Learning French Online

Recommended Learn French SoftwareNote: This is page 2 of our article about learning French online. For page 1, please go here: Learn French Online

Ways to Learn French Online continued…

French Podcasts

There are several French podcasts available for learning French that you can download for free.  Most of these French learning podcasts offer supplemental written material on their website, often for a fee.  The supplemental PDFs will outline the new information presented in each lesson and in some cases, explain certain concepts in more detail.  Popular French learning podcasts also have online forums where people can ask questions and help each other out.

In some ways, learning French online via a French learning podcast can be favorable to signing up for an online French course, because with a podcast you can download current and previous lessons to determine whether or not the podcast’s teaching style works for you.

French Pronunciation

If you need help pronouncing a particular word in French, there are websites that you can visit where people (usually native French speakers) pronounce various French words.  All you do is type your word into their search engine and if there is an audio file of a real human voice pronouncing that word, you can click to hear it.  These can quite helpful reference tools while you’re learning French online.

French Learning Forums

There are also online forums for people who are learning French.  On these forums, you can ask all kinds of questions related to French vocabulary, French grammar, pronunciation of French words, as well as the learning process.  You can help correct each other’s French paragraphs and ask for help with your French homework.

In an online French learning forum, you will find yourself in a virtual community of people with the same goal in mind: learning French.  Being part of such a community is an invaluable free resource that can help keep you motivated, especially when you are learning French online by yourself.  When you help others, you will feel encouraged when you discover that you have French language knowledge that you can share!

French Videos

Seeing and hearing people speak French is an invaluable way to get comfortable with the French language.  On YouTube, you can watch all kinds of French videos, from television extracts to snippets from popular French movies, and from French music videos to French children’s shows.  You can watch subtitled French videos to help you follow the dialogue and action, or you can watch them without subtitles to get yourself used to the pace and rhythm of listening to the French language.  There are also plenty of videos specifically geared towards learning French.

Other French Websites

There are plenty of other ways to utilize the Internet to learn French rather than to just seek out French language-learning websites.  You can get creative in your quest to learn French by going to French websites pertaining to your interests.

For instance, if you love fine art, visit the websites of French artists or French art museums, and read the site in French.  If you love cooking, visit a French cooking site that is written in French.  If you like French pop culture, read a French magazine online.  Simply use an online dictionary or translator any time you find yourself in over your head with regards to the language.  You will find that you will be more motivated to learn French when you are trying to read about a topic that actually interests you!