken, each with the details of your performance; you can even get a sense of how comfortable you are with each letter.

#### Numbers ####################

* There are over 100 key numbers, each with words and audio.

* Besides the Reference, you can also Practice your recognition with either the entire set or just a selection.

* When you feel you've practiced enough, you're ready to take the Quiz; you'll hear and / or see the number and answer with the rapid number pad.

* Just like Alphabet, your Quiz results are stored in your Report Card; besides the usual Quiz Journal, you can easily see your comfort level with any number.

#### Phonemes ####################

* Phonemes are the basic elements of pronounciation; not only do you have 37 of them here but there are nearly 200 example words as well, each with the same high quality audio, to help you get a fuller sense of the proper pronunciation.

* Besides a Reference section that's similar to that of Alphabet, you can Practice with a custom selection or the entire set.

* And like Alphabet and Numbers, you can take a Quiz at any time; as always your results are recorded for your Report Card.

#### Gender ####################

* Finally we have one of the trickier aspects of French: noun gender; fortunately, there is a way you can reliably determine the gender of any noun nearly always: look at its ending.

* Features 66 noun-ending patterns with their exceptional words, if they exist; for example, did you know that all nouns ending with 'b' are masculine? Or all that those which end with 'ion' are feminine ... except for 16 nouns, including 'avion' and 'espion'?

* The Reference section lists all of these patterns, named after their noun-ending, each with a list of the exceptions - if any - and a few examples where the rule is followed.

* Practice consists of a presentation of a word to which you respond by simply pressing the button for either 'masculine' or 'feminine'; given the challenge of internalizing such rules, you can easily filter down to several or even a single pattern.

* Similarly, the Quiz can involve one, some, or all of the patterns; and like the other elements, your results are saved for your Report Card.



This app has been carefully designed to be accurate, effective, even maybe even fun; however, this is not a game to be picked up casually - it is a serious tool that will help you achieve fluency in French, if you put the time in.

Are you ready for the challenge?

If you have any questions please email me at [email protected] or visit my support site: http://support.french.elemental.erasmos.com where you'll also find many more screenshots than can be seen here.

I hope that you find this app to be very useful in your studies, and would be pleased to hear from you.

App Changes

• August 25, 2014 Initial release
• February 12, 2015 New version 1.02