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Aunty minds her French
Ma France is a brand-new beginners French broadband video course from the BBC presented by Stéphane Cornicard. The course consists of 24 interactive video units, filmed on location in Lyons, the Alps and Provence. Each unit includes:
- a transcript
- quiz
- grammar notes
- vocabulary notes
For learners without a broadband connection, there is a version of the site without the videos.
Excuse My French, the new four-part series recently broadcast on BBC 2 is now available on DVD with accompanying book and web resources. Filmed on location, the reality TV programme follows the fortunes of celebrities Esther Rantzen, Marcus Brigstocke and Ron Atkinson, in their attempts to immerse themselves in French language and culture for one month in France.
The book is written by Steven Fawkes, Past President of the Association for Language Learning and:
- is divided into relevant topics such as shopping, socialising and getting around
- provides useful techniques to cope in unfamiliar situations
- sets challenges and tasks to develop language learning skills
- gives links to free online activities and extra resources
The official website includes the Excuse my French challenge where you choose either Ron, Marcus or Esther to ask you language questions on each of the four programmes, 'Travel', 'Cuisine', 'Tourism' and 'Public speaking'. There are also links to other BBC languages resources such as:
- Quick Fix – a collection of downloadable mp 3 files in 30 languages, covering phrases typically used on holiday (Basics, Accommodation, Food and drink, Shopping, Getting around, Ski and Beach)
- Better@listening – interactive ‘real time’ listening activities spoken at a natural pace
- Holiday Blunders - read amusing faux pas made by English tourists trying to communicate in a range of languages while on holiday
