List of French language resources to help you in your Language Journey
Free Resources
It may sound weird, but I am a big fan of grammar 😛 . However, French grammar is a tricky son of a baguette, you know! There are more exceptions to the rules than the rules itself(kidding….kinda) which can make it very frustrating for beginners.Â
I definitely have to thank Lawless French for being amazingly resourceful. Another YouTube channel that I absolutely love is Learn French with Alexa! Great channel for French language resources. Below is a list of websites and channels I recommend for honing your French grammar skills. They cater to any level of students.
Also stay tuned for the Grammar related content I am in the process of creating to prepare you for your DELF/DALF exam. You must be thinking “well, there’s plenty on the internet already, duh…” and that’s absolutely right. However, I would like to bring them together under one roof so that regardless of your level, you can always visit this website knowing that you will find what you are looking for. Hope it helps 🙂
PS:
- https://www.lawlessfrench.com
- https://www.frenchpod101.com/blog/2021/03/18/french-grammar-overview/
- https://www.elearningfrench.com/learn-french-grammar-online-free.html
- https://www.tolearnfrench.com/
- Â https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK6TzBHhEUCKa6dgjlsVHEw
- https://www.youtube.com/@FrenchSchoolTV/about
Btw, if you are preparing for DELF/DALF exams, a fabulous website that has a treasure trove of content is partajon! You can choose your level, or simply enjoy their content as a language learner. All the best!
Listening Comprehension
Free Resources
Another obstacle to surpass is when a native speaks to you at their natural speed, you should be able to understand them in the first place. Specially with liasions, sometimes even known words sound foreign, let alone the unknown ones. A great way to improve that is by watching a lot of French TV, radio, news. I
 know some people also recommend music as a tool, but it’s not my thing. But if that’s what rocks your boat, by all means keep rocking! Have a look at my French movie recommendations in my blog post here! Honestly, the internet is a goldmine for these free French language resources but I am mentioning the ones I use the most!
- https://francaisfacile.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/journal-en-fran%C3%A7ais-facile/
- https://www.tv5monde.com/
- Â https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/direct
- https://www.france.tv/france-2/
- Of course Netflix! Great source for French language resources( some great series that I recommend are Dix pour cent, Au Service de la France, Family Business)
- Of course Amazon Prime ( Recommend Salade Grecque, which is a continuation of the movie series with actor Romain Duris. The movies are L’heberge Espagnole, Les Poupées Russes and Le Casse Tête Chinois
Reading Practice
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I cannot stress enough on the importance of reading! Just cannot. Not only it helps you build a solid vocabulary base, the more you read, your understanding of phrasing natural sounding sentences improves, you grasp of grammar better as your subconscious mind starts storing the patterns. And to that if you add reading out loud, it helps improve your pronunciation immensely as it helps you get rid of the unease. Like they say, practice makes it perfect!Â
As you will find in the below list, archives.org is one of the most enriching sources of reading. It ranges from novels including classics which i adore, musical notes, Job interview prep and what not!
Writing Practice
Free Resources
Now this is something that will depend on the kind of person you are, your profession, your interest, etc. For example, if you work at a French entreprise, it goes without saying that you are going to need to write endless emails, project related documents, etc in French. As a student of French language, it would be even more imperative that you have a fair grasp of writing, particularly if you are preparing for DELF/DALF certifications.Â
Personally, I choose topics based on the DELF/DALF level I am preparing for and either write a letter to the Maire, a blog post on a forum, email to a friend or a journal. I then get it checked on the translation website https://www.deepl.com/fr/translator.Â
Now of course, if you have means to get it checked by a native/Francophone person, needless to say, that would be the best. However, Google translate is something to be avoided as its a bit too literal. Its NLP (Natural Language Processing) capabilities are limited. Deepl does a better job.
