How to read french

7 En Pointe Pointers for Learning How to Read French

With English under your belt, you’ve already got a strong foundation. Some words will be easily recognizable—especially when they’re cognates—which will make understanding the subject of what you’re reading easy at first.

But there are some key things you must do in order to read French well and to eventually be able to read just as well in French as you do in English.

Contents

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1. To pronounce words, start learning French sounds

Reading in French is like a test run to pronouncing French words correctly, so understanding how individual sounds work in French will help you speak accurate French straight from the get-go.

The BBC website is a great place where you can start exploring the similarities and differences between French and English pronunciation.

IElanguages.com has a French language tutorial that offers an overview of French pronunciation intended for English speakers, along with lots of audio so you can familiarize yourself with the way words and sentences sound.

Take some time to get familiar with the sounds, speaking them out loud and understanding the phonetics.

When you feel comfortable, read some sentences from the newspaper out loud (even if you don’t quite understand them yet) to get some practice. Make notes on the page if there’s a sound that confuses you—then look it up.

Find out what kind of technique will help you remember these nuances (for there are many in French!) and implement it as you learn. Will rewriting the sounds with IPA symbols help solidify their sounds in your brain? Or would it be better to watch videos on YouTube or a text-to-speech application like Acapela to hear the native pronunciation?

Consider making notes on objects around the house with their French words, and make yourself pronounce the word out loud as you hang around at home. Recording your voice could help you compare it to the correct pronunciation and evaluate how well you’re understanding.

2. Place sounds together to create words and sentences

After you’ve gotten a handle on how the French pronounce their words, it’s time to put those sounds together to create words and sentences. This is where your dictionary or WordReference come in handy and your vocabulary skills are put to the test!

After you’ve gotten a grasp on how singular consonants and sounds are pronounced, it’s a matter of placing them together and getting into the habit of hearing them combined to create a word. Just like in English, sounds change depending on how they’re organized in a sentence—just think of all our silent letters and strange pronunciations that depend on how words are placed together.

Try doing this yourself and then checking your work by listening to the word pronounced. Forvo is a great resource that has a list of pronounced French words for you to listen to.

A great tool that can help you throughout the entire phonetic process—from learning the alphabet to correctly pronouncing words—is Phonetique, which will teach you every aspect of French sounds (including the liason, the sound that connects certain words in French based on what letter is at the end of a word) and then introduce you to fun exercises that will help you practice what you’ve learned.

3. Get a basic understanding of French grammar

It’s implied that learning how to read and understand French means that you must have a basic understanding of French grammar. Once you’ve nailed the pronunciation, it’s time to get a handle on how these words fit together to create well-structured sentences. To read in French, you’ll need to be able to read long strings of words.

Start with basic French sentences and structures, which will most likely include the present tense (le present) and the most common French verbs. Understand how French sentence structure works. Though both English and French are Subject-Verb-Object languages, elements like adjectives and pronouns are placed differently than in English. Questions are also organized differently in French.

There are myriad books and online resources for getting a handle on French grammar, verb conjugation and sentence structure, including “English Grammar for Students of French,” “501 French Verbs,” Tex’s French Grammar, BBC French and more. Many websites offer free quizzes and games to test you as you learn.

4. Spend time every day reading French

Now that you’ve got the grammar and pronunciation down, it’s time to practice. It’s crucial that you spend every day reading French—even if it’s just a little bit. If you’re a morning person, add reading an article on Le Monde or something else online to your morning schedule.

Perhaps taking a break during the workday to tackle the first few pages of a French picture book could be a great way to change up your normal routine.

Evaluate what your day looks like, see where you can fit in a few minutes of French reading and make it a habit. As you infuse French reading into your daily routine, you’ll find yourself improving quickly and steadily.

5. Diversify your library

From young adult to literary to sci-fi to mysteries, there are so many books to choose from in the French world. Pack your shelves with beginner titles—children’s books are a great place to start—and then hunt down some of the best French writers. Many newspapers and magazines have made online lists suggesting some of the best French writers of both our time and all time (see here and here), and even Amazon is a great spot to find titles similar to the one you end up loving.

While you’re learning how to read, you’ll also learn a lot about the fascinating and diverse French culture, which will only inspire you to keep learning. The greatest part about keeping a diverse bookshelf is engaging in many different aspects that the French culture has to offer.

