More resources for learning French

Coffee Break French

For the last three or more years I’ve been listening to the free French podcast by Coffee Break French. They are by far the best French podcast lessons that I have found. Four seasons of 40 lessons each take you from absolute beginner to confident French speaker.

The lessons are a joy to listen to. Marc and his team do a great job of creating a great atmosphere, and the ongoing story keeps you coming back for more. For example, season four tells a story through a series of emails between the main characters. After a brief bit of banter between the two presenters, the email of the week is read out by a native French speaker. Then Marc gives a summary and Pierre-Benoît picks four phrases which he discusses in more detail. Finally you hear the email again.

I really enjoy the weekly lessons, and find that they give me about enough theory. However, if you would like to put in some serious study time then I suggest you check out their extended materials

MOOCs

Many universities and other institutions offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Some are self-paced (start anytime, work at your own pace) whilst many are live.

I have yet to try out a MOOC myself, but a bit of research brought up the following:

• Open University French
• On-Ramp to AP* French Language and Culture
  A three week class to boost your confidence before starting your AP French Language and Culture class
• Elementary French I at Carnegie Mellon
• Elementary French II at Carnegie Mellon

Or, if your French is already fairly good and you’d like to get more experience, how about signing up for a course which is given in French, on a topic which interests you: 20 free courses in French, of which 3 currently running, 9 starting soon (i.e. register, and then study it as a live remote course) and 2 self-paced (start anytime, work at your own pace). Not for French beginners, but perhaps an interesting way to use (and thereby practice) your French. Actually, one of them is a self-paced course on French Language and Culture (link above).There is also a Foundations of Python course.

More free courses in French at France Université Numérique.

Finally, more free language courses, see this list of free language lessons