User Guide

Other extr@ resources

extr@ on DVD

extr@ is available in French and German, as well as in Spanish

extr@ website www.channel4.com/extra

Students can join the cast of extr@ online and practise their Spanish in an exciting series of progressive, interactive activities. They can take part in a shopping challenge, a dating game, a drag-and-drop listening comprehension and more. The site also includes a teenage magazinestyle feature as well as a teacher’s section.

There is a direct link to the extr@ website from this DVD.

extr@ on CD-ROM

Three CD-ROMs are available for each language variant of extr@. Each CD-ROM features two complete episodes of extr@ with bilingual subtitles, as well as set of printable activities and a glossary. The ‘Dear Diary’ section also offers students a chance to absorb the language and structures presented in the episodes at their own pace, as well as giving them a unique insight into each of the main characters.

The second and third extr@ CD-ROMs also feature:

•Interactive transcripts with links to audio/text glossary

•Interactive activities in addition to printable ones

Case study

Paul Keogh shares his experience of using extr@ in the classroom.

‘That was the best lesson ever, Sir!’announced one of the boys in my Year 10 French class after we had just used Channel 4’s extr@ CD-ROM. The whole class had been transfixed by the innovative sitcom format in the recognisable style of ‘Friends’. As a languages teacher, I had not come across anything as exciting, refreshing or as entertaining as extr@ in my 17 years of MFL teaching!

News travels fast and soon every languages class was demanding to watch the sitcom series in French, German or Spanish. The interactive nature of the CD-ROM was, and still is, a real winner with the students. They enjoy the fun of watching the action with or without the subtitles. In fact we often do a little bit of both and I let the youngsters decide the level of challenge.

The glossary enables them to learn new vocabulary and easily access the interesting stories acted out by the main characters in the sitcom. They love emailing the characters, doing their online shopping, reading their diaries and Personal Profiles, then dubbing their voices using the Karaoke feature of the extr@ CD-ROM.

The extr@ CD-ROMs have revolutionised the potential of video resources in the MFL classroom. I don’t know how we ever lived without them. They are so easy to use and yet so very effective.

Pupils and staff in my department cannot speak highly enough about

Paul Keogh is Head of Languages at St James School, Knaresborough was given the Teacher the Year award in 2002. subsequently received an

services to education.

In order to take full advantage of the extr@ DVDs, you need to ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements.

Minimum system requirements (Windows PC)

Intel Pentium® II 333MHz or higher Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 (Service Pack 2), XP 256 Mb of RAM

8 Mb Graphics Card, 800 x 600 resolution, 16-bit colour Direct Sound compatible sound card

8 x DVD-ROM drive (UDMA enabled) (This disk will not work in a CD-ROM drive)

Direct Show compliant DVD decoder software installed

Direct X 8.1

Internet Explorer 5.0 or other compatible browser

A functioning microphone and set of speakers connected to your PC. Latest versions of Macromedia® Shockwave® and Flash®

Microsoft® Word or Adobe® Acrobat Reader® to read the programme transcripts, key vocabulary and classroom activities that can be found on each DVD.

Minimum system requirements (Apple Mac)

Power Macintosh Power PC processor (minimum G4)

Mac® OS 10.3

256 Mb RAM

800 x 600 16-bit colour

8 x DVD-ROM drive

Internet Explorer 5.0 or other compatible browser

A functioning microphone and set of speakers connected to your PC. Apple Mac® compatible sound card

Microsoft® Word or Adobe® Acrobat Reader® to read the programme transcripts, key vocabulary and classroom activities that can be found on each DVD.

The extr@ DVD and karaoke application were designed and authored by Freehand.

Editorial Consultant :

Mary Ellwood

Language Editors :

Rosa María Martín

Martyn Ellis

Voiceover artist :

Rosa María Martín