How to learn french

How to Learn French by Yourself in 14 Shockingly Simple Steps

Wondering how to learn French by yourself—or if you even can do that?

Yes, you can learn French by yourself.

Try out some of these ideas for how to learn French at home, and discover how solo studying can successfully take you to fluency!

Contents

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1. Actively Watch and Listen to French Content

When you’re learning on your own, the learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom. It can extend into your free time, as well.

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you do grammar exercises all day and night, but something as simple as kicking back in front of the TV or watching a movie can be helpful for your French language learning.

Learning French from authentic content is more important than you might think. Seeing the language used naturally by French speakers won’t just introduce you to the language and culture, but it’ll also help you hear words and grammar concepts in use, learn what sounds natural to reproduce in your own speech and hear the correct pronunciations of words. On top of all these benefits, it’s fun! And having fun while learning can be a huge motivating factor to keep up with your studies.

To make the most of your studies, the key is to study actively, not passively. This means that you should engage and interact with whatever you’re watching.

How? Well, the first step is to pick a French TV show or movie that you think you’ll enjoy.

Watch it for the first time with English subtitles. If it’s a movie, you’ll have to watch it again. If it’s a TV show, you can just move on to the next episode. This time, watch it with French subtitles instead of English subtitles.

And it’s important that you turn those English subtitles off or switch to French. English subtitles are a crutch. Even if you think you aren’t looking at them, you’ll soon notice how much you were relying on them once you switch them off.

Now you’ll have the French subtitles to rely on. Maybe they’re a bit more difficult to understand, but the advantage here is that you’re no longer switching from French to English or translating the movie as you go.

When you’re reading along to the French subtitles, keep an eye out for high-frequency words. If you see a French word more than three times, that might mean it’s a commonly-used word, and it’s probably also important for the understanding of whatever you’re watching. Write this word down and use it actively. You might add it to your flashcard deck, use it in sentences in context or even make an audio recording of you using this word in everyday speech.

Listening to French while reading French reinforces your French comprehension without translation, which is one of the key steps towards fluency and truly thinking in French the way native speakers do.

You can also use different resources to practice listening and reading. A good place to start could be with content like podcasts that come with transcripts or listening to audiobooks while reading along to the text. These resources expose you to a lot of new words that you might not come across in daily speech and train both your listening and reading skills at once.

2. Immerse Yourself in French by Using FluentU

I just mentioned how important it is to study with real French content, but it’s equally important to be aware of the potential pitfalls.

You might start up a movie only to find that you’re struggling to understand more than a few words at a time. You might find that you’re relying on the English subtitles too much, but no French subtitles are available. If there are French subtitles, how do you know that they’re accurate, or which of a word’s 10 definitions are being used in a particular sentence?

Whew! Studying on your own definitely has its challenges.

Luckily, you don’t have to do it completely by yourself.

The FluentU program provides a bridge between learner-oriented and authentic content by taking real videos made by and for French speakers and enhancing them with learning features. The program’s content library includes videos like movie clips and trailers, short films, hit music videos from French artists and even content from popular vloggers like Cyprien.

If you’re not sure where to begin, you can filter the videos by language skill level, format (clips, commercials, talks/speeches, etc.) and topic (food and cuisine, business, humor, etc.). This takes the guesswork out of learning with authentic content, since you’ll know exactly what to expect and can tailor your studies to your level and interests.

The subtitles on FluentU have been vetted by language experts, ensuring their accuracy, and you can actually toggle the English and French captions on or off—so you can go ahead and hide the English text if you find yourself getting too distracted by it. And you don’t have to worry about not understanding what you’re watching, because you can hover over or click on any word in the subtitles to see its contextual definition and other videos where the word is used.

Save new words as flashcards and you’ll be able to practice them through personalized quizzes that allow you to select, type or speak your answer.

You can choose whether you want to study in your browser or take FluentU with you on the go with the iOS app or Android app. Or, switch between the two as you wish—don’t worry, your progress will be saved.

3. Do Written French Exercises (with an Answer Guide)

Written exercises tend to be the bane of many students’ French learning experiences, but don’t knock this useful practice tool. By honing your writing skills, you’ll also be reinforcing all those grammar rules you’ve been learning.

The first step to doing written exercises when you’re learning French by yourself is to find a way to check yourself! Doing exercises on your own is useless if you can’t check to make sure you’ve answered correctly.

That’s why I recommend either purchasing a French textbook with answers in the back, or using a site that automatically lets you know if you’re on the right track.

For the latter option, there are several different choices. I quite like “Bonjour de France,” which offers exercises based on your European DELF/DALF level.

Another good option is the French page offered by the BBC, which includes fun games alongside all those grammar exercises.

If you’d rather invest in a book, one of the best for all levels is “Une fois pour toutes.” This book was developed by several prep school teachers to have on hand, once and for all, all of the French grammar and vocabulary rules a French language learner needs.

The book is often used with intermediate and advanced students—most notably for AP high school classes. It can be a good primer on learning French for beginners, with chapters on the present tense and vocabulary genders.

It’s also a great resource for more advanced students, specifically for things you might need to brush up on, like the simple past tense or the French subjunctive. Many of the exercises have answers at the back of the book, but complete answer guides are also available online depending on which edition of the book you purchase.

But don’t just settle for written exercises from a French textbook: You can also make your own writing exercises. Not only will it be more fun for you to choose your own exercises topic, but you can also ensure the topic is more applicable to your learning goals.

The process is simple. After having studied a grammar topic or group of vocabulary words, turn it into a free write activity. For example, let’s say you have been studying vocabulary related to the household and chores. As a free write activity, pretend you are giving a tour of your home to a cleaner. Write down instructions for what rooms you’d like cleaned, as well as instructions for how to clean each.

The options for free writes are limitless and can include diary entries, news reports, letters and even fictional stories.

If you want to check your grammar or make sure your writing is solid, you can share your work on the /French subreddit or HiNative, both of which have native French speakers who would be happy to help you out.

4. Make and Use French Flashcards

Remember learning your algebra equations or periodic table with flashcards? There’s a reason this time-honored technique has been popular for generations—it works! So when you’re looking for a way to learn French words and all those confusing irregular verb conjugations, don’t be afraid to go old school.

Flashcards are obviously not ideal for all aspects of learning French, but the simpler elements of the language like vocabulary definitions or translations, genders of words and different verb forms can be effectively practiced using homemade flashcards.

Once you’ve identified the element you’d like to practice, you’ll need to make the cards. Choose thick cardstock and a ballpoint pen so you’re not tempted to cheat by looking through to the other side!

Alternatively, there are so many resources that let you create digital flashcards, like Anki or Flashcard Machine, or use existing flashcards, like Memrise.

Here are a few tips if you’re setting up your own flashcards!

For vocabulary flashcards, write the French word on one side. On the other side, write either the English word, a French definition of the word or an image of the word. You can even include a French example sentence to see the word use in action.

Focus on words that you use the most often. These include high-frequency French words, or words that you’re most likely to use in your everyday French conversations. For example, it’s much more useful to create flashcards with the words for food items, locations around a city and clothing than it is to create flashcards for the different components of garden soil—unless, of course, your goal is to speak French in a garden center.

Whenever making vocabulary flashcards for French, always include the grammatical gender with a definite or indefinite article (le/la — the; un/une — a). Since these words can’t be separated from their genders, it’s always better to practice both at the same time.

This will help you learn French fast—you’ll thank yourself when you start putting words in sentences and can just choose the right gender naturally, instead of running back to your dictionary.

For verb flashcards, simply write the infinitive of the verb on one side along with the tense you want to practice. On the other side, write the conjugation. If you’d rather break down your conjugation memorization into parts, you can also write the person and number on the front side of the card.

For example, for the verb parler (to talk), you might write “parler, 1st person, singular” on one side, and just write the conjugation on the other side (je parle).

Whenever you’re practicing your conjugations, be sure to include a subject pronoun. As with the genders of nouns, conjugated verbs in the French language can’t be separated from their subject pronouns. It’s always better to practice both together.

5. Take French Dictations with Songs

The dictée (dictation) is a common exercise for young French children in elementary school. It ensures that they learn how to write in French correctly—and it can be just as effective for learning French as a second language! All it takes is a text and someone to read it to you.

That’s the major difference when you learn French at home! Who’s going to read to you?

Usually, a dictée involves copying down what the teacher reads out loud, making sure that all of your spelling, verb conjugation and adjective agreement is correct. When you’re learning alone, you don’t have someone else to read to you. However, you can still do a dictée by listening to some of your favorite French songs.

You can find out what you like by listening to French radio or checking out a Spotify playlist of hit French songs.

Here’s how to learn French using a music dictée. Let’s say you’ve picked out a great French song. Play the song several times. Three times is the norm for dictées. Songs will be a bit faster, so you can go up to five.

