This illustrated self-teaching language package makes an ideal introduction to basic French conversational and reading skills for language students who need additional help with the rules and applications of grammar. The book presents 12 lessons that cover the parts of a sentence, with each lesson using short conversational dialogues to dramatize typical social situations. The same characters reappear from one lesson to the next, lending an air of realism to their dialogues. Students of French learn to identify parts of speech, verb forms, and other points of grammar, as they familiarize themselves with vocabulary that is typical in conversational speech. Lessons have practice exercises interspersed throughout to test the student's developing fluency, plus a summary test at the end of each of the 12 lessons. Following the 12-lesson dialogue format, the book's final section presents a formal summary of French grammar, supplemented with a useful vocabulary list. The compact disc that comes with the book presents dramatized dialogues that reflect the book's contents.