Equipe nouvelle edition Part 2 Students’ book pound;10.50 Teacher’s book pound;35 Copymaster Book pound;52 Workbooks pound;2.25 CassettesCDs Pounds 70 + VAT OHT file pound;70 + VAT Coursemaster CD-Rom pound;16 Equipe en Clair (Parts 1 and 2) (CD included) pound;65 each Equipe Edition Ecosse also available Oxford University Press www.oup.comukeducation
The content of this new edition is quite appealing and one of its major strengths is that there is progression both within each chapter and between chapters. There is an even coverage of the four skills, but little in the way of differentiated material.
The blue-coded Guide pratiques offer useful learning strategies, such as how to give an opinion. All instructions are in the target language. An edition Ecosse is also available for the Scottish curriculum.
Grammar is denoted by a yellow background in Zoom Grammaire sections. It appears in small chunks within each chapter and with certain important pieces of grammar there is a double-page spread covering explanations and exercises. These include multiple choice, gap fill and grouping and matching activities, and are varied and well explained.
The layout is clear and easy to use with pages full, but not overly so.
Colour is used to good effect to denote gender and different parts of speech. Colourful visuals, such as target language specific photos, appear frequently. Vocabulary lists are split into sections according to topic in pastel-coloured boxes, which helps their readability.
The cahier d’activites contains more exercises and vocabulary lists. The copymasters are clear and colourful, and include some good ideas for teaching grammar, such as the perfect tense with etre, and some nice games and starter activities.
The teacher’s book is clear and contains references to the key stage 3 framework; there is also a framework pack. The Coursemaster CD is a time-saving device for creating tailor-made schemes of work. Audio content is clear; it includes some music and has pronunciation practice.
There is also an excellent freely accessible website with interactive exercises for each unit at www.oup.co.ukequipe.
The new CD-Rom which accompanies the course is an excellent addition, providing interactive exercises and video clips linked to the content. This could be used equally well with an interactive whiteboard or by pupils at individual computers.
Equipe nouvelle edition Part 2 has made the course more accessible and easier to use through improvements in the layout and helpful extra resources such as the CD-Rom. Part 3 will be published later this year.
Wendy Adeniji is a freelance MFL consultant. Leeds-based CILT graduate trainees supplied feedback
