ONLINE STUDENT RESOURCES
Dictionnaires et Vocabulaire (Dictionaries and Vocabulary)
WordReference.com - This tool will not translate entire sentences. Use short words and look in the forums for suggestions on expressions. By clicking on "conjugate", the different forms of the verb will be displayed.
Dictionnaire Larousse - One of the best dictionaries available with synonymes and quotes. Search for words in Spanish, French, and many other languages.
ARTFL Project - A bit more advanced than WordReference, but a powerful tool.
Audio/visual dictionaries
Languageguide.org - Choose a language and a theme. Use the mouse to listen to the pronunciations.
French.about - This is a very basic selection of words, but the pronunciations are helpful.
Conjugaisons (verb forms in different tenses)
WordReference.com - Type a verb and click on "conjugate."
Le Conjugueur - Type a verbe and click on "conjuguer."
Verbix - Same concept as the other sites.
Grammaire française (French Grammar)
Tex's French Grammar - University of Texas at Austin offers excellent explanations in English and French.
LanguageGuide.org - Grammar explanations and examples in basic language.
IELanguages - Commercial site linked to products, but offers good examples.
Les articles (le / la / les / un / une / des): LanguageGuide
La négation: Tex's French Grammar / LanguageGuide
Le genre (masculin / féminin) : Tex's French Grammar / LanguageGuide
La conjugaison des verbes (Je parle / Nous parlons): Tex's French Grammar
Les adjectifs (Il est fort /Elle est forte) : LanguageGuide
Médias en français (French Media)
Les journaux:
Le Monde - National French newspaper
Le Figaro - National French newspaper
Libération - National French newspaper
Liste de journaux francophones - Newspapers in French from around the world
Les magazines (Magazines)
1jour1actu - Les clés de l'actualité - Online magazine geared for beginning to intermediate reading levels.
Elle (en français!)
Vogue
Le Nouvel Observateur - Culture (Cinéma, livres, télévision, etc.)
Sciences et Avenir
France Football
L'Équipe
Liste de magazines francophones (Choose a theme to discover magazines from around the world.)
Les chaînes de télévision (Tv channels)
France Télévisions - Groups the national French channels. Choose a channel at the top of the page.
Monludo - France Télévision's site for young viewers that includes games, videos, and coloring pages.
TV5 Monde / 7 jours sur la planète - TV5 offers many online videos designed for learners of French. Explorez!
TF1 - Watch the JT (news) and many other shows.
TF1 Musique - Music videos
TFou! - TF1's site for young viewers that includes videos, games, and coloring pages. C'est "un must!"
Radio-Canada - News and programs from Canada.
Télé-Québec - News and programs from Québec.
Les stations de radios
Radio France - Groups the national French radio stations. Choose a station at the top of the page.
RFI - News and thematic reports for French language learners. "Le journal en français facile" provides a script. "Les exercices d'écoute" include comprehension questions. Excellent choice for the ambitious learner.
Europe1 - News and information.
Funradio - Musique !
NRJ (Energy = Musique!)
Le mouv' - Les hits
TuneIn Radio - Online and an app to listen to radio stations from all over the world. Find a station for extra credit!
France Radio List - Online stations to stream music and talk.
Europe Radio List
WordReference.com - This tool will not translate entire sentences. Use short words and look in the forums for suggestions on expressions. By clicking on "conjugate", the different forms of the verb will be displayed.
Dictionnaire Larousse - One of the best dictionaries available with synonymes and quotes. Search for words in Spanish, French, and many other languages.
ARTFL Project - A bit more advanced than WordReference, but a powerful tool.
Audio/visual dictionaries
Languageguide.org - Choose a language and a theme. Use the mouse to listen to the pronunciations.
French.about - This is a very basic selection of words, but the pronunciations are helpful.
Conjugaisons (verb forms in different tenses)
WordReference.com - Type a verb and click on "conjugate."
Le Conjugueur - Type a verbe and click on "conjuguer."
Verbix - Same concept as the other sites.
Grammaire française (French Grammar)
Tex's French Grammar - University of Texas at Austin offers excellent explanations in English and French.
LanguageGuide.org - Grammar explanations and examples in basic language.
