Dictionaries
Collins Robert 6th Edition French Dictionary £29.99pISBN 0-00-710526-6 Harper Collins pp2365
*****
Very big, very heavy, very good! If I'd know about it at the time I would have bought the one with thumb tabs. Very useful central section of "Language in Use"
Collins Robert 4th Edition Concise French Dictionary £16.99
ISBN 0-00-47-711-7 Harper Collins pp 1219
****
Not, so big, not so heavy. Headwords in blue make it easy to find them. Very useful central section "French in Action"
Synonyms
Using French Synonyms - R.E. Batchelor & M.H. OffordISBN 0-521-37878-8 Cambridge University Press pp 595
*****
French synonyms for English speakers, so gender is indicated, there are translations, examples and synonyms are ordered by register. A really good book.
Bourdas - £16.95
*
Although it has antonymes as well as synoymns, there are no translations and no examples. The gender of the nouns is not even given. I took it back.
Vocabulary
Oxford French Wordpack - £3.99ISBN 0-19-860335-5 Oxford University Press pp159
***
6,000 words, phrases, and translations grouped in themes in a book small enough to slip in your pocket and to use in those 5-minute windows of opportunity!
Advanced French Vocabulary 2nd Edition - Philip Horsfall - Waterstone's £5.95
ISBN 0-7487-5780-5 Nelson Thornes Ltd pp112
***
Aimed at "post-16 and adult learners and revised to incorporate all the topics specified for A Level and to reflect contemporary issues and changes in today's society". The vocabulary is themed and the book is small enough to slip in your pocket to read on the train.
Idioms and Slang
101 French Idioms - Jean-Marie CassagneISBN 0-8442-1290-3 NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group Inc pp132
**
Comical book with cartoons illustrating the idiom. OK for fun but probably not worth the money
Guide to French Idioms. P. Lupson and M.L. Pélissier
ISBN 0-8442-1502-3 Passport Books NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group Inc. pp114
**
500 themed commonly used idioms, French and English indices
Dictionary of French Slang - Henry Strultz
ISBN 0-7641-0345-8 Barron's pp355
***
"4,500 common French slang words and colloquial expressions are presented with grammatical information." Head words in capitals - which I HATE!
Grammar
French Grammar made easy - Rosi McNab*****
ISBN 0-340-74926-1 Hodder and Stoughton pp156
Perfect if you are returning to French after a long absence. Drills to get the basics revised.
French Grammar - Lexus - £4.99
ISBN 0-245-60641-6 Harrap pp254
****
Open University Set Book. They have released a new version but stick to the old one if you are doing L211 this year. The page numbers are different and although the OU provides the new page numbers it's a pain.
Help Yourself to Advanced French Grammar 2nd Edition - Mireille Ribière and Thalia Marriott
ISBN 0-582-32945-0 Longman pp281
****
Excellent - well laid out using non-technical language with exercises. The answers are detachable! For students going beyond GCSE
French Grammar and Usage 2nd Edition - Roger Hawkins and Richard Towell
ISBN 0-340-5930-1 Arnold Publishers pp424
***
Great as a reference book but can be a bit overwhelming. Has a companion workbook (see below)
Practising French Grammar: A Workbook - Roger Hawkins, Marie-Noëlle Lamy & Richard Towell
ISBN 0-340-59831-1 Arnold Publishers pp256
***
I'm sure it's very good, but the blanks are too small for my big writing! I need to have a closer look and as one of its authors is the OU's head of the French language department it deserves a proper look.
Test Yourself French Grammar - Didier Bertrand
ISBN 0-8442-2360-3 NTC LearningWorks pp198
*****
Drill, drill, drill and drill! Or: brief, test, check and grade yourself. This is a really good book for revising and reinforcing
Verbs
La Conjugation pour tous - Michel ArrivéISBN 2-218-71716-6 Hatier Paris
*****
Completely brilliant book in French - just learn the 88 conjugations and you'll be able to conjugate anything. Very clearly laid out.
501 French Verbs - Christopher Kendris Ph.D - £9.99
ISBN 0-8120-9281-3 Barron's pp688
****
501 fully conjugated verbs in a new easy to learn format alphabetically arranged. The book also contains devrivations, formations and phrases. A good book - but it's too easy to look things up!
French Verbs Drills 2nd Edition - R. de Roussy de Sales - Waterstone's £6.99
ISBN 0-8442-1029-3 Passport Books NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group pp150
****
Despite looking as though it was typed on an old Imperial, the drills are very good.
Readers
Easy French Reader - R. de Roussy de Sales - Charity shop 50p!ISBN 0-8442-1001-3 National Textbook Company NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group pp218
*
For beginners - but sometimes I feel like one!
French Parallel Text: French Short Stories 1 - Pamela Lyon - £7.99
ISBN 0-14-002385-2 Penguin pp269
***
Eight short stories which have been selected for their literary merit and as representative of twentieth century French writing. The English translations, which are on the opposite page, are literal, rather than literary. Looking forward to getting tucked in with them.
Pronunciation
Pronounce it Perfectly in French -ISBN 0-8120-8038-6 Barron's
***
Barron's produce a 2 cassette and pocket book set on pronunciation. It is (rather scarily) dogged by dodgy English and American accents, so one shudders to think what the French might be like, but itdoes contain good tips and rules. I found it great for listening to and reading whilst doing my early morning plod round Shepherds Bush but it does rather lower the tone of the neighbourhood to have middle aged women wandering around talking to themselves in French!
Talking books
Gallimard-Jeunesse publish a series of classic children's books accompanied by audio tapes or CDs under the classification of Folio Cadet and Folio Junior. They are excellent because they are read reasonably slowly, and they use all the tenses. Some of the vocabulary is a bit ancient especially in Alphonse Daudet's Lettres de Mon Moulin, but the stories are charming, sad and funny.The ISBN of La Belle et la Bête (funny that the Beast is a feminine word!) is ISBN 2-07-052101-X and it has a list of the other publications in the back. I'd take the ISBN to your local book shop and ask them to see what other titles they can get hold of. Keep local stores in business!
I hope these lists have helped you.
Sam Covington
8 February 2003