6. Expand your medium

Reading in French should be just as enjoyable as your leisure reading in English. If you enjoy French novels, stock your shelves with some easy novels in a genre you particularly enjoy. Get a stack of French magazines and place them in a spot for easy, fun reading.

Consider French comics, which have pictures that make reading not only more fun but also easier to understand without constantly having to whip out your dictionary. To get the news and some French practice at the same time, select some newspapers to read online or to pick up locally.

Of course, reading practice can come in all forms, not just that of conventional literature.

When you read tweets, recipes or even subtitles, you can see how French works in the wild—the subtitled content on the learning program FluentU, in particular, focuses on authentic language in French media. Other than interactive subtitles, the videos on the platform also come with transcripts and additional tools to help you keep track of new vocabulary and structures.

And if you’re also a fan of French poetry, consider that as a valuable tool for not only practicing your comprehension, but testing your ability to think conceptually and recognize literary elements like metaphors and similes.

7. Make your reading a social activity

Book clubs don’t only exist in the English-speaking world. Find some French locals and meet up often to talk about a book—or even just the news or an interesting feature in a magazine. If you’re held accountable for what you read, you’ll find yourself working harder to truly comprehend, and in turn, you’ll inevitably learn more quickly.

If there isn’t anyone local, try some book chat online! Book Node is a great website for general discussion about books, news in the literary world, and more.

From sounding out French consonants to conquering Baudelaire, reading is a learning process that’s certainly worth venturing into. Use the plethora of resources available to you, and practice, practice, practice!

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5 Smart Steps for Learning to Read in French

Ever tried to read a French book and come up feeling like you understood less than when you started?

Ready to move past Astérix and Obélix?

This is your chance!

Reading in French, like reading in any language, requires quite a few tools. Of course you need to have basic French comprehension, but even if you’ve been taking classes and practicing different grammar exercises, you’re likely not reading at native level yet. But we can fix that! Soon, reading French books will be the “B A Ba.”

“B A Ba” is a French expression used to mean the basics; the expression comes from when a child is first learning to read and discovers that B-A is pronounced Ba. It’s just the beginning, but it’s a very important skill!

So let’s start at the very beginning and see how far we can go with just a bit of time and effort.

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5 Smart Steps for Learning to Read in French

1. Read Children’s Books in French

One of the best places to start when you’re learning to read in French is with children’s books. Children’s books use simple sentence structures and vocabulary, so you’ll be able to follow the books easily. From there, you can take whatever grammar structures and terms you pick up from these books and see how they function in different contexts with the help of FluentU.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

Try FluentU for FREE!

Children’s books are an awesome segue into more intermediary concepts, though there are tons of beginner-friendly content on the platform. To learn more about FluentU, check out their free trial.

Here’s a great list of French children’s books to start with. But be aware, just choosing the book is only the beginning. When you’re reading in French, especially when you’re just starting out, you have to read smart to succeed. It’s not enough to just read the words on the page. Take notes, jotting down vocabulary words you don’t understand. Try to get to the root of different sentence structures that might be unfamiliar to you. Children’s books may be written for young audiences, but forms like the simple past, which you’re likely not used to seeing, are still common.

Above all, don’t get frustrated with your relatively low level of reading at this point. The important thing is to really understand what you’re reading, even if the level is for much younger readers. After all, it’s not your first language! Really embrace the simple stories now; once you’ve gotten the hang of children’s books, you’ll be ready to move on to more advanced reading.

2. Read Translations of Your Favorite Young Adult Novels

Once you’ve mastered counting to ten and meeting animals on the farm with children’s books, it’s time to move on to more interesting things. One of the best ways to learn new French words and get familiar with new French sentence structures is by reading books you already know in translation.

For this exercise, don’t pick the most advanced novels you’ve ever read. Try to choose a series that you liked as a teen or young adult: “Harry Potter,” “Gossip Girl,” “Twilight”… no one’s judging your taste, here! A series is a good place to start, as the translation will adhere to certain style models, and with each book you read, understanding will become easier.

The other good thing about reading something that you already know—or own—is that you can always compare the translation to the original. When you’re not sure of the exact meaning of a phrase, compare it with the original and see if that clears up any confusion.