IELanguages - Commercial site linked to products, but offers good examples.
Les articles (le / la / les / un / une / des): LanguageGuide
La négation: Tex's French Grammar / LanguageGuide
Le genre (masculin / féminin) : Tex's French Grammar / LanguageGuide
La conjugaison des verbes (Je parle / Nous parlons): Tex's French Grammar
Les adjectifs (Il est fort /Elle est forte) : LanguageGuide
Médias en français (French Media)
Les journaux:
Le Monde - National French newspaper
Le Figaro - National French newspaper
Libération - National French newspaper
Liste de journaux francophones - Newspapers in French from around the world
Les magazines (Magazines)
1jour1actu - Les clés de l'actualité - Online magazine geared for beginning to intermediate reading levels.
Elle (en français!)
Vogue
Le Nouvel Observateur - Culture (Cinéma, livres, télévision, etc.)
Sciences et Avenir
France Football
L'Équipe
Liste de magazines francophones (Choose a theme to discover magazines from around the world.)
Les chaînes de télévision (Tv channels)
France Télévisions - Groups the national French channels. Choose a channel at the top of the page.
Monludo - France Télévision's site for young viewers that includes games, videos, and coloring pages.
TV5 Monde / 7 jours sur la planète - TV5 offers many online videos designed for learners of French. Explorez!
TF1 - Watch the JT (news) and many other shows.
TF1 Musique - Music videos
TFou! - TF1's site for young viewers that includes videos, games, and coloring pages. C'est "un must!"
Radio-Canada - News and programs from Canada.
Télé-Québec - News and programs from Québec.
Les stations de radios
Radio France - Groups the national French radio stations. Choose a station at the top of the page.
RFI - News and thematic reports for French language learners. "Le journal en français facile" provides a script. "Les exercices d'écoute" include comprehension questions. Excellent choice for the ambitious learner.
Europe1 - News and information.
Funradio - Musique !
NRJ (Energy = Musique!)
Le mouv' - Les hits
TuneIn Radio - Online and an app to listen to radio stations from all over the world. Find a station for extra credit!
France Radio List - Online stations to stream music and talk.
Europe Radio List
OTHER AUTHENTIC RESOURCES BORROWED FROM FLUENT U
1. Géopolitique, le débat
Marie-France Chatin of RFI hosts experts; on each episode they discuss a different theme in current geopolitics. It’s not as challenging for a language learner as it might sound since these are conversations, and as such the themes, vocabulary and information are repeated by the various guests.
2. La marche de l’histoire
This famous radio program from France Inter is also available as a podcast. Host Jean Lebrun focuses on particular moments in history and the characters involved. Archived audio and interviews with those who lived through the events are also brought in when appropriate.
This can be a challenging podcast, particularly if you are not familiar with historical events that are assumed to be part of general knowledge for French listeners. Get a quick bit of background on a subject from Wikipedia before listening to help make things go smoother. (And of course, use the French Wikipedia for these searches).
3. La revue de presse de France Inter
La revue de presse is a staple of French radio, and there are a number of good ones out there if you search for the term in your podcast player. A roundup of various opinions on a particular issue from a selection of newspapers are presented, so it’s a good way to take in different perspectives quickly about whatever is being talked about that day.
It can also point you to interesting articles to read if you want to delve in further. France Inter’s revue de presse is my favorite; it’s hosted by Bruno Duvic.
4. FluentU
Obviously, I’d be remiss not to mention the home to this blog! FluentU isn’t something you want to put on in the background; the site and app are designed for active, motivated learning.
Everything I mentioned in the “strategies” section is already integrated, so that you can learn new words without having to look them up, and have the challenging ones automatically integrated into the spaced repetition system. And, just like the other suggestions here, FluentU makes use of authentic audio sources on all kinds of subjects. It has videos for all levels; readers of this post will want to head straight for those categorized as “advanced” and “native.”
5. RFI Edition Monde 6h
This is how I start my day (though I admit I skip through the sports stuff). Since it’s focused on world news, it can be easier to follow than France-only French news programs, which assume quite a bit of knowledge on your part of the politicians and parties of the day in France. (This concept can be applied more generally; for example, for French news I listen to a podcast in Italian, which tends to cater more to more my ignorance.)