Copy down everything you hear. Then, get your hands on a copy of the lyrics and see how you did! LyricsTranslate is a great resource to find French songs with English translations.

If you’re a beginner, you might want to start these dictées by just filling in blanks. Print out a copy of the song lyrics and blank out words or phrases with white-out. Then, try to fill them back in correctly while listening to the song.

As you get more advanced, you can write down the lyrics from scratch as well as translate them into English. Pay particular attention to the parsing of words as well as silent grammatical information. For example, you may not be able to hear the -e and the -s added to a feminine, plural adjective in a song, but that information is crucial to the writing of the sentence. Advanced learning with musical dictées should focus on the nuances.

6. Use Written French to Practice Grammar Points and Vocabulary

One of the most difficult tasks to accomplish when you’re learning French by yourself can be developing writing skills. You won’t be able to achieve writing perfection all on your own, but you can definitely refine certain skills.

The key is writing with a specific goal in mind, such as practicing the simple future or the different uses of the conditional—which is really how French teachers in lower and intermediate levels function as well.

“Assign” yourself one grammar point or vocabulary list. Write a paragraph or a page showing what you know without looking at your book or notes. Then check your work for that particular element of French grammar against your textbook, correcting any errors.

To make this easier for the “teacher” (that’s you!) you can even highlight all attempted uses of the grammar point or vocabulary in the text before beginning to correct. This way, your eye will know where to go in order to correct the different instances of this point.

But there are also several online French grammar checkers that can find mistakes you would’ve missed on your own. I suggest typing out your work and then pasting it into a website like BonPatron. And don’t forget your old friends on Reddit and HiNative from the first step!

7. Keep Up with the News

Today’s news media is so widespread that the day’s top news stories make it onto your radar without you even seeking them out. Wouldn’t it be great then if you could learn French while keeping up with the headlines?

For beginners, I recommend News in Slow French. These regularly-released podcasts are about 30 minutes in length, and consist of slowly spoken recitations and analyses of the week’s top news stories in simple French. With a subscription, listeners can get access to a full French transcript, a PDF with translations and flashcards.

Radio France Internationale (Radio France International) or RFI also offers a podcast called journal en français facile (news in easy French). This podcast has daily episodes that are about 10 minutes in length each, has downloadable transcripts and is completely free.

For written news, I recommend Mon Quotidien (my daily newspaper), a newspaper geared toward children. Its young audience makes it a perfect choice for beginner French learners because it has easy-to-understand articles as well as discussion questions to practice writing in French.

Another website for news for French children is Mary Glasgow. While the full magazine requires a subscription, learners can access four articles for free. These articles are always updating, so even non-paying users can get use out of the magazine.

As expected, the articles are aimed at kids with corresponding discussion and comprehension questions. For both Mon Quotidien and Mary Glasgow, I recommend doing the written exercises to practice using French and to internalize the vocabulary used in the articles.

For more advanced French learners, there are major online news agencies that tackle national and international news for adults in French. These include Le Monde and Le Parisien.

For watching the news online, France 24 has a direct feed on their YouTube channel. Euro News offers select French news stories on their YouTube channel, as well.

Whether reading, watching or listening, you can make the most of your French news article by writing down unknown words and phrases. With these, you can create your own flashcards on topics that are current and relevant to the world (see step #2!).

Writing summaries is another great exercise to use with news articles. After you finish watching or reading the news, write a paragraph or two summarizing the main ideas of the news piece. This is a great way to check your understanding and use the vocabulary words that are crucial to the article.

8. Scroll Your Way Through French Social Media

Have you ever looked at your smartphone’s daily breakdown of how long you spend on each app?

If you’re anything like me, that’s a scary place. I spend a lot of time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and I have a feeling I’m not alone.

Instead of feeling bad, turn all that wasted time on its head! Social media and other online activities are great ways to learn French.

For starters, there is a gigantic YouTube community aimed at teaching the French language to beginner and intermediate learners. Some of the best include Learn French with Alexa and Learn French with Vincent, two YouTube channels that offer grammatical tutorials, vocabulary explanations and easy dialogues in French.

You can treat these YouTube channels like real French classes. Take notes, engage in the comment sections (in French) and do any exercises or activities that the YouTubers suggest for practice. Some channels even offer membership through Patreon that allows viewers to access transcripts, exercises and additional media.

For YouTube channels linked to smartphone apps, I recommend FrenchPod101, a multi-faceted online French learning program for all levels of French, and Lingoni French, an app that focuses on listening comprehension and interactive exercises.

In addition to French learning channels, you can watch French YouTube videos for fun and learning at the same time. Some popular French YouTubers include Cyprien and Natoo. I recommend watching videos from these YouTubers with subtitles on and a pen in hand, however: They use quite a bit of French slang, so they’re perfect for learning French as it’s spoken today in French-speaking countries.

Another little-known trick for discovering French-language YouTube videos lies in your account settings. You can actually change your account language to French and change your location to one that speaks French such as France or Belgium. In return, YouTube will recommend French-language content for you to watch.

The same can be done for other social media channels. Simply switch your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram language to French to become digitally immersed in the language. I also recommend following the #French or #français hashtag on Instagram for great French-language posts.

Do you like the fluff news pieces, listicles and quizzes on Buzzfeed? Well, you can also pass some time on Topito, the French equivalent.

There are also loads of subreddits where you can read and practice French. If you enjoy your experience on /r/French, you might also like /r/France for news and conversations pertaining to France. Keep in mind that the latter subreddit is completely in French.

9. Play Games to Strengthen Your French the Fun Way

At the end of a long day at work or school, playing games is a fun way to relax—and learn some French.

As I’m sure you know, there are many gamified apps online, apps that strive to teach the French language in a game-like format. One of the most well-known of these is Duolingo, which turns French learning into a fun experience through mini-games, levels and learning streaks.

You can also play many online games that are aimed at teaching French. Some of the best include Digital Dialects, Frenchgames.net or Sam Amuse (Sam Amuses). These games are perfect for beginners looking to practice common vocabulary topics or grammar constructions such as verb conjugations.

I also recommend “Ici” radio Canada (“Here” Canada Radio). Developed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), this website has games that are geared toward native French-speaking children. For example, you can solve a crime mystery or adventure in the Canadian Arctic. As such, I recommend these games for intermediate learners.

If you’re a serious gamer, I recommend trying to play your game of choice in French. Simply change your language setting to French, and voilà (there you go). You can also play online games with actual native French speakers, by checking out French-language discords.

10. Make Friends with French Speakers and Learners

Perhaps the most appealing part of self-studying French is that you have complete control over what you want to learn, how yo want to learn and when you want to learn.

The flip side to this, however, is that you might not get much interaction with French-speaking people or other learners. Without actively seeking someone else, self-studying French can mean studying French, well… alone. But learning French requires actively using the language with someone else. So, what should you do?

The most obvious solution to this is to travel to a French-speaking place. You can plan your own trip to France or another French-speaking country. Doing this will allow you to be immersed in the French language, giving you the opportunity to learn new words and phrases and practice what you’ve learned on your own.

Of course, traveling isn’t a possibility for everyone. Luckily, you can still benefit from interacting with French speakers without leaving your city or town!

Since French is such an international language, most non-Francophone places have at least some native French speakers. These French speakers may open bakeries, pastry shops and other stores. They may even partake in cultural events and celebrations. These days, a simple Google search will let you find French-owned establishments in your area and even French social gatherings that you might be able to attend.

Another option is to join a website that allows you to organize gatherings around shared topics of interest, like—you guessed it!—French.

If you aren’t the organizing type, let someone else do the work! Try browsing the social gathering website, Meetup, which helps members organize and attend events. These events can span many hobbies, including sports, books and academic topics. As such, there are many Meetup groups that come together regularly and speak or practice French. Some Meetups require you to “join” the group, and meets can be in-person or online, so you can find someone to converse with, no matter where you are!

If you’re looking for an opportunity to speak French in a one-on-one setting, then a website that helps you find a French language exchange partner might be the best resource for you.

Websites like mylanguageexchange.com and italki specialize in connecting French learners with native French speakers. Learners can directly hire a French teacher or French tutor from italki, but there’s also an option to do a more traditional language exchange with another language learner. For example, someone may be willing to let you practice French with them if you let them practice English with you. These conversations happen completely virtually via Skype or WhatsApp (or another chat program of your choice).

11. Mine the French Classics and Contemporaries

It’s no secret that the French language is known the world over for its literature. Whether in high school, college or even as a small child, chances are you’ve read a piece of French literature or seen a movie or TV show based on one of French’s beloved literary pieces.

The classic French books associated with the French language span many different time periods and genres. One of the first French novels was called “Manon Lescaut,” published in 1731 and written by Abbe Prevost and, ever since, the French novel has covered many different topics such as love, class society, struggle and even philosophy.