With this step of learning to read in French, it isn’t as necessary to understand every single word, however. Try reading for comprehension first, and reading again to look for new vocabulary words. Much of French learning with this sort of reading will happen subconsciously!

3. Read Abridged French Classics

Once teen lit is within your sphere of knowledge, it’s time to move on to French literature. But don’t worry! We’re not making the leap from “Harry Potter” to “Les Misérables” quite yet. There are several versions of French classics that are published abridged, either for foreign learners just like you or for young French readers.

The former may have translations or definitions of outdated or difficult words, while the latter will likely be written in a slightly more timeless style. This will allow you to use the vocabulary you know instead of wondering what a redingote (riding jacket) or a carrosse (horse-drawn carriage) might be.

There are several different companies publishing abridged classics, but one of the best is undoubtedly Livre de Poche Jeunesse. These are the versions that are read by French students, so they’re the perfect blend of ease and authenticity. Try some of the following to get you started:

When reading these books, play close attention to sentence structure. The stories have been abridged for readers like you, so if you see a structure that looks unfamiliar, jot it down and ask a teacher or French-speaking friend for an explanation. Understanding simpler sentence structure in abridged versions of these books will help you move more quickly to unabridged classics.

4. Read French Classics

The time has come. You know the stories. You have the tools. You’re ready to read the French classics.

Start out with something simple. Balzac tends to be very straightforward in his storytelling, so you’ll have little trouble following the events of the book. Choose Marcel Pagnol’s stories of his childhood in southern France for a childlike perspective, or try Victor Hugo’s long but easy-to-follow classics.

If you find that classics are too difficult at first, choose one that you’ve already read in its abridged form, so that you know where the story is going and will have an easier time following the direction of the book.

With a bit of research into what was happening in the country at the time, Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist works and Albert Camus’s reflections on society are excellent more contemporary works to try, with simple language albeit complex ideas. Amélie Nothomb is one modern Belgian writer whose absurd stories will be interesting for a more advanced reader, and the prolific novelist will give fans more than enough choice!

Know that no matter which author you choose, you won’t pick up on everything during the first reading. But that’s half the fun! Pick up inexpensive used copies of the books and make notes in the margins. When you come back to the book in a year or two, it’ll be interesting to see how far you’ve come!

5. Reading French Poetry

Once you’ve mastered the French novelist, it’s time to embrace French poetry. As in any language, poetry in French is very figurative, which makes it much more difficult than prose for a foreign language learner to understand.

Start with prose poems from Charles Baudelaire. Many of his poems address his ennui, boredom and dissatisfaction with the world. The common themes are easy to identify, and the more you read of Baudelaire, the more extensive your comprehension of these sentiments will be.

Guillaume Apollinaire is a very interesting poet for French language learners to experience. Many of his poems are not only illustrative through language, but through structure as well. Apollinaire built his poems in the form of their subject, anything from a horse to a person to a bird.

Many French novelists were poets as well; Victor Hugo may be best known for “Les Misérables” and “Notre Dame de Paris,” but he was also a prolific poet. As you’re already familiar with his style, it’s interesting to spend some time with his poetry.

If you step back in time, you can examine the intriguing alexandrin, a French rhyme scheme that plays a similar role to that of iambic pentameter in English. An alexandrin is made up of 12 syllables, and they are often used in rhyming pairs. As opposed to ABBA or ABAB, which are more common rhyming patterns in English, in French you’ll often see AABB. Reading some of these older French poems aloud can help not only with your comprehension of them, but with your general pronunciation as well.

Grammar and vocabulary exercises are a very important part of your language learning, but don’t forget how important it is to immerse yourself in the culture of the language as well.

Reading in French, whether it be mere children’s books or advanced poetry, is one of the most interesting and excited ways to improve your French.

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How To Learn French By Reading (French Learning For Bookworms)

Reading is important in all stages of learning French

When you study French on your own, you should approach the French language with several different methods at once. Don’t just study your French beginners course and wait until you’ve finished it to move on to reading, listening and so on. Do them all at once from the beginning.

Once of the most effective tasks for learning French is reading. Reading helps with vocabulary acquisition and syntax. It’s especially good for learning French grammar. I’d even say that reading is better than studying a grammar book, because reading helps you internalize examples of correct use of French grammar. Textbooks only speak about grammar. It’s theory, and theory can be difficult to adapt to the real world.

