THE BBC has an ever expanding section on their website for people keen to improve their French language skills.
A recent addition is the Ma France series of interactive videos that feature situations filmed in and around Lyon, the Alps and Provence.
Each video tells a short story and provides subtitles in French that allow you to quickly pick up key phrases and you can also read a transcript of each piece.
Because they are video you will need a broadband connection, but for those on dial-up there is still the chance to read the transcript and take part in a quiz to help you learn more.
The Ma France section is part of the BBC’s large French language service, which is a vast resource of texts, games, audio and video that will help you improve.
And keep your eyes open for a couple of new BBC programmes with a French twist.
The first is Excuse My French, which begins on July 18 on BBC2 from 9pm, and sees Ron Atkinson, Esther Rantzen and comedian Marcus Brigstocke learn the language in Provence, before heading out in front of Parisian crowds to show off their skills.
And the second show will see wine expert Oz Clarke team up with Top Gear’s James May for a road trip through France’s vineyards.
Titled Oz & James’s Big Wine Adventure the aim of this six-part series is to educate unrepentant beer drinker James in the finer elements of wine appreciation.
The show begins on July 22, and look out for a book set to be published in October.
Comments
2 responses to “Learn with Ma France from the BBC”
All the language books I’ve come across are designed for tourists. Does anyone know of one for residents, with vocab. and phrases covering household situations? We’ve had wet-rot in a floor, problems with central heating and computer, etc., when you really do need to get it right, not to mention returning things to shops…
We bought an English/French Dictionary of Building, Property and Gardening by J Kater Pollock and Lynne Forbes.
It covers building and property in general, buildings & material, electrical, kitchen, paint, plumbing, timber, tools and proffesions and in gardening in general, bushes and shrubs, climbing plants, equipement, flowering plants, herbs, trees, vegetables and fruit. It is printed by Flowerpoll, 2 Kenwood Gardens, Linton, Cambridgeshire CB1 6UR and the ISBN number is 0 9521027 0 6
Our French electrican asked for a copy as he thought it was brilliant and it costs about £6.95 avilable from the publisher only.