Some of the most studied novels in Western society were first written in French. Popular examples include Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables,” Alexandre Dumas’ “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” (The Count of Monte Cristo) and Albert Camus’s “L’étranger” (The Stranger).

If the classics aren’t really your vibe, you’re guaranteed to find a book you love in contemporary French literature. The French language produces thousands of books every year, and they’re no longer limited to wealthy authors living around Paris. Other French-speaking regions such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and the Francophone countries of Africa publish their own modern French books.

When reading French novels, whether classic or contemporary, I recommend making the most of their learning potential. This means reading with a dictionary and a notebook nearby. Your dictionary can be a physical one or a digital one such as an app or a website like WordReference.

As you come across words you don’t know in French, write them down. I don’t recommend writing down every single unknown French word; rather, you should only mine for the ones that you see most often or ones that are vital to the understanding of the section of text.

Once you’ve written these words down, you need to use them actively. This could mean creating sentences for context, recordings of you using these words in speech or creating flashcards.

12. Take a Self-Guided French Course

In the first lines of this post, I mentioned that this step-by-step guide is perfect for learners who don’t want to or don’t have time to attend a class. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t benefit from a French course.

No matter what level, a self-guided French course can be a great way to learn French grammar and vocabulary in a systematic way. It can also give you more opportunities to speak, listen to, read and write the French language at a level that’ll be most useful to your current skills.

There are many courses out there today that consist of informal lessons and tutorials which you can tackle at your own pace. Other online courses can give you a more complete experience with exercises, homework and maybe even a personal tutor, but without the time constraints of a traditional course.

You can give informal French courses a try on websites like ielanguages.com. The original French tutorials on this website span six levels and cover topics such as verb tenses, lists of common vocabulary and even advanced topics such as the subjunctive mood. Don’t expect anything groundbreaking—the lessons are quite simple, consisting of an explanation of the topic, some example sentences and audio recordings. But they get the job done!

Other informal courses such as TV5Monde (TV5World) and ToLearnFrench offer more in the way of interactive learning. These courses have lessons structured around the progression of learning French skills and include videos and audio recordings, reading and listening comprehensions as well as an array of exercises.

If you’re after more structure but you still want complete control over your French course, there are a number of options for you. Lingoda is an online language school that specializes in learning French at any time of the day, with hundreds of small group French classes being offered every week by a native French teacher.

Other websites also offer MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). These courses are high-quality offerings from universities around the world, often completely for free. They’re usually structured more like traditional courses with lectures, interactive exercises and, on occasion, even on-call teachers or tutors.

13. Eat, Drink and Live the French Way

The word “immersion” is tossed around a lot, but how can you incorporate French immersion into your life without actually moving to a French-speaking region?

Well, with a little bit of deliberate effort, you can let French take over some of the most crucial aspects of your life!

Let’s start with the basics: food. We all need food to live, don’t we?

Making French a part of your cooking and eating routine is an easy—and tasty!—way to practice. Simply look up recipes for your food of choice in French and get cooking. You can find French recipes on websites such as Ricardo Cuisine and even find recipes for some more traditional French food on Zeste.

In order to maximize the French learning potential, I recommend printing these recipes out so you have hard copy versions of them. Not only will this make it easier to compile your French recipes in a cookbook so you can make them again, but you can also make notes on them, allowing you to translate certain words in English if need be.

Food isn’t the only way to immerse yourself in French in your everyday life. You can also incorporate the French language and life through fashion, beauty and other aspects of culture such as books, TV and movies. Watch French shows and listen to French music. Dress like the French and entertain the French way, too. Surround yourself with the sounds, tastes and culture of the French language to truly immerse yourself in it!

For a well-rounded resource for all things lifestyle, check out websites such as Marie Claire. You can also find blogs in French that specialize in specific topics that interest you, such as fashion, beauty, green living and lifestyle.

Can’t find a blog you’re looking for? Try creating your own (in French, of course!).

14. Teach French!

It seems counterintuitive to suggest that in order to learn French, you should teach French, doesn’t it?

Believe it or not, teaching is actually an extremely effective way to learn French. That’s because that you need to completely understand a topic if you want to teach it. But you don’t need to achieve mastery before you start: Teaching has a way of exposing weaknesses in our knowledge and driving us to learn what we don’t fully understand, if not for our own purposes but for the needs of our students.

There really are a number of options here depending on your level of French.

If you’re at the beginner stage of French, you might take on a co-teaching relationship with another learner who’s close to your level.

You and your language buddy can learn together, using each other to practice speaking French and clarifying misunderstandings as a team. You can also divide up topics that neither of you has learned yet. In this situation, you’d learn about a given topic on your own, then teach it to your learning partner. This type of co-learning can take the form of in-person or online interactions.

If your level of French is higher, you might decide to take on a more formal teaching arrangement. You could ask to assist in a formal French course or at a French club, helping those with lower levels of French while improving your level at the same time.

If you’re an advanced learner, you might even decide to run your own French lessons through in-person or online private tutoring. Plus. you might even make some extra income to fund your trip to a Francophone location!

If the thought of teaching French formally is too intimidating, then you can become a mock-French teacher! This means that you prepare and execute French lessons but you don’t have students. You can perform these lessons to yourself on a particular topic such as regular verb conjugation or common vocabulary or record these lessons and watch them back for added practice and error detection.

In all these scenarios, make sure to create a lesson plan that you can follow. This will keep you on track and make sure you hit all the main points of your “lesson.”

Learning French alone only becomes easier when you take advantage of all the resources that are around you. Use this list of ideas for how to learn French by yourself as a jumping-off point. If you want to get creative, the sky’s the limit!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

How to Learn French Efficiently – 12 Top Tips

Learning French, like any other new language, implies a lot of memorization, and often, as adults, our memory is not what it used to be. So what is the best way to learn French? These 12 tips will help you memorize new information longer, and learn French more efficiently.

12. Always Study French with Audio

Let’s start with one truth that many French students don’t realise but which is key if you want to do more than just read novels or French magazines…

Written French and spoken French are almost 2 different languages.

There are many silent letters, glidings, liaisons, etc… and they are everywhere, including in French verb conjugations and grammar.

Many students are still learning French mostly with written material, or traditional methods that over enunciate every single word.

Formal school curriculum usually focus on grammar and verb conjugations – the teachers don’t have a choice: they have to cover the imposed curriculum, and that leaves little time for anything else!

Yet, if you want to learn French to communicate in French, not just to pass exams, you need to train to understand modern spoken French. I wrote a whole article about modern spoken French with many examples, so I invite you to read it should you like to know more.

For example, the modern spoken pronunciation of “être” various conjugations is quite different than what you may have studied… Especially in the negative, when you apply all the glidings with the subject pronouns and the ne…. Check out my free audio guide about the French verb être conjugations and pronunciation.

Picking the right French audiobook is your first challenge; and from your choice may very well depend the success or failure of your French studies.

Now let’s talk about your own study style.

11. Be in Touch with your Own Learning Style

Do you need to write? Or do you need to listen? Or do you need to read to learn things by heart?

Whatever the method you are using to learn French, make sure you adapt it to YOUR learning style.

This being said, studying French with audio is a must if you want to learn French to communicate: understand modern spoken French and speak French yourself.

I developed an audio-based modern French placement test. Check it out to see if you can understand modern spoken French.

20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. Completely free, no signup required

10. Self Studying is NOT for Everybody

When it comes to learning languages, not everybody is the same. I’ve taught hundreds of students, and I can tell you from experience that some people have an easier time with languages than others. It’s not fair, and it’s not popular to say it… but it’s true.

It doesn’t mean that someone less gifted cannot learn French, but it means that self-studying is not for everybody.

Some students need the expertise of a teacher to guide them through their studies, motivate them and find creative ways to explain the same point until it is understood. Skype and/or phone French lessons can be a good solution.

9. Beware of Free French learning tools

Nowadays every French teaching website is offering something free. Free French lessons. Free tips. Free videos…

OK. I get it. Free is lovely.

However if the material is not good, then ‘free’ can be a total waste of your time. And your time is valuable.

Be particularly careful about social networks. It’s easy to get lost in there, and jump from one funny video to another but at the end, actually learn very little – or not what you should be learning!

There is also some really good free material out there – if you have not done it already, I encourage you download my free French learning audiobook.

However, if you are serious about learning French, you need to follow a structured path which gently leads you through the different French learning stages. At one point I suggest you invest into a reliable French learning method.

The method you choose has to come with solid grammatical explanations – very few people can master French without first understanding French grammar – and audio recordings featuring both traditional and modern French.

8. Translate French Into English as Little as Possible

When you are a total beginner, some translation is going to occur. As you advance in your French studies, try as much as possible to avoid translating.