So there’s not doubt that reading is helpful for learning French. Even the beginning student can benefit enormously from it. The only problem is this: How do you go about finding useful French text for the beginning French learner?

What to read when you’re only beginning to learn French?

This is a problem that many people face when asking how to learn French by reading. Your vocabulary is limited, there are many concepts you don’t yet understand and reading French texts just seem overwhelming.

There are many possible solutions to this problem. One is to start out with very easy French texts. Comic books «Bandes dessinées» can be a great and entertaining way to get into French reading. Check out the series of Asterix or perhaps Tintin?

Children stories might be another possibility. There are thousands of them readily available online with a few clicks on google. Have a look at The French Experiment which has a lot of stories complete with audio and English translations.

Using tools to make French texts more comprehensible

Even though you’re reading comic books and children’s stories, native French texts might still be a mouthful. This shouldn’t discourage you! When you want to learn French through reading, there are numerous tools and techniques that you might benefit from.

Using Google Dictionary to learn French by reading

When I’ve read French texts online in the past, I’ve found that it helps a lot using popup dictionaries and other tools to understand the text. If you’re using Google Chrome, I recommend that you install the Google Dictionary browser extension. With Google Dictionary you can click on any French word and look it up instantly, without having to switch tabs and paste a word into a dictionary.

Techniques for learning French through reading

Other than using the above tools to make reading difficult texts in French more doable, here are some reading techniques that I use with real paper books:

Parallel reading in French

The French classic «Madame Bovary» by Gustave Flaubert in English and French

It might be helpful to pick up a French novel and its English translation and read them side by side. You can experiment with the amount of text you read before switching to the other edition. If you’re fairly advanced, perhaps you can read a whole chapter at a time. Otherwise, try reading a paragraph in English first, then the corresponding French paragraph. Or maybe it works better sentence to sentence? It’s up to you and it might depend on the book and how its written. This technique can have the disadvantage of being a little difficult to handle. If you get a little frustrated by constantly switching books, try looking up some bilingual books with two languages on facing pages.

Read books in French that you already know well in English

Another way of making a French language book easier to understand, is reading a book, that you have already read one or more times in English. This is slightly more advanced than reading two books in parallel. It can be extremely helpful, however, for not having to try and figure out the finer details of the plot. Those kind of things that are only insinuated in the text or «written between the lines» can add extra strain to an already difficult task. This is avoided with reading books you know well. I’ve read l’Étranger by Albert Camus in French, Danish and Arabic so far. More than a dozen times!

Extensive reading of books just above your level

A great way of learning French through reading is by reading extensively. The books you pick need to be just above your level, but not much! The American linguist Stephen Krashen is known for his input hypothesis which he describes with the slightly cryptic phrase «I + 1». This simply means «the current level of the language + an incremental raise in difficulty». Other linguists like Alexander Arguelles has proposed that you need to know around 97% of the words you encounter in a book. If you do that, the remaining 3% you’ll be able to deduct from the context, and you will have learned the 3% organically in that manner.

If we do the math, it’s actually entirely possible to get far with this method. If a standard page in a book has around 250 words, it can have up to 9 unknown words on each page for it to be within the «97» of known content. If the book is 100 pages long, you’ll have learned around 900 words from reading it. That’s pretty significant!

The problem, however, is that you’d need to do a lot of legwork to find suitable books to read and to put them in the correct order. And they need to be enjoyable to read too!

Listen to French audio books while following along the written word

This can be really enjoyable. Other than helping you learn French by reading, this method helps you with your pronunciation and your listening comprehension. When I was a kid, my teacher sometimes read aloud in a book while we, the pupils followed along. I used to love this, and I still do today, only with audio files instead of my teacher in front of me.

People who haven’t tried this might think that it’s difficult to do this, but actually it’s much easier than doing the two things separately. Physically reading the words on the page while listening really helps you stay focused to what you’re listening to. And vice versa.

If you have a favorite book that you can read over and over again, I recommend that you try experimenting a little with this method. It might sound odd, but I have had great success listening to a French audio book, while following along an English volume. It’s actually not that difficult, but you need to really keep listening to the French audio.

The importance of keeping it enjoyable

When you learn French through reading French books, you have to be in for the long run. And if you’re not consistent and keep reading on a regular basis, you’ll lose motivation.

