Summary:
This synopsis refers to the book. The accompanying CDs are available separately (0 340 87063 X) or in a pack with the book (0 340 87062 1).

Are you looking for a course to help you achieve A-level standard in French? Perhaps you are taking the language up again after a break from it? ‘Teach Yourself Improve your French’ is the ideal way to extend your language skills if you already have some knowledge of French. Whether you’ve completed ‘Teach Yourself French’ or any other beginners’ French course, either by yourself or at evening class, you will find this the perfect course for building on your existing knowledge and improving your spoken and written language.

The book covers a wide range of topics of the sort you will want to talk about when in France and teaches you the kind of everyday language and features of speech that will enable you to communicate with confidence and feel comfortable taking part in conversation with native speakers of French. The choice of material aims to give you something of the flavour of France today and each unit is based around a single theme with lively interviews and conversations on the accompanying recording. There are activities based on the interviews and texts to help you remember what you’ve learnt and put your knowledge into practice. The units are divided into sessions – to help you organize your learning time and break up the material into manageable chunks - and there are reminders throughout to refresh your memory of points you have learnt.

• Features everyday, colloquial French - this book takes you beyond the basic French you need to carry out everyday tasks and teaches you to communicate confidently in conversation with French speakers.
• Enjoyable to use – the units are based on themes giving a flavour of life in France today.
• Supportive – each unit is divided into sessions to help you organize your learning time and there are tips throughout to make learning easy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
L'Hexagone
Mythes et réalités
Autrefois et aujourd'hui
Les voyages forment la jeunesse
Si jeunesse savait...
Les grands départs
Préparatifs
Au travail!
Un coin de paradis
Liberté, egalité, solidarité
Appendices:
False friends
Franglais
How to develop your vocabulary quickly
The building blocks of language
The gender of nouns
The sounds of French
French-English vocabulary
English-French vocabulary
Key to the exercises
Index

About the Author(s):
Jean-Claude Arragon is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Huddersfield. Educated in France, he has taught French in English schools and universities for over 30 years. He was Chief Examiner for French A/AS Level Speaking Examinations for AQA from 1988 until 2001. He has also been a member of the inter-board development team for the new generation of AS and A-level language examinations and was responsible for the recruitment of students from French institutions within and outside the ERASMUS SOCRATES scheme. He has written French course materials for the Open University and dramatic material for the BBC television French Beginners' course 'Ensemble'.

Readership:
Anyone who already knows some French and wants to build on their existing knowledge.