I made a list of ten tips to help you to improve your French. Some of them seem obvious but I wanted to write down this list of how to learn French since some readers have been asking for tips to learn French.
1 – Play the game Skribbl
It is a website where the concept is for people to take turns drawing a word they’ve chosen and for the other player to guess it. Well, you can change the language to French if you want to test just how many words you know. It’s a random and fun game so if anyone is looking for a way to change up their French practice. Give this a go!
2 – Watch French movies / French YouTube channels
Watching French movies with subtitles of your native language is a great start to learning French. When you will feel confident with your French listening comprehension, watch it with the French subtitles. You will improve your French writing. I wouldn’t recommend you to watch an American movie with French audio, I really hate it, the lips do not match with the audio. One of the readers of French Iceberg gave me an interesting tip that I am going to quote:
In the USA and Canada we have now Disney plus with all the Disney movies and most of them come in French with French subtitles, this is perfect to learn French.
This is true, it works for cartoons, for example, I prefer to watch French audio of South Park, the Simpsons, or American dad, the French voices are hilarious.
I made two lists by the way about French movies and French YouTubers:
One more thing, there are great French TV shows like Braquo or Guyane produced by Canal Plus or Call My Agent on Netflix.
There are two applications a reader recommends me to use:
- Yabla French: Videos in French with subtitles, translation, and exercises
- Mubi: Foreign movies and many of them are in French
3 – Listen to French songs / Podcasts
Another pleasant way to work on your French listening comprehension. You can learn about French slang and French pronunciation. I wrote a lot of articles about modern French music artists (French mainstream artists, French pop artists, and French rappers).
In terms of application, you can use:
- LyricsTraining: Music videos in French with subtitles / Translation and exercises
Listening to podcasts is a great way to learn French too. There are some especially about learning French.
There are two podcasts that I love to listen to. The first one is about the cinema made by the creator of the YouTube channel Tales from the click (Link to Spotify):
The other one is about a French humorist, Seb Mellia who invites some other French comedians to talk about the news. It is a lot of fun listening to this French podcast.. like the previous one 🙂 It is on Spotify and YouTube Link to 4 Comiques dans le vent mais à contre sens.
4 – Read French books / Newspapers / Blogs
A great way to improve your French writing skills here is a (short) list of the main French newspaper in France:
- Le Monde (Center)
- Le Figaro (Right)
- Libération (Left)
I would recommend you to check out French blogs about learning French like French Today or Street French. France and especially Belgium created great comics. I would recommend you to read some of the French comics!
5 – Participate in French conversation groups
As I said I’ve been learning language mostly because of speaking and not writing. This is my way of learning languages. In every capital or big city in the world, there is a French Alliance (Alliance française) or French Institute.
They were created by the French government to promote the French language worldwide and increase its soft power. There you can take classes and learn French. For Europeans, there is the student association ESN linked with the scholarship Erasmus. They sometimes organize speaking group meetings, you can probably meet a French person and learn about French culture.
6 – Use Language apps
There are tons of apps out there to learn French or a language like Babbel or Duolingo. My favorite one so far is Tandem. You can use it for free and talk with people all over the world. You can look up French speakers and learn about French by writing to them. There is also a premium version where you can take classes with language teachers.
You can use translation applications, everybody knows Google Translate but I would recommend two apps.
- Deepl: Translations
- TripLens: Translates images and objects
7 – Write a vocabulary list
Write down a list of basic French words or French verbs and put them on your desk or in your restroom. In that way, you will be learning while.. 🙂 By the way, here is one more fun article about French idioms.
I recommend you use two great apps for vocabulary learning:
- Memrise
- Tinycards
8 – Modify your phone language settings
A simple tip is to modify your language settings from your phone. You will be learning French words without noticing it after a while.
9 – Use French exercise books
This is maybe the less fun tip but learning French through grammar or vocabulary French books will give you the base for French. I also recommend the blog lesideesdusamedi.fr. You’ll find a number of fun games to make for children in French.
10 – Live abroad
This is a pricey tip (but fun) to learn French except if you found a paid job in France. I’ve learned English and Spanish thanks to my time abroad (Internships and studies). Working as a fille au pair can be also a great way to immerse yourself in French culture.
One important thing when you go to live abroad or in that case in France, don’t stick with people speaking your native language, It is a BIG mistake. You will tend to switch back to your native language and you will be learning way slower. You definitely have to go outside your comfort zone and try to meet new people.
(Bonus) – Have a boyfriend or girlfriend
I saw some of my friends dating a foreigner while abroad and this is the best way so far to improve your French skills. People are learning so fast while dating someone speaking another language!
I hope you discover at least some new tips and resources on how to learn French with fun. I am curious to learn some of your tips about learning French. Feel free to write it in the comment section 🙂