Recommendations for intermediate and advanced French learners in London
Monday, 10th May 2010
Cactus teacher Irina gives us her recommendations for helping improve your French outside of lessons.
Learning French in evening language courses remains a very popular pastime for Londoners. Thanks to Eurostar, France is easily accessible for weekend city breaks, which many people use to improve their conversational skills in French, but not everyone is in a position to do this. The great thing about language schools and centres is that their French courses are open to people of all walks of life.
Cactus offers a wide range of learning stages, including Intermediate and Advanced levels. The series of the textbooks Rond Point designed by Cactus teachers guides students through the linguistic jungle, and the syllabus can be complemented by extras such as books, newspapers, films and online resources I’d like to share some ideas and experience on what can be used in the classroom to help teachers and students alike.
Let’s start with books published both in France and the UK. The first livre de chevet would be La Grammaire progressive du francais by Maia Gregoire and Odile Thievenaz, successfully used by many Cactus teachers. The book, written in French, contains three parts depending on students’ level. Intermediate and Advanced levels present a set of theoretical grammar points with examples followed by practical exercises. It is possible to check the keys, as well. This is an ideal tool for an efficient grammar revision.
For those who did French in school I would recommend the very affordable edition GCSE French with funny and clear explanations of grammar basics in English. The revision guide is suitable for up to Intermediate level. It will provide you with decent theoretical and practical content reminding you of burning the midnight oil when you were in school.
Another handy book I often use for my classes is Harrap’s French Vocabulary Study Aid by Sabine Citron et al. Thoroughly prepared lists of vocabulary for every day situations will enlighten you on the words and expressions to use when you talk about clothes and fashion, food, health, media, holidays, politics, nature and many other exciting topics. You don’t need to look the words up in the dictionary – everything’s on the list!
While moving towards a more advanced level I would suggest the book Sky my husband ! Ciel mon mari ! by Jean-Loup Chiflet published at Editions Points in 2008. It will teach you how to avoid literal translation of idiomatic expressions and searching for an equivalent in English that may contain a completely different image. Three versions are given : A. Pendre la cremaillere. B. To hang the pot-hanger. C. To give a house-warming party. The book helps understand the idiom translation mechanism, on the one hand, and enriches the readers with the knowledge of a significant number of common idiomatic expressions, on the other hand.
The above mentioned books can be found at one of the best international London’s bookshops, Grant&Cutler, at 55-57 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7AY or ordered at http://www.grantandcutler.com as well as via http://www.amazon.com.
An absolute must for French learners is La Librairie francaise/French Bookshop situated at 28 Bute Street, SW7 EX in South Kensington. This Little France contains editions received directly from French bookshops such as La Fnac The website of the bookshop is http://www.frenchbookshop.com. You can also grab a free copy of the magazine Ici Londres (http://www.ici-londres.com) highlighting the life of the French speaking community of London before having a coffee or hot chocolate at one of the nearby cafés.
At the newsagents‘ in South Kensington you can also find the most recent hardcopies of the well-known French newspapers and magazines such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Nouvel Observateur, Elle available also online. They will help you enrich your vocabulary on political and cultural events, fashion, holidays, social debates.
Cactus offers French courses at a wide range of London and other UK locations. If continuous learning is your preferred style you can opt for a part-time 10 week course, but if you need to learn more intensively 5-week, 1-week and 2 day courses are also available. Test your level online and find out which course is best for you.
Tags: language course, course, london, language, cactus, france, learning, food, french, guide
Posted by Laura Harrison 2010-05 under
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