The fun way to become fluent in French
A villa holiday in France is the ideal occasion to begin to learn, or to increase your fluency in, French. Even though more and more people speak English in Continental Europe, the locals will always appreciate your attempts to converse with them in their own language. There will also be occasions when even a minimum vocabulary can prove extremely useful. For example, ordering at a French restaurant for a group of people who like their meat cooked in a different manner is so much simpler if you know six basic words:
Bleu: very lightly cooked
Saignant: ‘bloody’ but it means more cooked than ‘bleu’
A point: medium
Bien cuit: well done
Nor need learning French become a chore: the UK publisher Eurotalk have produced a series of interactive CD-Roms (minimum technical requirement: Windows 98 or Mac OS 9, with a CD-Rom or DVD-Rom drive) that develop vocabulary and everyday conversation in an entertaining way. Their beginners CD supplies essential words and phrases and has four quiz levels to test what you have learnt. The intermediate CD includes many ‘real life’ scenarios that assess your ability to perform simple tasks, such as navigating your car to an in-town destination based on the directions you have been given. Their advanced DVD-Rom even enables you to take a leading role in a French film by replacing one of the star’s voices with your own as the on-screen action plays.
These CD-Roms are available from Dominique's Villas at a reduced rate for Dominique’s Club members who can deduct £5 from each of the following retail prices::
Talk Now (Beginners) £24.99
World Talk (Intermediate) £29.99
Vocab. Builder (Kids) £19.99
Asterix (Intermediate) £29.99
Movie Talk (Advanced) £34.99
