If you’ve found and have decided to read this very long article, it means you’ve decided to learn French. And hats off to you for that (or, as they say in French, “chapeau”)!

Language learning never came easy to me, but I still didn’t realize how hard it would be for me to get to a relatively fluid level in French. I’ve struggled through all kinds of ups and downs and wins and frustrations in my French language-learning journey—and a lot of this process has involved trying, discarding, and treasuring tons of different pathways and resources I’ve found for learning the language.

To save you some of the time I spent making my way through the language-learning jungle when it comes to French—or so that you can at least see what someone else has done and continues to do as she learns French—I’ve put together a list of the most valuable resources and experiences I’ve had for learning the language.

French-Language Novels

I read… a lot. (And some would call that a gross understatement.)

However, reading in French seriously intimidated me. I like relaxing into books, and I don’t find struggling through texts that I can’t understand relaxing. (Who does?) In my first few months of learning French, simply getting through the short news articles they handed out in class felt frustrating enough. I couldn’t imagine trying to get through an entire novel.

Finally, someone convinced me to brave a short, simple thriller. And though it took me ages to get through even one page of my first French novel, I found that the story format kept me far more engaged than trying to muddle through news articles did. Further, if I read more popular fiction than I usually do in English (where I tend to prefer literary fiction), I found that my comprehension of and ease with using present-day French in my writing and in my conversation expanded.

Unfortunately, every article I found that recommended novels in French told me to read the same ones—and mostly the articles I found listed classics with little relevance to today’s world (which has computers, smartphones, and corporate jobs) or to today’s French (with its argot and slang and turns of phrases).

Further, I had to proceed by a lot of trial and error to find novels at my level in French, especially as I progressed through levels.

And because so many people I met in my classes and along my language-learning journey asked me for recommendations for what they should read, I compiled a novel-recommendation list based on CEFRL level, which I continue to update as I continue to read.

Sources for French-Language Films and Series

Everyone will recommend that you subscribe to Netflix for French-language series and films. I won’t knock it—you’ll find a few good programs there. (Although, in all honesty, I didn’t find that many great ones.)

However, after only a short while, I felt as though I’d exhausted all the even moderately palatable French-language programming that Netflix offered. Sure, I could have watched American or English films with French subtitles or dubbing, but I prefer finding something originally French.

And so I searched. We subscribed to several other services and didn’t find many better than Netflix. To date, I still haven’t found a French-programming subscription service that makes sense—one that has programs created in French for francophone audiences.

The most consistently valuable programming I’ve found for French-language films and series has come through French national channels that make their programming available on-line.

Via TV5Monde, available anywhere in the world (from what I’ve researched), you can watch a variety of news programs, documentaries, series, talk shows, and more. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the programming on MyTF1 as well; it offers a great deal of game-show and reality television that, while brainless, will train your ear to different varieties of spoken French. And as what you need when language learning is a variety of topics and accents and voices, you can’t go wrong with regular television.

French-Language Podcasts, Radio Programs, and Audio Sources

French-language radio will give you another wide-ranging set of subjects, voices, accents, and more—a huge learning opportunity. After all, people speak French all over the world, and each region has a different spin on the language.

For French-language radio, which you can tune into anytime, try RFI (Radio French International).

Because the news can grow at best dry and at worst depressing at times, French-language learners may want to mix up their auditory training with a few podcasts on subjects other than international news. (I did, anyway.)

All hail the podcast.

In addition to giving your mind different, less heavy, subjects to ponder, podcasts allow you to adjust their playback speed, making it possible for you to slow them down if needed. I found podcasts a huge help to my French oral comprehension.

As I couldn’t find a great list when I searched for podcasts in French—as with books—I created and continue to curate a list of French podcasts by CEFRL level.

French Language Courses and Teachers

I truly started my French language-learning journey via on-line live classes, which I took at a frantic pace until I’d completed the program’s curricula for the B2 CEFRL level. I then moved to one-on-one classes with a private instructor.

Though many different language-learning schools and programs have moved on-line or now have an on-line option, especially since the coronavirus crisis kicked off, I’d found, trialed, and started with an on-line school or platform called Lingoda, a company that started long before the COVID era (and so has lengthy experience in on-line learning).

I started at the B1 level and progressed through the Lingoda-provided curriculum for that level through to the end of its B2 level. The Lingoda curriculum provided enough guidance and direction, while still offering me enough freedom, and I could find classes throughout the day and on the weekends with different instructors—all of a quality that surprised me. They all use the course materials provided by Lingoda, which helps reduce learning variance and provide overall consistency, although each teacher brings a specific style to the on-line classroom. I certainly discovered, over the months, my favorite and less-favorite professors. Each class had from one to four students.

