The Usborne First Thousand Words in French

This is the next step up after Usborne First Hundred Words in French and Everyday Words in French. The slightly less childish style, the very busy scenes featuring 30 to 40 words, the wealth of basic vocabulary make it a very useful tool for learners of a wide range of ages (though most of the central characters remain children).

All the labels and titles are written in French only, which is good as it encourages learners to associate French words directly with objects, people or concepts without the distraction of an English translation. In case of any doubt a full glossary is provided at the end of the book. It includes an approximate pronunciation guide which is easy to read but does not replace the guidance of a native speaker.

This sticker version is virtually identical to the non-sticker version, apart from the fact that most of the little labelled pictures illustrating a word take the form of small stickers located on insert pages. Stick them on the spaces provided on the relevant pages as they are learnt and see the vocabulary building up.


Great Book for Kids and Adults Alike   November 5, 2008
Simon
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Bought this and the Italian version for the kids and they love it. I even found it useful for building general vocabulary. The kids love looking at the pictures and finding hidden items. You have to use a bit of pursuasion to get them interested in the corresponding French names, but once they get going it's fine.

My 8 year old daughter reads this every night before she goes to sleep and has picked up lots of words beyond what they're teaching at school.

Well worth a few quid.


Fantastic book, sceptical at first, not just for kids.   February 1, 2002
41 out of 45 found this review helpful

I thought that i would give this book a go, if for no other reason than i had heard alot about the associative method in linguistics. Despite having to listen to endless, very funny ridicule from friends, i'm a 1000 words more verbose than before and i think that learning a language, before grasping the basics, is pointlessly difficult. Great fun and useful.


A fine introduction   August 28, 2009
C. Lawrence (Gloucester, UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Great for supporting those just learning french at school. Each page pictures a scene (a garden, beach, farm etc) and the french translation of every day words on the scene are framed around the page. This could do with a spot of updating (not quite sure we need every day words for a fun fair etc) but is colourful and informative. Some disappointments in that they only provide numbers up to 20 and we have days of weeks and the seasons, but strangely no months of the year.


Mini book Maxi pleasure   November 21, 2009
S. Russell (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a delightful little book. Will definately appeal to children. I am an adult learning French and have found it very useful for learning related groups such as clothing,colours,rooms in the house etc. The book is also small enough to carry about without takeing any space.