The following are the best resources for this dive, broken down by beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
We have tested each one and recommend them.
This French Resource Handbook Below
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French - Resources
The following are the best resources for this dive, broken down by beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
We have tested each one and recommend them.
Resources
Assimil French
1 Break Diver Vote
The Assimil series is fantastic. The website is in French, coming directly from Paris. If you speak some French, it's a lot more fun to order the French version of the courses, but English (and other language versions) are available as well. Go check them out!
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Bonjour de France
1 Break Diver Vote
A site that helps you practice French through a variety of quizzes and exercises. Also offers level specific tests to help gauge skill.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Lawless French
1 Break Diver Vote
A site providing French lessons and a self-study checklist with 30 comprehensive units. Each grammar and vocabulary article offers exercises at the bottom of the page through Kwiziq.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Linguee
1 Break Diver Vote
Linguee is a dictionary used to translate between French and English words. Aside from giving helpful information about word gender and verb conjugation, the site also allows you to search for the vocabulary word in real French articles, so you can translate phrases more accurately.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Tex's French Grammar
1 Break Diver Vote
A guide to grammar made by the University of Texas at Austin. Provides helpful explanations on grammar while narrating the story of two armadillos named Tex and Tammy.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
1jour1actu
0 Break Diver Votes
A site providing news through cute drawings and digestible French. Also has a channel on YouTube called 1jour1question, where questions posed by children are answered through short animated clips.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Advanced French Grammar
0 Break Diver Votes
An overview of French grammar. Reviews everything from verb tenses to different types of pronouns.
Category: Textbooks
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Babbel
0 Break Diver Votes
Babbel is a language-learning website/app with a similar structure to courses you’d see in an online school curriculum. Includes short 10-minute lessons that work well for those with a busy schedule. Keep in mind that the program requires payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
BD's French Fluency Project
0 Break Diver Votes
The French Fluency Project is a program of Break Diving (this website). We all work together to improve our foreign language skills in hundreds of languages. Visit www.breakdiving.org for more information about our not-for-profit corporate mission, and then visit breakdiving.io to join our inspiring worldwide community! We look forward to meeting you.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Blagues Carambar
0 Break Diver Votes
Do you want to master French? Some say humor is the hardest thing to learn in a foreign tongue, well, you can learn French jokes and fun facts at Blagues Carambar.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
BonPatron
0 Break Diver Votes
BonPatron is a great resource for French language learners to check their grammar and spelling. Not only does it correct you, but it provides explanations on how to fix your compositions.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Busuu
0 Break Diver Votes
Busuu is probably the most comprehensive language learning app on the market. This app teaches French down to the nitty gritty grammatical nuances, and really helps you to gain comfort using the language. One of its best features is that you can get feedback from native speakers on written and spoken exercises. Download from your phone's app store.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Clozemaster
0 Break Diver Votes
Clozemaster helps you to learn language in context. According to Clozemaster, learning a language through mass exposure to vocabulary in context is one of the best ways to build proficiency. The site/app uses well-structured fill-in-the-blanks and spaced repetition to ensure you retain new words.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Conjuguemos
0 Break Diver Votes
Even though it sounds like this is a Spanish language learning site, it actually is coded for many languages, including French. Conjuguemos helps you learn and practice conjugations through fun activities and games.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Duolingo
0 Break Diver Votes
Duolingo is a popular language-learning platform that includes both a website and a mobile app. It offers over 94 different language courses, including French. Duolingo teaches the basics of French, including some basic vocabulary and grammar. However, there is no way you will truly learn a language through Duolingo. It is best used as an introduction to a language and as a refresher to keep your skills up and to potentially build some new vocabulary. Note: their podcast on Apple Podcasts is excellent!
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
FluentU
0 Break Diver Votes
FluentU is a video learning site that helps you learn through real video conversations, similar to Yabla. Try it for 14 days free (as of this review).
