Loft hanté is a multimedia set of interactive teaching and learning materials for learners aged 15+ of French as a second or foreign language who have reached approximately Level A2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR). The first DVD contains the Guide de l'enseignant as a PDF file (405pp), and Capsules 1–10; the second contains Capsules 11–20. There is also a student website, www.lofthante.com, recycling and reinforcing the content of the DVDs. Each of the 20 Capsules contains one four-minute episode of a continuous story featuring two adolescents ‘who take refuge from the rain in an empty loft apartment that turns out to be haunted by two congenial phantoms’. Each episode illustrates one or more idiomatic expressions such as voir la vie en rose, tourner autour du pot, briser la glace. The Preface refers to ‘new applied linguistics research suggesting that expressions are a bigger part of language learning than they may appear [. . .] the multiword unit is now seen as central’. (For a recent definition of formulaic sequences, or ‘chunks’, see VanPatten and Benati, Reference VanPatten and Benati2010: 87; for a concise review of research into instructed second-language acquisition, see Ellis, Reference Ellis2005.) Before each episode, the expression is shown in writing, and at the end one of the actors explains its meaning and etymology. In an additional section (‘Jacques Laurin jongle avec. . .’), key words from each expression (pot, briser, glace, etc.) are introduced in new contexts, illustrated by amusing cartoon sequences. The Guide de l'enseignant provides (pp. 29–31) a helpful 13-stage ‘Démarche pédagogique’ – a matrix for exploitation of the material in each capsule, and a well-structured ‘Démarche d'écoute’– a six-step sequence integrating oral and written input. There is a very clear checklist for how to exploit the video episodes, and a reminder of the different stages of comprehension (pp. 32–5). The 26 expressions are lively, subjective, and an encouragement to performance; they are listed with their meanings in French, and their English and Spanish equivalents (pp. 37–44). The rest of the Guide (pp. 49–335) provides suggested ‘Séquences pédagogiques’ for the 20 units, six games (pp. 336–68), 26 posters recapitulating the information about each expression (pp. 369–95), and a very useful list, with comments, of websites and books about idiomatic expressions and games in the language class (pp. 396–403). All materials are in French, with a few references to English equivalents and ‘franglais’. The story content and the setting are North American; the acting is less slick than what the target learners would be used to seeing on TV, but that perhaps makes it more authentic. Although the Preface states that Loft hanté attempts to ‘use technology to crack the problem of novelty versus recycling in language learning’, one can wonder whether the gains to be had by having a single story-line with the same characters, are outweighed by cumulative loss of impact through familiarity; dramatic visual content can reinforce verbal input, but can also distract attention from what is being said. The language register is more formal (e.g. De quoi parles-tu Laura? in Capsule 3) than in spontaneous speech, but in a pedagogic environment, that is no bad thing. The actors’ accents are mildly québecois, but there is no harm if European learners of French acquire a regional accent, as they would after spending time in Belgium, Switzerland or many regions of France: acquisition of the local idiom can be a sign of a successful stage à l'étranger. Overall, these materials are a lively and original attempt at juggling the three key factors making for successful second language learning: student motivation, teacher input and the learning materials and environment.