There is no link for the program itself, so search your podcast player for the title or find it streaming each day listed among the other news updates onthis page.
6. RFI Afrique Midi 12h30 TU This program and podcast is a longtime favorite; it introduces you to more types of French accents and provides stories you’re unlikely to get elsewhere. It can also provide balance to your media diet, given the general predilection against reporting news from Africa.
7. Bonjour l’Europe This is a good one to add to your podcast player if you’re interested in European news. The stories are taken from RFI, and part of the fun is that it transports you with sounds and stories from truly all over the continent.
By the way, it’s not very advanced, but before we leave French public broadcasting, I should mention RFI French lesson, as well as RFI Podcast English News, if you just want news from a “French perspective” in English.
8. Si tu écoutes, j’annule tout
These are humorous, insightful discussions about “cleaning up” the mess of modern news. Sometimes they cover topics just ripped from the headlines, and at others discussions focus on trends or recent books. No matter the subject, things are kept light—but you can also expect to learn something.
9. Le Bidule
Le bidule means thingamajig, and as you’d expect, this is an informal conversation. It’s hosted by Maud and Bouli, and the two of them plus their guests discuss all sorts of facets of the culture—music, movies, etc.—of the moment. Beware that the podcast feed is a bit of a pain as it includes “samplers” for each episode as well as very large full episode files.
10. L’inaudible de Walter
This beloved podcast is a bit of a challenge; it’s a symphony of sound and story that bounces around. It is theatrical, fascinating and odd. It should certainly not be your first choice for a French-language podcast, but do dive in if you can handle swimming in some surreal associations.
11. La voix dans la tête
These are rather rambling but interesting conversations between a few friends about everything from technology to concerts. The emphasis is on current culture, and to me it’s not worth careful, dedicated study, but it can be fun to put on in the background as there are occasional gems.
12. Nicole Ferroni
France Inter’s chroniquers (brief opinion podcasts) can sometimes require an understanding of the day’s French politics. Nicole Ferroni is entertaining and sarcastic, but beware that she speaks fast.
Other favorites to look for are François Morel and François Rolin.
13. Rendez-vous avec X
For you Americans, think a French version of “Fresh Air,” though it can sound a bit more didactic. Patrick Pesnot interviews an expert, and all kinds of subjects are covered. One of my favorite things about this podcast is that it can transport you to absolutely any little point in the world, and turn you into an expert on overlooked lands. Recently it’s taken me to Ukraine, Zaire, Iran and Kazakhstan.
14. Librivox
Librivox is a site that offers the audiobook format of over400 classic French works that are available for free, including:
Audiocité also has free recordings of both classic and contemporary literature, often made by amateurs and book-lovers, but still of high quality. To get started with something accessible, start with this collection of funny monologues.
16. Audible.fr | Amazon.fr
If you want new, professional audiobooks, you’ll of course have to pay for them. Two good sources are the French versions of Audible and Amazon. Some language learners like to listen to translations of novels that they’ve already read, which can be comforting, but don’t be afraid to look for French authors’ writing in whatever genre suits you most.
1. Géopolitique, le débat
Marie-France Chatin of RFI hosts experts; on each episode they discuss a different theme in current geopolitics. It’s not as challenging for a language learner as it might sound since these are conversations, and as such the themes, vocabulary and information are repeated by the various guests.
2. La marche de l’histoire
This famous radio program from France Inter is also available as a podcast. Host Jean Lebrun focuses on particular moments in history and the characters involved. Archived audio and interviews with those who lived through the events are also brought in when appropriate.
This can be a challenging podcast, particularly if you are not familiar with historical events that are assumed to be part of general knowledge for French listeners. Get a quick bit of background on a subject from Wikipedia before listening to help make things go smoother. (And of course, use the French Wikipedia for these searches).
3. La revue de presse de France Inter
La revue de presse is a staple of French radio, and there are a number of good ones out there if you search for the term in your podcast player. A roundup of various opinions on a particular issue from a selection of newspapers are presented, so it’s a good way to take in different perspectives quickly about whatever is being talked about that day.