This is why you have to read books you really like reading. You might be interested in philosophy or history, but if it gets too dry and complicated to read it in French, don’t bother! I made this mistake when first starting out reading in French. The problem is that even though I might find some complicated topics interesting in my native language it remains difficult. I have to think about the subject to understand it. If I were to do the same in a foreign language that I’m learning, it would be double the difficulty.

In the same way, you shouldn’t read classic just because they’re classics. If it feels too difficult to get through the book, put it down and do something else! When I read in a language I am learning, I never look words up in an old fashioned dictionary unless it really bugs me. Constantly putting the book aside to look something up just kills the enjoyment, and you never really get submerged into the story.

So go start reading in French!

How to learn French through reading? I hope that this article have given you a few ideas. Reading French can be extremely rewarding. Wether your goal is to gain a new skill or if it is more specifically related to reading French literature, I highly recommend to read right from the beginning.

Reading in French: How to Become a French Bookworm

But if you have a little more time on your hands, why not pick up a French novel?

Contents

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Why Learn French Through Reading?

It might seem daunting, but reading is one of the best ways to improve your French. It’s a great way to pick up new vocabulary, especially for your written French.

You might not understand everything 100%, but the process of looking up words and digesting sentence structures will push your French to the next level.

And if you’re already an intermediate learner, it’s a great way to teach yourself French.

Of course. reading French writing—whether it’s books, news, or something else—is going to give you tremendous insight into French culture.

And of course, the French have made tremendous contributions to world literature. There are so many amazing French texts just waiting to inspire you!

Is It Too Early to Start Reading French?

It’s never too soon in your odyssey to learn French to pick up a book or magazine. Reading will boost your capacity in all language areas by enriching your vocabulary and your understanding of grammatical structure.

Never think that you are too much of a novice to start working on reading skills. There is a vast selection of materials available for all levels. From the simple, elegant poems of Victor Hugo, the funny adventures of Sempé’s Le Petit Nicolas series, one of the fantastic daily newspapers, fashion or sports or art magazines—there is something for every taste and level.

There are also many different learning tools, such as books specially designed for French students that have French on one side of the page and the same text in English on the other; or books created for learners that include extensive vocabulary aids.

Another interesting way to improve vocabulary is to check out illustrated dictionaries. These are frequently divided into sections based on themes, such as Foods, Clothes, Tools, Animals or other categories.

10 Tips on Reading in French for French Learners

Here are a few tips to help you become a lecteur or lecteuse confirmé(e) in no time:

Make sure you choose material suitable for your level.

If you start out too ambitious, you may end up frustrated and be tempted to quit. Don’t be afraid to try children’s books. The “Petit Nicolas” books by Sempé engage the kind of humor that appeals both to children and adults and is charmingly illustrated with Sempé’s famous signature cartoons.

Speaking of cartoons, there are also lots of comics for grownups available. The French are huge Manga fans, and there are literally thousands of French-language comic strip books available for adults online or in bookshops. There are also several classic works of fiction written in clear, straightforward language such as “L’Etranger” by Albert Camus.

The poems of Jacques Prévert, studied by French school children from a young age, are another excellent choice for exploring the beauty of the French language at its simplest, most playful best. For more advanced learners, the poems, plays and novels of Victor Hugo provide an overview of French history in classic, elegant language that makes him one of France’s most beloved authors.

Build your vocabulary.

You don’t have to understand every single word when you read in a foreign language. Sometimes, the context of the sentence can help you to decipher the meaning of a particular word. However, reading presents an opportunity to identify, learn and retain new vocabulary and it is important to understand those words that are key to the overall content.

Keep a notebook and pencil or your favorite note-taking app ready next to you while you read. When you come across new words, try to work them out from the context. If you can’t, write them down to look them up later. Take an extra moment to write down the sentence that the word appeared in—many words have multiple meanings and the context will help you figure out later which meaning was being used.

When the time comes to look up the words, you can do so with even more context on FluentU. Search for a word in this language learning program and you’ll see all the different possible definitions as well as common phrases that use the word, each as its own flashcard.

Click on a flashcard to see that specific definition, grammar information, example sentences with audio readings and clips from other videos that show the word in use with that meaning. You can save these flashcards to personalized decks—for instance, you could make a separate deck for each book or short story you read.

