From Laura K. Lawless,
Your Guide to French Language.
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Champs-Élysées is an audiomagazine aimed at intermediate and advanced French students. It is versatile enough to be used by independent students, homeschoolers, teachers, travelers, or anyone else who is interested in additional French listening practice.

A subscription to Champs-Élysées includes two distinct components:

1. 60-minute audio tape or CD (your choice) filled with interviews, articles, and music, specially chosen and edited to help you practice and perfect your French listening skills, while improving your grammar and vocabulary. The audio is done entirely by native French-speaking professional broadcasters.
    
2. 64-page magazine containing a complete transcript of the audio and a glossary: the difficult vocabulary and expressions are highlighted in bold in the transcript, then translated and usually elaborated upon in the glossary. The glossary is a key element of Champs-Élysées - it takes up more than half of the magazine, and many of the entries are mini-features in themselves.

Each monthly issue contains about a dozen short features covering diverse topics in French current events and culture, including politics, business, theater, music, and sports.

To give you an idea of the range of topics addressed, here is the table of contents for the issue that I reviewed (série 24, numéro 3, 2007):

• Résultat des élections législatives
• Hommage à Jean-Claude Brialy
• Visite de Notre-Dame de Paris (2e partie)
• Le Choeur d'Hommes de Sartène
• Cinéma : Dialogue avec mon jardinier, Jean Becker
• Exposition : Dessins de Camille Corot au Louvre
• Littérature : la Révolte des accents, Erik Orsenna
• Le Cap Ferret et la dune du Pyla
• Portrait : Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
• Théâtre : le Dîner de cons, Jacques Veber
• Rencontre avec Christian Blanckaert, directeur-général de Hermès
• Chanson : Stephan Eicher

Get more with Champs-Élysées Plus™

In addition to the basic audiomagazine subscription, Champs-Élysées offers two additional options.

1) Champs-Élysées Plus (C-É+), which includes a 50-minute audio tape or CD with several of that month's features read at a slower pace, audio flash cards of key words and expressions, and a bonus English-language feature called À la recherche de mots that discusses certain aspects of French, plus a printed workbook with an English summary of each feature, a list of the audio flash cards, and post-listening comprehension and grammar exercises. C-É+ offers a considerable increase in value over a regular subscription. The slow audio readings, audio flash cards, and English summaries will ensure that you understand everything, while À la recherche de mots and the grammar exercises offer more ways to improve your French.

2) Global Language Membership, for learners of more than one language, allows you to download the audio portion of not only the language you are subscribed to, but also the audio of all the other languages offerred by Champs-Élysées (French, Spanish, Italian, and German). These recordings are made available weeks before the printed audiomagazines are mailed, so you can get a head start on listening to your language, plus listen to any/all of the others that interest you.

The self-described "audiomagazine for people who love France and the French language," Champs-Élysées is a first-rate tool for learning about French culture and current events while improving your listening skills, grammar, and vocabulary.

A subscription to Champs-Élysées can be delivered just about anywhere in the world. To find out more about this French audiomagazine or to learn about similar products for Spanish, Italian, and German learners, please visit the Champs-Élysées website.