It can also point you to interesting articles to read if you want to delve in further. France Inter’s revue de presse is my favorite; it’s hosted by Bruno Duvic.
4. FluentU
Obviously, I’d be remiss not to mention the home to this blog! FluentU isn’t something you want to put on in the background; the site and app are designed for active, motivated learning.
Everything I mentioned in the “strategies” section is already integrated, so that you can learn new words without having to look them up, and have the challenging ones automatically integrated into the spaced repetition system. And, just like the other suggestions here, FluentU makes use of authentic audio sources on all kinds of subjects. It has videos for all levels; readers of this post will want to head straight for those categorized as “advanced” and “native.”
5. RFI Edition Monde 6h
This is how I start my day (though I admit I skip through the sports stuff). Since it’s focused on world news, it can be easier to follow than France-only French news programs, which assume quite a bit of knowledge on your part of the politicians and parties of the day in France. (This concept can be applied more generally; for example, for French news I listen to a podcast in Italian, which tends to cater more to more my ignorance.)
There is no link for the program itself, so search your podcast player for the title or find it streaming each day listed among the other news updates onthis page.
6. RFI Afrique Midi 12h30 TU This program and podcast is a longtime favorite; it introduces you to more types of French accents and provides stories you’re unlikely to get elsewhere. It can also provide balance to your media diet, given the general predilection against reporting news from Africa.
7. Bonjour l’Europe This is a good one to add to your podcast player if you’re interested in European news. The stories are taken from RFI, and part of the fun is that it transports you with sounds and stories from truly all over the continent.
By the way, it’s not very advanced, but before we leave French public broadcasting, I should mention RFI French lesson, as well as RFI Podcast English News, if you just want news from a “French perspective” in English.
8. Si tu écoutes, j’annule tout
These are humorous, insightful discussions about “cleaning up” the mess of modern news. Sometimes they cover topics just ripped from the headlines, and at others discussions focus on trends or recent books. No matter the subject, things are kept light—but you can also expect to learn something.
9. Le Bidule
Le bidule means thingamajig, and as you’d expect, this is an informal conversation. It’s hosted by Maud and Bouli, and the two of them plus their guests discuss all sorts of facets of the culture—music, movies, etc.—of the moment. Beware that the podcast feed is a bit of a pain as it includes “samplers” for each episode as well as very large full episode files.
10. L’inaudible de Walter
This beloved podcast is a bit of a challenge; it’s a symphony of sound and story that bounces around. It is theatrical, fascinating and odd. It should certainly not be your first choice for a French-language podcast, but do dive in if you can handle swimming in some surreal associations.
11. La voix dans la tête
These are rather rambling but interesting conversations between a few friends about everything from technology to concerts. The emphasis is on current culture, and to me it’s not worth careful, dedicated study, but it can be fun to put on in the background as there are occasional gems.
12. Nicole Ferroni
France Inter’s chroniquers (brief opinion podcasts) can sometimes require an understanding of the day’s French politics. Nicole Ferroni is entertaining and sarcastic, but beware that she speaks fast.
Other favorites to look for are François Morel and François Rolin.
13. Rendez-vous avec X
For you Americans, think a French version of “Fresh Air,” though it can sound a bit more didactic. Patrick Pesnot interviews an expert, and all kinds of subjects are covered. One of my favorite things about this podcast is that it can transport you to absolutely any little point in the world, and turn you into an expert on overlooked lands. Recently it’s taken me to Ukraine, Zaire, Iran and Kazakhstan.
14. Librivox
Librivox is a site that offers the audiobook format of over400 classic French works that are available for free, including:
- This great collection of 25 classic French poems.
- This “children’s alphabet” of vocabulary concerning World War I is quite accessible.
- Many works by Victor Hugo, read in both French and English.
Audiocité also has free recordings of both classic and contemporary literature, often made by amateurs and book-lovers, but still of high quality. To get started with something accessible, start with this collection of funny monologues.
16. Audible.fr | Amazon.fr
If you want new, professional audiobooks, you’ll of course have to pay for them. Two good sources are the French versions of Audible and Amazon. Some language learners like to listen to translations of novels that they’ve already read, which can be comforting, but don’t be afraid to look for French authors’ writing in whatever genre suits you most.