Course description

This course gives you the French you'll use on a holiday or short break in France: at the airport and the station, on the metro and in a hire car, at your hotel, campsite or gîte, in cafés, bakeries and restaurants, at the market, at the beach and, if you need it, at the pharmacy or in an emergency. It's written for holidaymakers and short-break travellers from the UK.

Every lesson is written in plain English and is built around real situations, with phrase tables, a guide to saying every new French word, short dialogues, sentences to read aloud and a practical task. You learn phrases you can use straight away, with only as much grammar as each phrase needs. Allergy and emergency phrases are covered carefully, alongside the travel facts from GOV.UK and the NHS that matter for each situation.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Beitris and Fearghas, a couple from Perth in Scotland, as Beitris prepares for a week in Paris and Brittany, practising with a language exchange partner in Lyon, and then makes the trip, from a broken suitcase handle on the first day to a scratch on the hire car on the last. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, an answer key, extra practice with answers, a word list, phrase cards, dialogue scripts and flashcards, plus role-play cards, a menu reader, an allergy card template, an emergency card and a printable phrase sheet where they help.

What you'll learn

• Sounds and first phrases: the French vowels, silent letters and nasal sounds, Bonjour first, please and thank you, vous and tu, and phrases for when you don't understand.
• Numbers, prices, dates and times: numbers from 0 to 1,000, prices in euros, the 24-hour clock, days, dates and opening hours, and spelling your name.
• Getting there: airport signs and check-in, passport control and what GOV.UK says about the Entry/Exit System, a damaged suitcase, arriving by train or ferry, and delays.
• Getting around: the metro, buses and trams, taxis, hiring a car, road signs, tolls and fuel, what GOV.UK says about driving in France, and asking the way.
• Hotels, campsites and holiday lets: checking in, meeting the owner of a gîte and the house rules, campsites, asking for things, sorting out a problem and checking out.
• Cafés, bakeries and restaurants: coffee and drinks, bread and pastries, reading the menu and ordering, explaining a food allergy, coeliac disease or a diet, and paying the bill.
• Shopping and markets: market stalls and quantities, food shops and the supermarket, clothes sizes and souvenirs, paying safely, and taking back a faulty item.
• Sightseeing, the beach and the outdoors: the tourist office, museums and tickets, booking trips, beach flags and safety, walking, bikes and the weather.
• Health, emergencies and problems: the pharmacy, seeing a doctor with your GHIC, calling 112, theft, a lost passport and scams, and complaining politely but firmly.
• Your short-break project: a phrase review and printable phrase sheet, your own phrasebook, allergy card and emergency card, a long-weekend plan with a full role-play script, and how to keep your French going.

Who it's for

Holidaymakers and short-break travellers from the UK going to France who want to be polite, get what they need and handle the unexpected in French. It suits complete beginners and anyone who remembers a little school French, whether you're planning a city break, a week in a gîte, a camping holiday or a road trip.

What this course is, and isn't

This is a text-based course with no audio or video: pronunciation is taught with simple written guides. It teaches standard French as spoken in France. It isn't a general French or grammar course and doesn't lead to a qualification, it gives language rather than medical or legal advice, and it doesn't recommend any apps, books or brands. The story and characters are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Pronounce French clearly enough to be understood, using simple written guides, and greet people politely with Bonjour and vous
• Understand prices, times, dates and opening hours, and spell your name and give a phone number
• Get through an airport, passport control and the Entry/Exit System, report a luggage problem and cope with train delays
• Use the metro, buses and taxis, hire a car, read French road signs and ask for and follow directions
• Check in at a hotel, campsite or gîte, ask for what you need and sort out a problem politely
• Order in cafés, bakeries and restaurants, read a French menu, explain a food allergy, coeliac disease or a diet, and pay the bill
• Shop at markets and in shops, ask for sizes and quantities, pay safely and take back a faulty item
• Buy tickets for museums and trips, follow beach flags and enjoy walking and cycling
• Explain a problem at the pharmacy or to a doctor, call 112, report a theft or a lost passport and complain politely but firmly
• Make your own phrasebook, allergy card and emergency card, and plan and rehearse a short break in French

Frequently asked questions