When you search for a word, you’ll also see every video on FluentU where it appears. Give your vocabulary words more meaning by seeing them in use naturally in authentic French videos like music videos, commercials, movie and TV show clips, news segments and more.

Both flashcards and videos have review quizzes designed to optimize your memorization of the word. This means you’ll get a personalized experience with exercises that adapt to your learning progress. You can use FluentU in a browser, but if you download the iOS or Android app, you’ll also get opportunities during these quizzes to practice your pronunciation by speaking your answers.

Choose books specially designed for French learners.

There is a wealth of books available from publishers on both sides of the Atlantic that are specifically created for language learners. They provide extensive glossaries, pre-reading exercises and comprehension checklists. Some books have the text in French on one page and in English on the other, so you can compare words and sentences, or glance over at the English language when you get stuck.

To find a book like this, just search for French Readers on Amazon or your bookstore of choice.

Read about subjects that interest you.

Many people who choose to learn French are interested in French culture in general. It is, therefore, no coincidence that a huge selection of books in simplified French language is available for learners to explore French history, literature, art or philosophy. However, reading in French doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to read about France!

If the reign of Louis XIV doesn’t float your boat, be honest with yourself and admit it. Reading something in a foreign language that doesn’t truly grip your interest is going to be hard going. Choose a text about something close to your heart. Are you are a gardening aficionado? Pick up an illustrated book on gardening. Fancy yourself a talented chef? Choose a nice cookbook and start with an easy recipe.

You can support your reading with the dual-language subtitles on FluentU, which also conveniently lets you choose the topics and videos you’re most interested in. Plus, you can read the full transcripts for any video, which are supported by audio and instant translations whenever you need them.

Surf the internet in French.

Believe it or not, a large amount of reading happens every day without us even realizing it. Whether you’re scrolling your favorite social media website, using Google or checking your email inbox, these are golden opportunities to practice reading in French.

The easiest way to surf the internet in French is to change your language settings. This can be done by changing the interface language of your internet browser or your email inbox to French in the “Preferences” tab. You can also change social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even YouTube to use French as the interface language as well.

Want to look up information on the internet? Simply use Google.fr for French search results or access the world’s favorite open encyclopedia, Wikipedia, in French.

Get recordings of texts and follow along.

Find recorded versions (available for the French classics and popular texts) of your book and listen as you follow the words in the book. Listen to the CD as you drive to work, then read the same passage later.

Audiobook services like Audible and Libro.fm offer pretty expansive selections of French audiobooks—or, if you’re on a budget, you can check out your local library’s offerings for free with an app like Overdrive.

Read out loud.

Combine honing your reading skills with improving pronunciation by reading out loud. Find someone who can listen to you and give helpful feedback. You could even record yourself and play it back while reading along.

Read every day.

As with acquiring any new skill or talent, learning French takes discipline. And practice. Set aside 15 minutes every day—in the morning when you first wake up, in bed before you go to sleep at night or, yes, during your daily commute (unless you are driving!) to read in French. Just make sure that you keep going! A little each day, and before long you’ll be a true mordure de lecture (bookworm).

Read the French news.

Go online and read the news in French. There are many news websites available. The advantage of reading online is that you can copy and paste words you are struggling with into an online French-English dictionary.

Choose a news story you’re already familiar with. Scan the text quickly before reading and look up any words you don’t know. Then, go back and read the entire article.

Read books you already know.

Finally, choose a favorite story that you know inside and out and read it in French. Already knowing the storyline will allow you to sit back and enjoy the French language used.

These suggestions should allow you to jumpstart your French language reading. Bonne lecture!

Learn How to Read French Effortlessly In 8 Steps

By OptiLingo • 7 minute read

How to Read French

Reading is an essential part of learning a language. And to reach fluency in French, it’s the first skill you need to master. Fortunately, French uses the Latin letters, so the French alphabet is already familiar to you. But, there’s much more to reading in French. Learn how to read in French effortlessly, and develop your fluency rapidly.

Why is Reading in French Important?

Reading is one of the four pillars of language learning. Along with speaking, writing, and listening, it’s an essential skill for achieving French fluency. Without reading, you can never learn French effectively.

Once you’ve learned how to read French, you can enjoy French life easily. From reading street signs to restaurant menus, the entire world opens up to you.

What Can You Read in French?

Literally anything with French words on it. Every little bit that you read in French gets you closer to reading comfortably.

