Amazon.co.uk Review
This CD-ROM, designed for use within Windows 95 or 98 on a PC, endeavours to form the basis of both tutorial and revision notes for the GCSE French course. It is not intended as a substitute for initial study, but as a tutorial to accompany the actual course. The material in this course consists of two basic types: interactive lessons, and tests. The lessons are bright and witty, usually involving moving figures. Interactivity is urged, and includes working out problems (with drag and drop from multiple choice). A readily available French/English and English/French vocabulary list pops up at the touch of a key, and the student can add entries to it. Reading and writing and oral comprehension are all tested. Interaction is slow, however, and navigation through pages, without a "please wait" (or "attendez, je vous en pris") can be confusing. As the material is installed and copied to disk, an individual course, including progress through it, can be personalised and charted. The complexity level of material can be selected in advance. Accompanying the installation CD is a short manual with simple instructions and a headings summary of topics covered. Screens, which include some well-designed "cribs" (short, useful summaries presented in a visually easy to remember format) can usually be printed. About 38 Megabytes are stored on the local hard disk to support the running of this program, plus another three megabytes of specific course material. --
Wilf Hey