Translating adds a huge step in the process of speaking:

Idea –> English –> French
versus just
idea –>French

It makes your brain waste 30% more time and energy and will fool you into making a mistake when the literal translation doesn’t work – which is unfortunately often the case in French!

So if you don’t translate, what should you do?

7. Link French to Images and Visual Situations, not English words

Try as much as possible to link the new French vocabulary to images, situations, feelings and NOT to English words.

By linking the image/ sensation to the French words, you will avoid mistakes since in this particular case for example, we don’t use “I am’ in French, but ‘I have’: “j’ai froid”…

Whatever you do, don’t adapt the English sentence to adapt it to the French – “ah, Ok, the French say “I HAVE cold”… I’ll remember that!”

Let’s see what this does for your brain:

Maybe this sounds familiar?

It is MUCH simpler and faster to link the feeling of cold or “brrrr” to “j’ai froid”.

“Brrrr” = “j’ai froid”.

If you are doing flashcards to study French – which I strongly encourage you do – draw the word/situation whenever possible instead of writing English. Even if you are not a good artist, you’ll (hopefully?) remember what your drawing meant, and it’s much more efficient to learn French this way.

This is a very important point so I’ll take another example.

When learning French numbers, many students “build” them. They do maths. When they want to say ‘ninety-nine’ in French they think about what they’ve learned and remember this fun (or crazy?) logic ‘four-twenty-ten-nine’ and finally come up with “quatre-vingt-dix-neuf’.

Do you realise the time wasted?
Most French kids know how to count to 99 by age 6.
Nobody ever told them about the ‘four-twenty-ten-nine’ nonsense! The only think they know is that 99 sounds like [katrevindizneuf].
They don’t know how to spell it – and they don’t care!

Well, that’s how you need to learn French. Not like a kid – adults don’t learn like children. But by linking the French sounds to the notions, the images, the ideas. Not to the English words. Not to the logic. Not even to the grammar.

6. Be Careful With French Cognates

This is exactly why you should be particularly careful with cognates – words that are the same between the two languages.

Many students approach them thinking “ah, that’s easy, I know that one”. But then when they need to use that word, they don’t remember it’s the same word in French as in English…

Furthermore, cognates always have a different pronunciation, and your English brain is going to fight saying that word the French way.

I hear many students having a hard time with the word “chocolat”. In French, the ch is soft, as in “shave”, and the final t is silent. [Shocola]. Most French students wrongfully pronounce it [tshocolat].

Finally, there are many false cognates: words that exist in both languages but don’t have exactly the same meanings (like entrée in US English (= main course) and entrée in French (= appetizers, first (light) course).

So, cognates need more of your attention, not less!

5. Avoid Writing in Your Head

Many students “write” French in their head before they speak.

However in French, may letters are silent, like the “ent” of the “ils” form, or the é sound at the end of a verb: parler, parlez, parlé, parlée, parlés, parlées.

Writing in your head a huge waste of time and may lead to being scared to speak French.

4. Learn French in Sentences

When you learn French “in context”, you’ll remember the situation and words longer, and you’ll already have a series of words that go well together handy for your next French conversation!

To learn French in context, I highly recommend you check out my unique downloadable French audiobooks, a unique French learning method illustrated by a realistic bilingual novel recorded at different levels of enunciation, featuring both traditional and modern spoken French pronunciation.

Learn French: The Complete Guide

Start French today to learn some small talk, how to order food, travelling around and a bunch of other topics.

But if heading to France isn’t quite possible at the moment, don’t panic. This complete guide to learning French will have everything you need to start learning with all the enthusiasm, confidence and joie de vivre you could ever need!

Did you know that there are 275 million people in the world who speak French? Alongside the fact that it’s spoken on four continents, it’s well known as one of the top languages in the world of art, food, culture, fashion and music! (why not check out these French songs to start you off?) C’est parti!

Is learning French worth it?

Learning any language is worth your time! Whether it’s French or another language, learning a language allows you to connect with people from all over the world, experience different cultures and help with a bit of brain training all at the same time! We’re living in an increasingly globalised world, so learning another language like French can help you to boost your career and the likelihood of finding a new job, make travelling much easier and it opens you up to a world of new entertainment, like music, art, books and films. Trust us, it’s definitely worth it.

Why learn French?

France is divided into 22 different regions, all offering something different. The variety and choice of the country alone is a great reason to learn French.The main benefit that springs to mind when thinking of reasons to learn French is the fact that you’ll be able to connect with millions of people around the world. But outside of that, there are several more top reasons to learn French:

Of course, those reasons are ‘fun’ ones. And they’re probably true too. But in reality, the biggest advantages to learning French will be personal to you. Everyone has a different motivation when it comes to learning. You may want to learn French to connect with family, friends, or loved ones, or you could be planning to visit France (or Canada or Morocco or Switzerland or Côte d’Ivoire or Luxembourg or…) and want to get the most out of your trip by chatting to the locals and making a connection with them. You might find that learning French will increase your career prospects, and it’s a valuable skill to have that’ll allow you to create and build professional workplace connections. Whatever your situation, there are so many useful reasons to learn the French language.

How to learn French

You can start learning French by finding a convenient learning system that’s both effective and fun. French language learning apps are great for this (*cough*, like us, *cough*)! You need to find a way to learn that you can access whenever you want it, and that you can really stick to.

Start learning French by practicing little and often. As you probably know already, learning a new language is a marathon, not a sprint. Most importantly, amid our busy schedules, you should expect to study at your time and on your terms.

Another great way to start learning French is to find an activity you enjoy and try doing it in French. In other words, what we’re saying is don’t ignore what you’re interested in in your native language! It might be cooking, Star Wars, powerlifting or skincare routines. If you enjoy the topic, try to seek it out in French. It’s much more likely that you’ll remain engaged in a topic that you’re already familiar with. We encourage you to immerse yourself in content you actually enjoy. Don’t force yourself to find an online magazine about the French economy if you’re not interested in economics anyway! Save learning about new topics when you’ve got the basics of a language on lock.

What about fluency?

Learning French at any age

You should remember that you can be ANY age and start learning a new language! The idea that there’s a cut-off point for language acquisition is incredibly common. People think that unless you learned a language when you were a child, there’s no hope and it’ll be near-impossible to grasp.

NEWSFLASH: That’s not the case! Learning French as an adult or young adult IS possible. You CAN grasp a language, no matter your age. The difference between adults learning and children learning is that children are pretty much fearless when it comes to making mistakes. Did you know that language anxiety affects around a third of adult learners? Because many of us have this fear, there’s a risk we miss out on learning key French words and phrases.

So whether you’re 5 or 50, you can learn French easily by consistently practising! The best way to learn French is to be mindful of the fact that languages are about more than just vocabulary and grammar. Languages like French are built around people, culture, and connection.

Check out our French Phrasebook for more words and phrases.

How long does it take to learn French?

It’s likely that you’ve asked yourself (or typed into Google) “What’s the average time it takes to learn French?” Well, we’ve got the short answer: It’s not as simple as that! You might be thinking it takes weeks, months or even years to learn French. You start doubting yourself and wonder, “Can I learn French??” “Do I have the time?”

What’s the fastest way to learn French?

That’s not to say that we don’t have some tips for you. We do! If you are searching for the fastest ways to learn French, here are some ways to accelerate learning French for beginners.

Tips to learn French more quickly

No, we don’t mean being stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a mate. We’re talking about French vocabulary that sounds like one thing, but means something else. French and English share a complicated linguistic history, and these false friends can easily cause you to make a mistake and get the wrong idea (or to say something embarrassing that you definitely don’t mean!) For example, words like blessé and blessed, bras and bras, and monnaie/money are basically identical, but mean very different things.

French: Blessé = Injured | English: Blessed = holy or sacred; religious

French: Bras = arm | English: Bras = underwear (!)

French: Monnaie = loose change (l’argent is the word for money) | English: Money = … we’re not defining this one, it’s pretty self explanatory 👀

Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear 😐 but if motivation came easily, the world would be a different place. Everyone would be running faster than Usain Bolt, making millions going viral on TikTok and giving Jamie a run for his money in the kitchen. We know life’s not that easy. The pressures of life mean that the feeling of “I can’t be bothered” is all too familiar.

A great way to incorporate language learning into your life is to set short, daily learning goals that you’ll easily stick to. Couple that with a learning reminder (which you can easily set up on your phone), and you’ll be learning French quickly in no time!

So really, the short answer to how to learn French quickly is to find something that you enjoy doing already, and do that in French! Watch a French crime drama on Netflix, or use French subtitles on your favourite show. If you’re a fan of podcasts, find some French-speaking ones on a topic you’re interested in. Search for French-speaking Beauty bloggers on YouTube and watch them unbox products from France! That’s why we’ve made our language learning app the way we did, packing in as many entertaining videos as we can so you’ll enjoy your learning and stay motivated.