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Forvo
0 Break Diver Votes
Forvo is a fascinating tool that shows how words are pronounced in various foreign languages. Just type the word you’re looking for into the Forvo search bar, and voilà, you’ll hear it spoken by multiple native speakers. This is excellent for pronunciation. Note: it will take you a few minutes to figure out how the tool works, but it's worth spending a few minutes to master how it works.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
FranceInfo
0 Break Diver Votes
A news site in France with articles on a variety of topics. Many articles provide a video clip in addition to a summary in text for a multi-dimensional understanding of the topic.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
FrenchPod101
0 Break Diver Votes
This is a popular French course that includes downloadable podcast-styled lessons, videos, grammar explanations, and a vocabulary database and dictionary. Premium members gain access to PDF lessons, grammar reviews, dialogue audio, and interactive learning.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Glossika
0 Break Diver Votes
Glossika improves your fluency through a highly repetitive ‘listen and repeat’ approach. It uses an adaptive learning algorithm and structured content to help you improve. Definitely not a conventional course but you’ll be amazed at how effective it is at improving your fluency if you use it daily.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Google Translate
0 Break Diver Votes
Though Google Translate is frequently criticized by language teachers and experts, it remains a useful resource for direct translation. (Just try not to translate whole sentences!) Check for a “Community Verified” mark to ensure that the translation is accurate.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Hello Talk
0 Break Diver Votes
Hello Talk links you together with language partners to help you practice your French skills. Worth taking a look at.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
iLanguages
0 Break Diver Votes
A website that will teach you the basics of French vocabulary, phrases, grammar with audio, flashcards, and quizzes. The site provides French writing with English translation along with the French pronunciation that can help you learn the foundation of French.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
Internet Polyglot
0 Break Diver Votes
Internet Polyglot is an awesome site that offers a huge variety of free games to help you improve your French vocabulary.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Language Drops
0 Break Diver Votes
Language Drops is a language-learning website/app with a colorful layout that's a lot of fun. Teaching solely vocabulary (which is unique in itself), Drops starts with basic vocab and expands to offer highly advanced vocab beyond the scope of most other courses and books. For example: spaceship, garlic, riot police, and political coup. Note: unless you pay, you are limited to 5 minutes per day. If you can afford it, upgrade to the lifetime plan. Or, just be sure to do your 5 minutes every single day.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Language Learning with Netflix
0 Break Diver Votes
This is a Chrome extension that allows you to learn French by watching movies or shows on Netflix. It displays two sets of subtitles: one in your native language and the other in a language of your choice. Keep in mind that you do need a Netflix subscription in order to use this resource.
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Larousse Dictionary
0 Break Diver Votes
This dictionary is also a phone app, and it's probably one of the best available. If you're a serious French learner, get this. It's available on the web as well.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Learn French with Alexa
0 Break Diver Votes
A site offering complete resources for learning French, including videos, worksheets, and live lessons from Alexa. These resources are only available through membership, but the videos are free and available on YouTube.
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
LingoDeer
0 Break Diver Votes
LingoDeer is similar to Duolingo. Some say that they prefer LingoDeer to Duolingo, so if you don't like Duolingo, give this a try.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
LingQ
0 Break Diver Votes
LingQ is similar to Yabla. They describe the service as surrounding yourself with meaningful input that matters to you. You can start at an easy level and work your way up. It features a range of entertaining materials, such as YouTube videos, news broadcasts, blog posts, and Netflix shows. You can choose the topics that interest you and build your language lessons around subjects that will keep you motivated.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Linguno
0 Break Diver Votes
With over 100,000 exercises in French, Linguno helps French learners get better at listening. The site offers flash-card style practice with vocabulary as well as conjugation and listening exercises. You can also play daily crossword puzzles to improve your French in a fun and engaging way.
Category: Audio
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
ListeningPractice.org
0 Break Diver Votes
ListeningPractice.org is the older version of Linguno. It has 47,000 exercises total that cover sentences, texts, and conjugations. You can even take a practice test to see what level your French is at. Their French community has over 160,000 listeners.
