The materials you use when learning a language are important, so we spend a lot of time selecting our main course books and other materials. These are the criteria we apply:

Materials should:

For each language there are main course books for the various levels. You will definitely need one of these. You may also need an accompanying workbook, containing exercises which consolidate your learning. The books we have chosen focus on communication - speaking and understanding, and on developing vocabulary. They all have some grammar content, but they are not grammatically-focused. You may also want to do some intensive grammar practice in more depth - if you do, should consider buying a grammar exercise book too. See below.

Listening - ie understanding natural spoken language - is probably the hardest skill to acquire in a foreign language. For this reason, as mentioned above, the course books we have chosen all contain plenty of listening practice on CD or tape, where native-speakers speak naturally and your task is to listen and carry out various exercises which, over time, will improve your ability to understand what is said to you. We always supply teachers with tapes or CDs so that they can do listening practice with you during lessons, but if you want to continue to work on this important skill between lessons you may also wish to buy the listening material in addition to the course book itself. In some cases - where we own a site licence and are allowed to copy material to our students - this can bought from us (we aim only to cover our costs). Please ask.

As mentioned above, you may like to buy a grammar exercise book, so that you can put your learning on a sound footing.

Many people shy away from grammar. If all you want to do is communicate, not worrying too much about making mistakes, that’s OK, but generally we do advise you to work on grammar alongside your communication skills. Understanding how the grammar works will unlock the language for you, allowing you to say what you want to say and do so accurately.

We have given the books we use our own codes, and when you book a course we will quote the codes of the book or books you should buy. You can then refer to this website for the titles/ISBN numbers and order them direct, or, if you don't have time, we can order them on your behalf. There is a £10 charge for this service, in addition to the cost of the books and postage.

You will probably want a good dictionary (see advice below).

Nuevo ELE, incial 1, student book, publisher SM, ISBN 84-348-90755 Our Code: SC1

We recommend you buy the accompanying exercise book, ISBN 84-348-76612 Our Code: SWB1

You may also like to have the CD that goes with the main book ISBN 84-348-84895 Our Code: SC1/CD

And there is also a CD that goes with the workbook! ISBN 84-348-84852 Our Code SWB1/CD

Nuevo ELE, incial 2, student book, publisher SM, ISBN 84-348-76663 Our Code: SC2

We recommend you buy the accompanying exercise book, ISBN 84-348-76620 Our Code: SWB2

You may also like to have the CD that goes with the main book ISBN 84-348-84909 Our Code: SC2/CD

The CD that comes with the exercise book is ISBN 84-348-84860 Our Code: SWB2/CD

Nuevo ELE intermedio, student book, ISBN 84-348-8724X, Our Code: SC3

We recommend you buy the accompanying exercise book, ISBN 84-348-87681 Our Code: SWB3

You may also like to have the CD that goes with the main book ISBN 84-348-89560 Our Code: SC3/CD

Spanish grammar books (please ask which is most suitable for your level)

Basic:

Uso de la gramatica Espanola (Castro) Elemental ISBN 84-771-11332 Our Code: SG1

along with the key/answers (clave) ISBN 84-771-11650 Our Code: SG1/K

Getting the key is a good idea if you want to check your answers, but there is a danger that you give up too easily and keep referring to it instead of working out the right answer.

Intermediate:

Uso de la gramatica Espanola (Castro) Intermedio ISBN 84-771-11340 Our Code: SG2

along with the key/answers (clave) ISBN 84-771-11782 Our Code: SG2/K

Getting the key is a good idea if you want to check your answers, but there is a danger that you give up too easily and keep referring to it instead of working out the right answer.

French levels 1-3 inc

French 1, Palgrave Foundations, student book, ISBN 0-333-91992-0 Our Code: FC1

Please ask us if you would like a copy of the cassettes that accompany the book.

French levels 4-6

French 2, Palgrave Foundations, student book, ISBN 0-333-92235-2 Our Code: FC2

Please ask us if you would like a copy of the cassettes that accompany the book.

French levels 7+

Please ask

French grammar books (please ask which is most suitable for your level)

Exercices de Grammaire en Contexte, Hachette (publishers), at two different levels. Getting the key (called Corriges in French) is a good idea if you want to check your answers, but there is a danger that you give up too easily and keep referring to it instead of working out the right answer.

Debutant (beginner) ISBN 20-115-51331 Our Code: FG1

The key (corriges/answers) ISBN 20-115-5134X Our Code: FG1/K

Intermediaire (Intermediate) - ISBN 20-115-51471 Our Code: FG2

The key (corriges/answers) ISBN 20-115-5148X Our Code: FG2/K

We are often asked about dictionaries, so here is our advice. We do not recommend specific dictionaries.

At levels 1-5, we advise a bi-lingual dictionary of reasonable quality. Bi-lingual means that half of the dictionary is English>the language you are learning, eg Spanish, and the other half is the other way round - Spanish>English. A very cheap, pocket dictionary is a false economy. Spend around £7-£12 and you should get something much more useful.

From level 6 up, you should also consider buying a mono-lingual dictionary, which is published only in the language you are studying. This has the advantage for the more advanced learner that explanations and examples are given in the language, so the dictionary becomes a much more sophisticated and useful learning tool.

These days there are also very good on-line dictionaries, which have the advantage that they can be constantly updated, though the obvious disadvantage that they are not portable.