So, what is the key to learning French fast?

Tools, Tips and Tricks: What’s the best way to learn French fast?

We hate to break it to you, but there’s no single ‘best’ way to learn French. There are loads of different ways to learn!

Whatever shape or form your learning takes, remember: little and often is how to learn French fast, with the least effort and maximum reward. If you can spare just 30 minutes of your day to learn the language you love, then you’ll make a habit of learning French in no time!

When learning French, it’s really important to consider the way of learning for you as an individual. You can arm yourself with different tools to help you learn French effectively. For example:

What is the best way to learn French on your own?

Learning as an adult can be difficult. It was so much easier when you were young, with school language lessons or sessions with a tutor that your parents organised. But zoom all the way forward to the present day, and you’ll most likely find that this little thing called ‘life’ gets in the way.

Maybe you’re trying to advance your career and work demands more of your time. You’re also probably trying to maintain regular meet-ups with all your friends so you don’t lose touch (Video calls still count, right?). If you’re living with roommates or family, it’s hard to find a quiet space to dial into an online French class (especially with everyone working from home nowadays). You might have a family of your own, and you already find yourself spending every spare minute helping your kids with their homework. Who’s got time to go to a French class?

Many of us need a way of learning that just seamlessly fits into our lifestyle, rather than us making time for it. Wouldn’t you rather be able to learn French on the commute into the office rather than begrudgingly drag yourself to a French class after a long day’s work?

Questions to ask yourself when learning French

Fun fact: France is the largest country in the European Union, with a population of approx. 67 million. Each region in France offers something different, whether it’s a stunning coastline, amazing historical landmarks or fabulous food. So if your goal is to be able to visit these places and successfully know enough French words and phrases to get by, you should ask yourself the following questions:

The good news is that you have several options when it comes to learning French on your own. There are benefits and drawbacks with all of them, but, like the best way to learn, it all comes down to your personal preference. Whether it’s apps, podcasts or ebooks, there’ll be something out there for you. Just make sure you’re all connected to the internet first!

Learn French with ebooks

When it comes to learning French, people often turn to a book or an ebook first. We’re conditioned to think that learning academically is the only way to go, however, it might not be the best way to learn for you. Even if it’s an ebook, it can still be tedious to trawl through trying to find an engaging starting point. If you see the words on the page and try to piece together how to pronounce them on your own, it’s likely you’ll struggle.

Learn French with podcasts

French podcasts can be a great way to learn French as a beginner. You get experience with listening to the language, almost as if you were part of the conversation (even though you miss out on speaking the language back to them!) It can also be a handy way to absorb spoken French, especially if you need to get used to the pace and intonation of the language. Another benefit is that you can choose topics that interest you! However, it can be tricky if you’re not used to colloquial expressions, or struggle to focus when the hosts talk over one another.

Learning French Online, or with an App

As long as you have a decent internet connection, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to self-teaching French. Whether it’s an online course, a French learning computer programme, an app or a quiz, there are plenty of ways to learn a language on your own.

Of course, there are loads of language learning apps available, so you’ll want to choose the one that suits you best. You might be thinking, “surely an app is basically just a textbook, on my phone?” and we’ll tell you that with some apps, you’re not wrong. Some apps and online programmes feature the same robotic, monotonous voices you heard on school exam tapes, and the teaching format can get dry and dull really quickly. So as we mentioned earlier, you need to find an online learning method that’s engaging, fun and that works for you. A great way to start is by finding an app that lets you start learning French for free. You’ll want to find an app that features words and phrases that you’ll actually use in real-life situations, and where the voice recordings are of genuine native speakers.

Learning French with Memrise:

Memrise can help you with:

We won’t be so good for:

You might be thinking “Of course they’d toot their own horn”, seeing as you’re reading this on Memrise.com. But we created our language learning system to do all the things we see missing in the other books, videos, and apps out there. So we believe that Memrise is the best online programme to learn French, because we let you learn the vocabulary you find useful, help you learn fast, keep you motivated through entertainment, surround you with French native speakers, and give you the confidence to communicate.

We have a website for those who want to learn French at home on a computer and an app for those who learn better on the go. We teach you with videos of native speakers saying useful phrases, with the accents, the pace and the body language that makes French so rich and colourful. You can choose different levels to learn from at any time, meaning that you can skip to the parts that you find the most interesting.

The best app to learn French

We also know you’ve not got all the time in the world. You need an app that gets straight to the point and teaches you useful phrases you’ll actually use. You also want to connect with people, so while learning practical phrases, we also throw in ways to teach you to speak like the locals do, so you can make those all-important human connections. #winning!

Other reasons our app is awesome

Summary

Before you go though, here are our KEY take-home tips and tricks for you to remember when learning French:

How to learn French

This article is for anyone interested in French. This amazing, beautiful language is extremely demanding of those who learn it. We want to help you. Beginner or intermediate — here you will find tips on how to master langue française. Bon chance!

Learn languages with UniPage

Do you want to learn another language? UniPage will help you find an experienced tutor or register for a language course abroad.

Facts about French

Features of the French language

Geographics of the French language

How to learn French on your own?

French is not the most difficult language. It is quite possible to learn it on your own. Especially if you already speak English or Italian. With the latter, they share Latin roots, and in the former, there are many words borrowed from French. In this section, we will give you some tips on how to learn the perfect langue française.

Vocabulaire — How to learn French words?

We all know «merci» and “bonjour.” But it’s not enough to speak French. Once you’ve mastered the reading rules and the basics of grammar, it’s time to start building your vocabulary. The question arises: how to do this?

Look for familiar expressions

English has many words from French. Some of them have the same meaning, making them easier to remember. For example:

A complete list of easy-to-remember French loanwords can be found here. But be careful. In addition to them, there are also false friends. For example, the word synthétiser means «to summarize,» not “synthesize”, and pain miraculously means “bread.”

Still, there are plenty of similar vocabulary and even grammatical forms.

Learn the gender of words

It will protect your nerve cells in the future. To inflect words correctly in French, you need to know the genders of the nouns. Better to memorize them right away. Otherwise, later you will frantically try to recollect: is it sa maison or son maison, belle robe or beau robe.

Make texts

A great way not only to learn a foreign language, but also to urgently remember something. Let’s say you have 10 new words. Take them all and come up with a text or a couple of sentences. It doesn’t matter how usable they are, the point is to create a memorizable image. Let’s give an example:

We make a sentence: Un chat rêve d’acheter une tasse de petits pois et d’aubergines — A cat dreams of buying a cup of peas and eggplants. Weird? Yes. But super picturesque.

For that method, you need to know grammar: how words are connected through prepositions, articles, and verb forms. It is better to both write and pronounce sentences.

Use new knowledge in speech

The fastest way to remember words is to say them out loud. So you do two things at the same time: you learn new things and add them to your active vocabulary. You can know 10,000 French words passively, not using them in real life. This is a bad school habit. There they gave us a list — we crammed it only to forget later. You have to do the opposite.

One of the variants of this method is retelling the texts based on new words. Let’s say you read the article, then wrote down and sorted the unfamiliar phrases. Now, instead of cramming, retell the text using each one. It is effective learning through the use of words in context.

Learn not words, but phrases

Because of the liveliness and fluidity of French speech, sentences merge into one. Native speakers muffle the beginning, middle, end, or even the whole word. Therefore, we advise you to learn not single words, but fixed expressions with them. There are enough of them in French. For example, n’importe quoi — anything (slang: «oh everything, no difference, some kind of nonsense») or je n’en sais rien — I don’t know. And it is better to learn verbs right away with prepositions of control à, de or without:

Phraseological units are loved in France, so learning the relevant ones is pivotal to success in mastering the language.

Memorize through pictures

This is a tip for visuals. If you quickly absorb information through external images, learn words from illustrated dictionaries or flashcards. You can buy them from a bookstore, find them online, or make your own. The latter option is more energy-intensive, but this way you will start learning words while creating cards.

Resources

Grammaire — How to learn French grammar?

French grammar scares beginners with its large number of tenses, the agreement between parts of speech, and simply with its existence. Of course, when you look at this «beauty» in textbooks, it invokes panic. But in fact, French grammar is extremely logical. It must be sorted out at the very beginning, along with the reading rules. Then you will have less desire to grab your head at the sight of Conditionnel.

Learn the conjugation of verbs

The third group of irregular verbs is troublesome. Here’s a small example of how the verb avoir — «to have» — conjugates in all its forms.

Conjunctions of the verb avoir

If you need French for everyday communication, then you can make do with just learning the most necessary verbs from a phrasebook. But you still have to learn their forms. Otherwise, you run the risk of speaking exclusively in infinitives: I want, he do, she be. And those who strive to truly master French are not afraid of Subjonctif.

