Review: Balade en France Language Course

Six-foot mounds of snow line the streets outside my window, but I’m transported to the sunny Cote d’Azur, toasty Corsica, or the summer-warmed Loire valley by Georges Lang, one of France’s best-known radio personalities. His enthusiastic voice conveys me to la belle France by way of a creative new audio program, “Balade en France” (A Stroll through France). With an infectious combination of interesting interviews and discussions, I’m introduced to 18 fascinating nooks and crannies of France on two 70-minute audio CDs.   Created by the publishers of Champs-Elysées audio magazine (a monthly publication of news, interviews, and features for language learners) as “a backroads tour of France in French for intermediate-to-advanced language learners”, the engaging audio presentation is accompanied by a 95 page French transcript with color photos on almost every page. Completing the package, an extensive glossary explains the various regional expressions, figures of speech, and difficult words sprinkled throughout the features, and includes in-depth descriptions of the intriguing places mentioned on the CD’s, which will have you jotting down notes for your next trip. One selection had me pining for spring in the Vosges Mountains, where thousands of daffodils push up through the last patches of snow on the hillsides. In another, little-known Arras, in northern France, beckoned with its ornate Gothic-Renaissance town hall and Flemish-style gabled Grand-Place, and as I continued to another chapter, I easily conjured vivid memories of a perennial favorite, and France’s second most popular travel site outside Paris (after Versailles), the fairytale islet Mont-Saint-Michel. Fascinating background notes in English expand on the people, foods, and places discussed in the programs. In notes on selection 15, “a petit detour” through the châteaux of the Loire, historical figures from Leonardo da Vinci to Diane de Poitiers and Henri II are highlighted, while details regarding selection 12, a lively tour of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, introduce me to a wealth of artists and writers who thrived in the historic village perched above the Mediterranean. Web sites for more in-depth information are included with many entries. Each article focuses on a specific place and includes information ranging from dialects and history to gastronomy. For example, in the feature about the Corrèze department and the town of Brive-La-Gaillarde, Michel, a “picturesque corrézien”, describes the region’s prize culinary offerings: foie gras, cassoulet, truffles, and cabecou. When the moderator asks Michel about his distinctive southwest France accent, Michel shares a few phrases in the local patois. “Balade en France”, a combination travel guide and history book that is cleverly disguised as a language course, makes me eager to turn on the CD, over and over again. My insight into provincial French culture as well as my listening skills, grammar, and vocabulary improve as I listen. The mountains of snow linger still, but they don’t bother me as much now that I’ve slipped away to some far-flung regions of France. Vive la escape! Copyright (c) Anne Woodyard To celebrate the release of this journey of discovery to some of France’s most interesting and historic destinations, Champs Elysées is making a special offer. Subscribe to Champs-Elysées–or to any of their other audiomagazines–and get Balade en France for the low price of $29- a $20 savings. See Balade en France for more information.