Sights, sounds and, bien sûr, tastes of Continent

This book is aimed at college and university students beginning French from scratch or revising and building on a little previous knowledge, and is suitable for intensive courses.

It gives a balanced four-skills approach to learning the language, while offering a commendably broad introduction to the culture of the Francophone world.

Compared with similar programmes, it offers a more stimulating variety of materials and a more integrated treatment of vocabulary, grammar and culture.

The index lists not only grammar, vocabulary and cultural topics, but also communicative functions and strategies for reading authentic texts. This edition has been re-vised on the basis of extensive user feedback.

The cultural content has also been updated. The CD-Rom has been revised to include video segments, interactive activities, recording and printing capabilities, and a talking dictionary.

Two new features are a video programme that includes a basis for role play and a website with study hints and a bulletin board.

Margaret Jubb is seniorlecturer in French, University of Aberdeen.