Don’t suffer from grammar

Remember that any activity can be turned into something fun. Instead of just cramming, try memorizing verb forms like a song to a familiar tune. Another option is to create a visual association. So, the 29 verbs conjugated with a être are easy to remember by drawing a picture or making a story out of them.

Take your time

French grammar will not run away from you. Start learning from the basics: personal pronouns, gender of nouns, groups of verbs, conjugation of the key être, and more. Move gradually. Start by reading a textbook in English, where everything is explained clearly.

Also, be sure to pay attention to the little things. If your goal is to truly master French, understand each grammatical construct. There are many small details in this language. For example, parts of speech such as en, on, dont, que. And they are all used regularly.

Resources

Compréhension orale — What and how to listen to in French?

Understanding French by ear is not easy. And not at all because of the stereotypical «they speak too fast» routine. The main difficulty is the connection between words. Native speakers move from one phrase to another so masterfully that all sentences merge into one. There seem to be no pauses between them. How can this be overcome? Listen to French speech. Listen, even if you don’t understand anything — turn on the recording and immerse yourself in French. Without understanding the meaning of what has been said, you still get used to the intonation and rhythm of the language.

Listen to podcasts and radio

A great way to get used to the sound of French. You can listen to both regular radio and educational podcasts. For example, Coffee Break Languages ​​was created specifically for those who are short on time. The entries are categorized according to difficulty levels, from A1 to C1. Another good podcast is News in slow French, which has trending news in French. Then there is French in 5 Minutes — small audios on various topics, from culture to language learning. French radio stations also offer great variety: France Info, Europe 1, RFM, France Culture and so on. Turn on any station and listen to programs or music. If you are interested not in France, but in other countries, find their stations. For example, Canadian 98.5 Montréal or Swiss RTS. Almost all of the listed radios have their own podcasts.

Watch TV shows and series

This method is the favorite of many foreign language learners. What could be nicer? You watch the show, enjoy your life and improve your French skills at once. But this also needs to be done correctly.

First, select the material according to your level. Start with kids’ shows or tutorials like Extra. There are simple and straightforward dialogues, especially useful to beginners. If you don’t like this, try looking at something you’ve seen before, but in French. Say you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory and can retell any episode faster than Sheldon says «Bazinga.» Find it in French and go. It may not be easy to do this, though. Unfortunately, there are very few free resources for French films. The most convenient way is to use streaming services like Netflix or YouTube.

The second rule is to watch everything with French subtitles, not English. This makes it easier to remember vocabulary in context. Plus, you will immediately understand and think in another language. It will be difficult for a beginner to learn French from films, but for advanced students with a solid foundation, it is a great option.

Listen to lectures and audiobooks

They are suitable for advanced learners. Especially those planning to study in French. Audiobooks can be found on Audiolib or Audible. With lectures, it is a little more complicated. Try searching on Coursera. By the way, there are also French courses from various universities around the world.

Resources

Compréhension écrite — What and how to read in French?

Often people focus on speaking and underestimate reading. But all the elements of French are interconnected, and without developing this skill, others will also lag behind. Reading practice helps to build vocabulary and understand the internal logic of the language. The more you read, the easier it is for you to express yourself in French.

Start with easy texts

For beginners, we recommend short, easy texts designed especially for language learners. The resource Lingua has stories for A1-A2 levels.

When you get the vocabulary, move on to adapted books — simplified representations of original works. There aren’t many of them, but seek and ye shall find.

Read relevant press

Reading magazines and newspapers is a great and free way to improve your skills. This will help you learn modern vocabulary and slang expressions. And also immerse yourself in the political and cultural life of the country: you will understand how the French live and what is important to them. Fortunately, the French press offers a ton of options for all tastes: political Le Figaro, Le Monde, and Libération, the infamous Charlie Hebdo, the sporty L’Équipe, and so on.

Read fiction

There is no point in moving to this method before the level Intermediate. But even here you need to increase the degree gradually: from children’s books (B1) to professional literature (C1). Of the former, the most popular are The Little Prince, Little Nicolas and Arsene Lupine, as well as the series Découverte: Lecture en français facile from CLE International.

At the avancé level (B2), people start to feel the language. They can look at the constructs in the text and admire the skill of the writer. But don’t think that if you are learning French you have to love their classical literature. It’s hard to read it, and it’s even harder to understand. The Three Musketeers in French no longer seem so exciting.

Reading should be enjoyable. Don’t like classics? Well, okay. Look for detective stories or fantasy stories. For example, the thriller Nuitor the novel Une anglaise a bicyclette by contemporary French writers. The language in them is just as rich, but more relevant. If your goal is to work in a French-speaking country, read the professional literature right away. This will help you grasp the vocabulary you need faster.

Resources

Expression écrite — How to write in French?

The spelling of French is difficult not only for foreigners, but also for the native speakers themselves. Even such simple words as beau [handsome] or beaucoup [many] cause errors. What to expect from something like immarcescible [unbreakable]. If you need French to communicate, you can take a breather and skip the writing part. But for those who study langue française for study or work, we advise you to be patient. Writing will have to be studied long and hard.

Find assistance

First, look for someone who will review what you have written and correct your mistakes. Ideally, they should be a native, but anyone who speaks French at a high level will do. Try HiNative for asking questions to native speakers, or LangCorrect. There they correct your texts. But keep in mind — the spelling in French is so difficult that even the French can have a hard time.

Therefore, do not neglect the self-tests. And use all the available technologies: auto-edits in Word, electronic dictionaries, resources like Bon Patron or Languagetool. Don’t neglect searching for every word. And do not forget about diacritics accent symbols: è, à, ù, They are not optional. Their absence is a spelling error. Also, always check the gender of nouns and the correctness of the declension.

Use simple sentences

Learn synonyms

Try to enrich your speech and make it more elegant. In a conversation, refined vocabulary is not needed, but in writing a well-chosen synonym will guarantee respect from your penpal. For example, it is better to replace the constructions [simple verb + adverb] with one word. Not «crier fortement,» but “hurler.” Not “très fatigué”, but “épuisé.” A good site for finding synonyms is Synonymo. Here are some common French words and their equivalents:

Correspond in French

Language is a living structure. It is constantly changing, and communicating with a native is a great way to stay up to date with all the innovations. This will bring you closer to real life. You will understand how the French communicate with each other. Of particular interest are the slang phrases and abbreviations, like mdr, a +, biz, slt, etc. The textbooks won’t teach you that. Look for a conversation partner in the HelloTalk, Ablo, or Italki apps. The latter is designed specifically for learning. There you will find French teachers from different French-speaking countries.

If you’re not ready to have a conversation with another person just yet, start writing to yourself. For example, start a diary or a blog in French.

Resources

Expression orale — How to speak French?

For some, speaking French is the most enjoyable part of learning a language, while for others it is the biggest stress of a lifetime. We will give you some tips on how to speak French.

Say it all out loud

That’s the universal rule for any language, but in French it is paramount. Don’t just read the texts, but retell them. Don’t just learn the words, but enunciate them. Start early. Learned your first five words? Make a sentence out of them. Let’s say you have je — me, aller — to go, cinéma— cinema, aujourd’hui — today. Now can you say «aujourd’hui, je vais au cinéma.» There, your first steps in spoken French. Of course, this is just the starting line. Getting beyond “I want sleep bed” takes a lot of exercise and grammar learning.

One way to practice is to say all your actions out loud. Start in the morning when you got up: «je me lave le visage, je me brosse les dents» I’m washing, I’m cleaning my teeth. or think out loud in French. You can even do it on the street.

Chat in French

Another popular practice option is attending conversation clubs. As a rule, they are organized by language schools.

Expand your active vocabulary

A sore spot for many French learners: «I know a word, but I can’t say it.» Why is this happening? Most likely, this person has been developing their passive vocabulary. It increases well through reading, listening, and watching movies. New phrases and expressions are remembered but do not become an asset. You can fix this by using them in speech. Learned a new word? Immediately use it in a conversation. Repeat it several times in a row to make it easier to remember.

Resources

Prononciation — How to master French pronunciation?

We advise you to give due attention to the correct pronunciation of french words. The difficulty is that some French sounds simply do not exist in our language. And some of those that do exist have different articulations. But learning to speak like a real Frenchman is possible. Here are some tips on how to improve your pronunciation.

Learn phonetics

We’ve already discussed how important it is to start French with the basics. Without understanding phonetics, pronunciation is impossible. The hardest thing for foreigners is with the «burry» r and the sounds [u], [ou], [œ]. In fact, you can read a separate lecture about each sound of this language. If you strive for the most correct pronunciation, analyze them all one by one. Preferably with a teacher. Those who want to come to France and pass for locals, cannot do without the help of a specialist. Otherwise, it is quite possible to study phonetics on your own. For example, TV5Monde offers a good beginner course.

