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.


Fantastic book, sceptical at first, not just for kids.   February 1, 2002
 31 out of 35 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.