Category: Audio
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Living Language
0 Break Diver Votes
Living Language offers a very comprehensive course of self study, through both online courses and self-study textbooks. You can sign up online, or buy the self-study textbooks and audio on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble bookstores. Each set comes with three textbooks: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Lyrics Gaps
0 Break Diver Votes
Lyrics Gaps lets you learn languages through music by filling in the gaps of your favorite songs. Similar to Lyrics Training, but not as cleanly presented.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Lyrics Training
0 Break Diver Votes
Lyrics Training lets you learn languages through music by filling in the gaps of your favorite songs. Truly awesome.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Mango Languages
0 Break Diver Votes
Mango Languages helps you to study foreign language by adapting to how you learn using smart technology. Compare your own recordings with those of native speakers. Mango also gives tips on French culture.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Memrise
0 Break Diver Votes
A language-learning website/app that uses repetition and proven memory techniques to help you learn faster. Good for getting started and learning vocabulary. They also offer native speaker videos which are often pretty cool.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Michel Thomas French
0 Break Diver Votes
Michel Thomas French is an audio course with a variety of levels to which you can commit. In some ways, it is similar to Pimsleur in that it is all audio. Many language learners like the Michel Thomas approach. Helpful for developing your ear in the language.
Category: Audio
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Mondly
0 Break Diver Votes
Mondly lets you learn French through matching games and fill in the blank activities. The first few lessons are free.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Pimsleur
0 Break Diver Votes
Pimsleur is a good option if you want to listen to complete audio or focus on learning conversational French. You’ll hear a series of phrases that get broken down and repeated to you slowly. You then repeat and participate in conversations. It's perfect for learning on the go, and the app even has a driving mode so you can learn while commuting without looking at the screen. The downsides are that the lessons can feel slow sometimes, and there are no books or grammar.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Advanced
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Project Gutenberg
0 Break Diver Votes
Project Gutenberg is an online library of over 60,000 free electronic books. This link will take you to a list of openly accessible French books.
Category: Other Books & Resources
Skill Levels:
- Advanced
RFI
0 Break Diver Votes
A French radio station founded by the government of France. Broadcasts from Paris to the world about a variety of topics.
Category: Audio
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Rocket Languages
0 Break Diver Votes
Rocket French doesn’t follow a "cookie-cutter" approach. It's designed to get you using your new language quickly, correctly, and confidently with audio and written content for all levels.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Rosetta Stone
0 Break Diver Votes
Rosetta Stone is a language-learning website/app that’s widely known and respected, but sometimes criticized because it only teaches you with pictures, when you could more quickly learn by having them just tell you that it's an apple using your native language. It features a TruAccent speech recognition program that helps you work on pronunciation. Keep in mind that the program does require payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Shamengo
0 Break Diver Votes
Shamengo news videos are often presented as part of the excellent TV5 Monde Apprendre app. Here is the main Shamengo site where you can find lots of fascinating material about science, protecting the planet, and other cool stuff. All in French!
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Téléfrançais
0 Break Diver Votes
A Canadian TV series consisting of 30 short episodes about a few children and un ananas (a pineapple) who can talk. Designed for children, but available to all ages!
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
ThoughtCo
0 Break Diver Votes
ThoughtCo is a site dedicated to learning French through instructive articles at all levels of experience. Articles range from discussing basic grammatical rules to improving analytical skills. For example, one article instructs you on how to fake a French accent, while others clarify various forms of subjunctive tenses.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
TV5MONDE
0 Break Diver Votes
It includes videos with written tasks and audio examples, making the learning process more interactive.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
TV5Monde Apprendre
0 Break Diver Votes
Whatever your level, download this app (or visit the website). It is amazing. It is produced by the TV5Monde tv station, and they use their videos to help you improve your French. Each video has 4 - 5 sets of exercises to ensure you understand and learn all the vocab from the video. This isn't 'do the lesson while talking to your friends' (like DuoLingo)---you will need to focus 100% to even come close to answering the questions correctly. HINT: When you get the answers wrong, uncover the right answers, then re-try. Keep going until you get green check marks for each exercise, and then that lesson will be removed from your 'in progress' section.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Udemy
0 Break Diver Votes
Udemy is an online learning platform with video courses on a variety of subjects, including French. This link will take you to the top French courses on Udemy, although some of the results require payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
WordReference
0 Break Diver Votes
WordReference is a dictionary used to translate between different languages (including French) accurately. Each word has a variety of translations based on the context.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Yabla
0 Break Diver Votes
Yabla is an excellent site that teaches French through videos with adjustable speed of playback and definitions of words in the subtitles. It also has games and quizzes, but no grammar.
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
French - Resources
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