Mon album ... moi! Mi lbumMein Album pound;6.95, or pound;4.95 for sets of 20 or more Extra en francaisen espanolauf Deutsch

FrenchSpanishGerman for 14 to 19-year-olds Video pound;19.99 All from 4 Learning Tel: 08701 246444

www.channel4.comlearning shop

These materials are based on the principle that studying simple, everyday French, Spanish or German does not have to mean dealing with mundane topics.

In the series for primary children, Mimi, Luis and Henning are no ordinary characters: Mimi is a concierge, Luis runs a cafe and Henning’s home turns out to be somewhere quite unexpected, involving the children in the film in questions like: “Is it a flat? Is it a caravan? Is it a lighthouse?”, before they reach the answer.

Of the three, Mimi is my favourite, a dragon who imposes a fearsome list of prohibitions on the residents of her house: No parties! No pets! No bikes! (though anyone who has encountered a traditional French concierge may decide that Mimi is not a creature of fantasy after all).

As for Luis, he has a mad aunt who is fun to have around. The albums provide additional material for practice in the three languages for seven to 12-year-olds.

There are games, jokes, riddles, pictures to colour, dots to join, codes to crack and even songs to sing. As in the television series, the language may be elementary, but the content is suitable for the target age range; some of the jokes may even raise a smile from the class teacher.

As we move up the age range, the stories follow audience expectations and turn to sitcom. The premiss of Extra is the same in all three languages: an American visitor comes to stay with some French, Spanish or German friends (and very like Friends they are), bringing with him an elementary knowledge of the language. His efforts to communicate suggest the main teaching strategy - and, with luck, your class of 14-year-olds will be able to laugh at some of Sam’s mistakes.