Also, be sure to watch your articulation. The key to understanding French prononciation is the correct placement of the tongue in the mouth. Not only listen to what the person says but also watch how they do it.

Read tongue twisters

Advice for advanced language learners — take a chance. Grab a French tongue twister, read it in your head, and cry some in the corner. Then say it out loud several times, gradually increasing the speed. This is a great way to work out your articulation. Tongue twisters should be selected according to your level. Start with the simplest ones. For example, «douze douches douces.» The day will come and you will confidently say “les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches? Archi-sèches?«.

Learn pronunciation by ear

Technique fit for all levels — listen to as much French as possible. Songs, movies, podcasts, street conversations — anything will do. Just be careful with intonation. There is a difference between how people communicate in everyday life, how announcers read the news, and the performers sing.

To master the pronunciation, repeat after the speakers. And try to convey not only the words but also the emotional coloring of their speech. You can even duplicate the facial expressions and gestures.

Resources

Where to learn French?

You have four main options for learning French:

Here are several lists of different resources for studying French and getting extra materials.

Why learn French?

French for study

Proof of language proficiency is required to enroll in a French-taught program. You can get it by passing DELF, DALF, or TCF. Preparing for them is not easy, so we advise you to do it with a tutor, preferably — one who has already passed them. Preparing for the exams on your own is also absolutely possible. The fundamental issue is to find the right study materials and train the right skills. Many language schools organize courses specifically for DELF preparation.

Sorbonna University, Paris

French for work

The French language is generally appreciated abroad. With him you can find work in one of the large companies: L’Oreal, Renault, Auchan, Total, BNP Paribas, Dior and others. Plus it is the official language of international organizations: UN, Red Cross, Olympic Committee, etc. So for those wishing to work in the field of international relations, knowledge of French is a must.

French for immigration

If your goal is France, you must be fluent in the language. Without French, life will not be nice there. We have already talked about the difficult relationship of citizens of the Republic with the English language. The situation is no better with other languages. Do you want to live in France? Speak and act like a Frenchman. And to become a fully accepted member of society, you need to know the language. It serves not only as a means of communication, but also brings people closer culturally.

Acquiring French citizenship is a quest. You need to live in the country for 5 years. Graduates of French universities — 2 years. It is also necessary to demonstrate the B1 level of language proficiency, which is not so high. To confirm it, you take an exam. It evaluates your speaking and listening skills, and, since 2020, also covers writing. So you have to learn it.

A few words for those wishing to move to red-and-white Canada. If you are aiming for an English-speaking province, knowledge of French will earn you extra points in the Express Entry system when you receive a visa. And with two languages, it will be easier for you to find a job.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris

French for travel

French may not be as common as English, but it will also come in handy when traveling. First, there are 29 countries in the world where French is recognized as an official language. Most of them are located in Africa. Want to visit Ivory Coast? Secondly, many people forget that France has overseas territories: New Caledonia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others. If you already know Europe inside and out, the French islands in the Pacific are awaiting you eagerly. In addition to the French-speaking countries, you will most likely be understood in Spain and Italy. These languages ​​have similar words and constructions.

New Caledonia — French overseas territory

French for yourself

You don’t have to look for a reason to learn French. It attracts many people not by its practicality, but by its beauty. Someone studies it to sing along to their favorite songs from Notre-dame de Paris. Other brave souls dream of reading untranslated Sartre. Finally, many are passionate about la cuisine française. And the last group just wants to impress their beloved ones. Yes, that happens too. «French is the language of love.» A stereotype? Maybe. But it’s hard to deny that it’s melodic, graceful, and pleasing to the ear. If you are learning French for yourself, just choose whichever method you like. You can start by memorizing songs, and then you’ll get more engaged and sign up for professional courses.

Exams in French

Unlike the huge variety of English exams, there are not as many options in French. Three main tests to determine the level of the language are:

You can prepare for these exams yourself. But it is still better to find a tutor or an assistant, at least for the speaking part. To train it well, you need a conversation partner. Also, pay attention to writing. French essays have their own specificities, different from English.

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How to Learn French on Your Own (in Less Than a Year)

Having a rigid classroom structure is a great way to learn French for some people – but its not for everyone. In fact, many people prefer to learn languages entirely on their own. If you’ve dreamed about becoming a fluent, self-taught French speaker, here’s how to learn French on your own.

A Guide for Self-Taught French

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll define and explore the three essential steps for how to learn French on your own. This guide provides a framework that you adjust and expand depending on previous knowledge and needs. If you’ve studied French before, for example, you may want to gloss over step 1 and start at step 2 (depending on how much you remember).

We’ll also outline how long you should spend on each step before moving to the next one.

Steps for How to Learn French on Your Own

The steps we’ll cover include:

How long will it take to learn French?

In total, these guidelines are meant to help you become conversant in one year. You can speed up the tips if you’re traveling sooner, or spread the lessons out if you’ve got more time to spare.

This post will also explore how to find the best French learning resources, strategies for studying and how to set realistic language goals.

A step-by-step approach to learning French

To help with this guide, we’ve teamed up with French speaker and teacher Jonathan Huggins of Huggins International. Jonathan has been studying French for over two decades, and you’ll find his tips for learning French throughout this post.

Ideally, you’ll spend one hour each day practicing French.

You can also double up on the weekends – the most important thing is that you can commit to around 7 hours per week. Our guide highly suggests that you find time to converse in French, too. This is an essential aspect of listening and speaking comprehension, but we’ll outline tips for that later.

According to Jonathan, you should also choose the right time of day to learn French. For example, your brain might not be alert and active if you try to squeeze in time at the end of the day after work, or too early in the morning before you’ve had to time wake up.

“Instead, find a moment when you are at your optimum and can focus for a few minutes on both reviewing previously learned content and some new material” Huggins adds.

How to Learn French on Your Own: Getting Prepared

In addition to setting aside time, you’ll also need to be motivated, determined and patient. Every form of self-taught education requires this trait. However, it’s especially important when learning a difficult language like French all on your own.

Lastly, to mentally prepare yourself for this exciting journey, you’ll need a solid dose of concentration. If you’re constantly leaving mid-lesson to take the dog out or check your Instagram feed, the whole process will become more frustrating. This is why it’s so important to choose a time of day when you know you’re most productive (which probably isn’t after a long day at work).

Tips for Learning French on Your Own

Remember: this guide is designed specifically for people who want to become fluent in French through a self-taught program lasting up to 12 months.

If you’re looking for a crash course or you’re heading to France next month, our post on how long it takes to learn French may help you create a realistic short-term goal.

You’re still reading… which means you’re confident and ready to learn French independently. Great! Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Get your Footing and Set Goals

Time commitment for step 1: 1-3 months

The first few weeks of your French learning journey are all about gaining your bearings. This stage will familiarize you with French speaking and help you create a strong foundation.

To get started, its important that you choose a method you enjoy.

According to language expert Jonathan, there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all approach to learning French. “It really depends on understanding your individual learning style. Know what you prefer and what gets you the best results” he adds. So, it’s best to choose a format depending on how you like to learn and gain information.

Here’s how to choose a French resources based on your learning style:

Here’s how to learn French on your own by finding the right resources. (Feel free to mix and match mediums if you enjoy more than one format!)

For someone who loves reading:

Grammar books may be best for your learning style if you love reading. There are thousands of options in your local library and online, but some are better than others. Check out this list of the top French grammar books to narrow your search.

Note: you won’t be reading this grammar book cover to cover. Rather, you’ll use it as a reference to better understand tenses and conjugation as questions arise throughout your lessons. If you prefer reading, you should also combine book resources with listening or visual resources to ensure you don’t get too bogged down by grammar.

If you’ve always learned best by listening:

Podcasts might be a better first option if you’re a big fan of music and radio programs. Podcasts are a fun and free way for beginners to become more familiar with the language. For help finding the right one, visit our roundup of 10 podcasts in French to improve your listening skills.

If you’re a visual learner:

You might also benefit from using apps or online tools, which allow you to visualize French phrases in context. Clozemaster is a helpful tool that helps you test yourself daily and track your progress as your skills advance.

Find a Textbook

To get started on step 2, you’ll first need to find a proper textbook. Just like grammar books, there are thousands of French textbooks to choose from. When you’re trying to learn French on your own, however, you’ll need a textbook that won’t require the aid of a teacher.

Therefore, a book designed for self-guided learning is best. You could find a free resource, like this French textbook from Wikimedia Commons, then pair it with a book that includes dialogue.

Explore Dialogue

Dialogue in a textbook is important for many reasons. It can be read, written down, and most importantly, practiced aloud. Take turns reading through both sides of the conversation. Pronounce the best you can, and research words that you don’t understand. Get used to the way this feels.

