Petit Pont 2

French interactive resources for seven-plus; Eclipse Books Teachers’ packs from pound;195. Free upgrades for virtual reality activities in September

www.eclipsebooks.com

Petit Pont 2 has recreated and built upon its masterly first French language course with the delightful settings, poignant melodies and fun activities that made Petit Pont 1 so successful. Small-town French daily activities are brought to life with the innovative virtual reality CD-Rom that lifts this software above the commonplace.

The course builds upon the learning covered in the first series in an interesting and enjoyable way, giving pupils gradual but real progression and finding new ways to recycle the learning that has already taken place.

All four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing are well covered with an audio CD, flashcards, editable copy masters, a teaching book and a full-colour pupils’ book, which is fully integrated with the software. This makes it ideal for both specialist and non-specialist primary teachers.

The activities cover a range of formats, giving the ideal mix of learning and fun. They firmly set in place the foundations for future language learning. Personal progress records help make the work rewarding and there is a mix of autonomy with collaborative learning.

The culturally accurate setting and models of spoken French tally well with the modern languages primary objectives and make this a must-have for the many English primary schools grappling with introducing French.

Joanne Jones is literacy co-ordinator at Gipsey Bridge Primary School, Lincolnshire