After I’d run through all the available coursework on Lingoda, which stops at the end of its B2 curriculum, I needed to find a teacher for private lessons. I could have found a group class in my area for C1 students, but I preferred the general flexibility of the on-line format for my life and work and, further, once I’d advanced to this point in my French, I had specific strengths and weaknesses to confront that I felt only private, one-on-one instruction could address.

I connected with one of my Lingoda teachers and we moved to private sessions via Skype. If you prefer private instruction from the get-go, you can connect directly with teachers on Lingoda for private sessions on the company’s platform. For another option, people who have found iTalki helpful for connecting with private teachers finally convinced me to give it a try when my usual teacher took a vacation, and I really enjoyed it. I tried four different professional teachers via the platform and found them all fantastic. Highly recommended!

If you’d like an introduction to my French teacher (who is fantastic) or to another French teacher with whom I’ve worked and would recommend, send me a note.

French-Language Textbooks: Grammar and DELF/DALF Preparation

Although your school will likely give you course materials—even Lingoda had extensive slides and exercises to download in advance and work through before and after class—I appreciated having my own grammar books as I moved through the different levels of French.

Often, I worked through the exercises in my grammar books in addition to my class work, as I really wanted to progress quickly. Also, having a grammar book at hand when I had a question with something I read or studied really helped.

My favorite grammar books and answer guides came from CLE International. I started with the blue “intermédiaire” book and progressed through the brown “perfectionnement” tome—and still have them on my office bookshelf for quick reference.

When it came time to prepare for the DELF B2 test (an experience about which you can read about here), my teacher and I shifted our focus to exclusively address the test about two months before my scheduled examination week. I worked through exercises and practice tests that she had as resources, and I went to my bookstore to find an additional source as well. From all the guides I reviewed, I found this book of tips and practice tests (for the new and the old DELF/DALF examination formats) the most helpful.

Language Exchanges in Person and On-line

Typically, language exchanges have native speakers in one or several native languages coming together to help each other improve in the language they’re learning (also known as their “target language”). Participants pair off or get into small groups and speak half the time in one language and half the time in another language, with the native speakers helping the language learners with corrections, grammar, and vocabulary.

You won’t get actual language teachers (most of the time) in language exchanges, but you will find a safe space with friendly native speakers willing to listen to you struggle with their language and help you improve—in exchange for the same from you in your native language.

I found language exchanges immensely helpful to me as I worked to learn French, and I continue to attend them regularly. I tried dozens of these in person and on-line.

In-person groups will always help you more. In person, you can hear and speak more clearly, without connection and microphone challenges. Further, you get to meet people local to you who speak your target language. To check out what language exchanges happen in your area, search on Meetup.com.

However, you won’t find local language exchanges always available or necessarily convenient.

You’ll find many more options when it comes to on-line language exchanges. Beginners will really benefit from Online Language Exchange, intermediate French learners will appreciate the French Meet English group out of Bordeaux, and more advanced French speakers can give the Groupe Échange Français-Anglais a try.

Language-Learning Applications and Digital Tools

Where do we start with digital tools and applications for French learning and language reference? Throughout my learning process, I’ve daily used dictionaries, conjugation guides, translation tools, and expression reference guides.

My list of favorite applications and digital tools will likely change more than the other lists in this article, so keep an eye on this section for new finds. As of this moment, here are the best tools I’ve found in each major reference category:

• Translation tool: DeepL—you’ll find the paid version worthwhile, though the free version works great, too (desktop and mobile apps available)

• English-French Dictionary: Linguee (website and mobile app) and WordReference (website and mobile app)

• French Dictionary: Le Dictionnaire Le Robert Mobile provides in-depth detail on the definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, and conjugations of French words

• Conjugation reference: L’OBS’s “La Conjugation French” (mobile app)

• Expression reference: Expressio.fr (website)

• Keyboard help (how to type in French on an English keyboard): How-to Video

And because I know you’ll ask: Yes, I tried the Rosetta Stone and Duolingo applications for language learning—both to a more-than-moderate extent, with even a two-year paid subscription to Rosetta Stone at one point. However, I did not find either application particularly helpful to me in truly learning French. I do know other people who love to play with them, though!

And the Resources List Will Evolve!

I’ve grown to accept that language learning never really “finishes.”

After all, I remind myself, I continue to learn new words and phrases in English.

Therefore, as I continue to muddle along and try to improve my French across all the language’s facets—oral, auditory, reading, and beyond—I’ll continue to update this post. After all, I’ll undoubtedly find new and better resources as I go.

To check out all my articles about French language learning, you can find a repository via this link.

And if you found this or my other articles helpful, please consider buying me a coffee to help support me in keeping this site going (and advertising-free)!