Make your own French Dialogue

Once you’ve gotten more comfortable with the pronunciation of words, even just to yourself, you’ll want to use those words to form sentences of your own.

Pull out sentences from dialogue and make them true for yourself. You might also try mixing them around into a different structure. for example, you could transform a statement into a question to practice your inquiry skills.

Or, you might take a sentence where someone agrees and turn it into a sentence where that person disagrees. Then, explain yourself and pretend you’re disagreeing with someone in a real, thought-provoking conversation.

These exercises will help you navigate the world of fluid French speaking.

Step 2: Test and Practice

Time commitment for step 2: 3-6 months

After studying French for a few months, you’ll be off to a great start. But it’s important to test yourself on what you’ve learned.

To continue going strong and avoid getting stuck on the plateau, its important to constantly be learning. In this context, learning means both remembering and using what you’ve learned while also acquiring new and challenging vocabulary.

The best way to learn French on your own is to constantly revise, test and practice. If you’re not going over what you’ve learned, it’ll likely fade from you memory as quickly as it was acquired.

Start Reading

Reading is one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with more complex sentences and new vocabulary. As we discussed previously, its important to engage with topics you enjoy.

If you enjoy cooking magazines, for example, pick up one in French. If you’re a fan of science fiction, opt for a book of this genre in French. As long as its written in French and its interesting to you, its a go.

How Often Should You Read in French?

At this point, you should commit to reading French for 15-30 minutes per day. Depending on the other work you’re putting in, this could certainly be scaled up or down. The most important thing here is that you’re using reading time to practice your vocabulary.

Reading to expand your vocabulary

Be sure to write down words and phrases that you haven’t previously encountered. It’s especially important to be aware of expressions and ideas that are relevant to your personal life.

If you’re an artist, for example, a history book about Monet might offer some helpful terms regarding your profession, which you can use to talk about yourself in conversation. Since you’ve already chosen a topic that interests you, this should come naturally!

At the end of each week, take time to review these new terms and test yourself on them. Slowly rotate old cards out as you add new cards to the deck – this will ensure you’re always reviewing new and old content at the same time.

Staying focused

You might be tempted to use your smartphone or computer to look words up. Don’t! Your smartphone doesn’t know how to learn French on your own. Instead, the best way to learn French is to truly, deeply focus. If you’re constantly checking your phone you will get distracted and your learning will be less effective. This is true even if you’re trying to look up something in French amidst reading and testing. Stick to the books and you’ll get results much faster.

Reading aloud

As you expand your vocabulary, it’s important to practice speaking words and phrases aloud. If this is your first time speaking French, the accent will likely feel clunky and strange in your mouth – that’s normal.

Jonathan explains that it’s important to accept the fact that you won’t be perfect outright. Worrying too much about the French u, the French r, and those pesky silent final consonants, for example, can cause frustration.

In turn, this frustration can become an excuse for not practicing your French speaking. To make sure you don’t get caught up in this initial challenge, “focus first on simple effective communication and not on perfection” Jonathan says.

Test Yourself

If there’s one essential tip for how to learn French on your own, its essential to test yourself. Flashcards are a helpful (and free) way to memorize new words quickly and efficiently. Each batch of flash cards should include words and phrases related to a common theme or idea. This gives the words context, which reinforces their meaning for better recall later on.

As you’re working to review what you’ve learned, remember: there’s no such thing as perfect. Focus on trying to get the ideas right and express yourself.

Flash cards are best reviewed for about 15-20 minutes per day. You can do this all at once if you’re feeling ambitious. But, you can also break it up into short 5-minute sessions so your brain stays sharp.

Step 3: Using French in Everyday Life

Its now time to start incorporating even more French into your daily life. The first step? Conversing in French.

Time commitment for step 3: 6-12 months

How to learn French on your own? Talk, talk talk!

French conversation is key for helping you flex your listening muscles while exploring advanced dialogue. Speaking with other people about their lives and interests will also expose you to new vocabulary you haven’t encountered before. From where they were born to what they do for fun, new people open up an infinite world of possibility. (Your grammar book and textbook will certainly come in handy here).

Do you know what else speaking in French can help you with? Confidence.

Sure, you won’t be perfect at first, but who cares. Speaking often is the only way you’ll become confident enough to navigate French conversation and make your way around a new city.

So where can you find a French speaking partner? One of the best resources out there today is called Meetup. This app brings together people from all over a city or region to engage in French speaking practice. Meeting people in person isn’t as scary as you might think.

Remember: they’re all in the same position. Everyone just wants to practice their French with new and encouraging friends.

If you’re not able to meet up with people in real life – or you’d rather not – the internet is filled with French speakers who are ready to chat and practice. You might also find a language exchange, where you can help someone with their English and they can help you with your French.

Not ready to talk yet? Improve your French writing skills

Conversing in French requires another person, and you can’t always have a French speaker by your side 24/7. Speaking can also be stressful and overwhelming at times. The next best option to work on your production skills to practice writing in French.

Resources like The Great Translation Game allow you to practice your French writing skills in a stress-free environment and get immediate feedback. You simply select or upload any text you’d like, read through it in French with English translations (or whatever base language you choose), then work through it again translating from the English back into French. You know what you’re writing is correct as long as you’re using native level content, for example news articles from Le Monde, and you’re learning vocab you’ll need since you’re using resources you’re interested in.

Practicing writing in French is a great way to improve your recall and production skills, skills that will carry over to speaking. It’s also a great way to rapidly expand your vocab and start thinking more in French.

French thought patterns

E ven when you can’t converse with someone or you’re not in front of a computer to practice writing, you can still be practicing the language in your mind.

For example, you can be making comments on the world around you in French. You can describe people and places, or pretend what you might say to a person on the street. Pretend you’re lost – ask for directions in your head.

Thinking in French is an essential part of becoming fluent.

Despite how easy this strategy seems, its often overlooked by people who are learning French on their own. Speaking French in your head also makes French thought patterns a habit, which is a subtle yet powerful way to get more French into your head.

Immerse Yourself in French Culture

Next stop? Living the life of a true French person. From watching TV to listening to music, there are many ways this can be accomplished.

As we’ve discussed, its important to find a medium that works for you. If you’re a total movie buff, don’t overlook the power of French cinema. If you’re a music nerd, opt for that. We’ve covered a variety of ways that you learn French for free, and that post is filled with everything from TV shows to podcasts.

Another way to surround yourself with French culture is to find events in your community. Is there a French alliance or community center? How about a French class putting on a play in French at the local university? Surrounding yourself in the language and culture will further reinforce key ideas and words in your mind.

Make lifestyle changes

Making lifestyle changes sounds difficult – but it is in fact quite easy.

Here are a few simple changes you can make in order to add more French to your daily life:

Put your computer and phone in French mode

This will help you by making French more familiar. It’ll also help you get accommodated to French technology terms and will add more vocabulary to your day.

Switch apps to French language

Also be sure to set your news and weather apps to French regions, no matter where you are in the world. Setting your browser features to French will also expose you to current events and news in the French world.

Instead of seeing English headlines, you’ll be exposed to French ones. Rather than reading news about the English-speaking world, you’ll learn the issues and people that are driving conversation in the French world.

Access lifestyle advice in French

If you’re like most people, you rely on the internet to access recipes, cooking tips, fitness videos, and more. These aspects of your lifestyle guide everyday decisions – so why not take this advice in French?

We recommend using apps like Pinterest and YouTube in French so that you can get exposure to more casual language describing everyday lifestyles.

Conclusion: How to Learn French on Your Own

If you’ve reached the end of this article, congrats! You’ve just taken a very important step towards understanding how to learn French on your own. It certainly won’t be easy – and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the language learning process that’ll work best for you.

Attitude Matters

At the end of the day, when looking for the best way to learn French, it’s important to find something that is simple and enjoyable for you. When it feels like a chore, or like homework, you’ll be less inclined to get the work done. And since you’re the one holding yourself accountable, its important to maintain a positive attitude and a motivated mindset.

Ready to jumpstart your French self-study? Check out Clozemaster – thousands of sentences, grammar practice, and more!

7 thoughts on “How to Learn French on Your Own (in Less Than a Year)”

Thanks Michellle Polizzi for sharing this post with us.
You have really included lot of information about French classes and it is an amazing concept to learn French in our own way. You have written about different learning modes such as learning grammar, speaking and writing French, and get audio visual supports and lot more. It will really help people to learn French from their own room.

thanks for the information

Thanks very much i enjoy going through the article

Very complete Michelle! French teacher approved 🇫🇷

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with readers. I truly appreciate it.

That was the greatest article on the net regarding the language learning process. Not necessary to mention that the learning methods written here can be easily applied to any other languages.

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