There are countless other ways you can get access to French texts. I’ll let your creativity come up with alternative options. But, the big question is, how can you practice reading French? What can you do today to learn how to read French effortlessly? Read our tips to make the best of your French lessons.

Step 1: Read in French for Fun

Most importantly, you need to enjoy reading in French. The moment you feel like it’s a boring exercise to learn a language, you’re sabotaging your own fluency. Make sure you find materials that you enjoy spending time on. Whether it’s fiction books or lifestyle blogs, as long as you have fun, you’re practicing reading in French well.

Step 2: Start with Useful French Vocabulary

You need a certain level of vocabulary before you begin reading in French. Knowing the majority (but not all) of the words in your text is how you make your French reading enjoyable and engaging. Words are the smallest building blocks of sentences. Familiarise yourself with useful French vocabulary first. When you first start practicing French reading, you’ll surely encounter unfamiliar words. It’s best to write these down, or look up their meaning if you can’t guess their meaning from context.

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Step 3: Practice Reading in French with Other Skills

French fluency is much more than just reading. You need to write, listen, and speak French equally well. Luckily, you can combine these activities easily. Read a transcript of a French podcast, or read a French article out loud.

French pronunciation is a minefield. There are a ton of letters that you don’t pronounce. So, how do you know how the text you’re reading is pronounced? You need plenty of listening practice along with speaking practice. You can still understand the meaning of the words and sentences. But, it gets easier once you tie the sounds together with sight.

After learning about the pronunciation of singular consonants and sounds, start placing them together and ensure you hear them combined to create words regularly. Just like reading in English, sounds in French change depending on how they’re organized in a particular sentence.

Step 4: Understand Basic French Grammar

For you to learn how to read and understand French, you need to ensure you have a basic understanding of grammar. From sentence structure to verb conjugations, make sure you know the basics well. To read complete sentences, you need to know how they’re constructed.

Learn French present tense first. Just like in English, French follows the Subject-Verb-Object sentence structure. So, reading this way won’t be confusing for you.

However, there are some differences. While you place adjective before nouns in English (happy cat), you do the opposite in French (chat heureux). Questions are also in French. You can explore a wide variety of books and online resources to help you get a handle on French grammar, verb conjugation, and sentence structures.

Step 5: Make Reading in French a Daily Habit

Practice makes perfect. And the best way to practice is to do it a lot. THe more you read, and build the activity into your daily routine, the easier it is to make it a habit. Spend a set amount of time on reading in French every day. Even reading a little bit can be helpful. Soon, it will become like second nature to you.

Step 6: Build Up the Difficulty

While you may start out easy, you can build the difficulty of your French reading practice. If reading in French is difficult, start out with children’s books. Just like children learn language, you need to reach a certain level of fluency before you can move on. These simplified sentences with visual aids are the perfect reading materials for beginners.

Once you’re ready to move on, try reading menus, articles, and short stories. Raise the level of difficulty each time to keep your material engaging, but not too hard. Finding this optimal level is called comprehensible input in language learning. It’s the key to learning a language fast.

Step 7: Explore More Mediums in French

Don’t be afraid to branch out. Perhaps you’ll find a new medium you’ll enjoy reading. If you’ve only read French novels so far, look for a newspaper article. Pick up a short storybook from the library. Lookup a recipe online. There are a lot of options for you to read French.

The more kinds of mediums you try to read, the more enjoyable your French reading practice will be. And, it will also enrich your life. You’ll learn about concepts and events you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Step 8: Form a French Book Club

You’re probably not the only one in your area who enjoys French books. Look for a French book club, or found one yourself with friends. You can talk about your favorite reads, exchange tips, and practice your French listening skills at book club meetings. Share the joy of learning with other bookworms and French language learners.

Learn to Read French Confidently

If you want to raise your French knowledge quickly, you need a reliable language learning method. One that isn’t focused on just reading. You need to learn other skills as well to become fluent in French. So, if you want to combine, reading, listening, and speaking, OptiLingo is your best option.

OptiLingo gives you the most common words and phrases. So, you can enhance your vocabulary with useful French expressions. You’ll learn enough words quickly to start reading bigger texts. And, this app also makes you speak the language. So, you’ll always be comfortable speaking French to locals. Try OptiLingo today, and discover how effective learning French can be!