What is the best way to learn French?

So what's the best way to learn French? Well, the answer to that question varies from person to person. Every French learner has their own learning style and goal. The best way for you to learn French may not be the right fit for someone else. In this article we list some of the most notable options so you can find the approach that works best for you.

Rocket French

Rocket French is an effective and comprehensive course that takes you from absolute beginner to intermediate level in French. The secret to Rocket French are its two lesson types. The first type are the interactive audio lessons. These audio French lessons feature a real conversation between native speakers. Here you'll learn whole French phrases. The goal is to get you speaking French as soon as possible. The second type of lesson on Rocket French are the language and culture lessons. These lessons get down to the nitty-gritty of French grammar. Here you'll learn the rules behind the French language, so that you start making sentences on your own.

I'm a fan of Rocket French because it offers a balanced approach to learning a new language. Many programs teach you only phrases, and never explain to you how grammar works. Other courses make the opposite mistake and throw rules and conjugation charts at you, and then you're left speechless when it's time to talk with a real person.

Rocket French is also big on practicing what you learn. After each lesson there are a series of activities to review the material. These include automated flashcards, quizzes, multiple choice exercises, spoken exercises and more.

One of my favorite features of Rocket French are the role playing tracks in the interactive audio lessons. These tracks eliminate one of the French speakers and give you the chance to answer and ask questions yourself, while the other speaker responds. This sort of role playing is a powerful learning technique, and a great way to build your French vocabulary quickly.

Rocket French covers all aspects of learning French. In their courses you will learn how to read, write, speak, and develop your listening comprehension skills as well.

Frenchpod101

Frenchpod101 started over a decade ago as a simple podcast to help you learn French online. Since then it has grown into a massive hub of French learning resources. The heart of Frenchpod101 are still it's podcast lessons. These lessons are sorted into seasons and divided by difficulty level.

The lowest difficultly level is absolute beginner, and the highest is advanced. There are hundreds of episodes in each level. Each episode features a conversation between two French speakers. Two podcast hosts act as your personal French teachers and introduce each dialogue. They shed light on useful vocabulary and new grammar. They also keep things lively by sharing jokes and interesting stories about French culture. Each episode includes transcripts in French as well as English, making it easy to follow along regardless of your level.

In addition to their massive library of French podcasts, Frenchpod101 also offers a lot of other useful French learning tools. There's a French dictionary, a flashcard system, French pronunciation guide, downloadable ebooks, a grammar bank, videos, listening exercises, and a lot more. These resources cater to all learning styles.

Pimsleur French

Pimsleur French is an audio course that teaches you conversational French. Through its unique and trademarked question-respond-correct method, Pimsleur gets your brain thinking in French. In each 30 minute audio lesson you start with a series of phrases. You learn each phrases word by word and syllable by syllable. Once you've had a chance to repeat the new phrases, Pimsleur starts throwing prompts at you to answer and ask questions in French.

The prompts change a lot and are designed to keep you thinking on your feet. With the Pimsleur approach you're not just a parrot reciting French vocabulary lists over and over. Their method simulates the kind of language practice you'd get while talking with French speaking people in the real world. It's a great way to improve your listening and speaking.

But Pimsleur doesn't just focus on listening and speaking. It also features a reading component. You are taught to read French words phonetically at first, and then for meaning. As you progress through the French course, you'll be reading words and phrases from previous audio lessons. If you're a native English speaker the French language is fairly easy to learn how to read. If you complete Pimsleur's French course (there are five levels), you shouldn't have a problem reading, writing, understanding, or speaking French at an intermediate level.

Duolingo French

Other than maybe Rosetta Stone, Duolingo is the most popular language learning course around. Duolingo teaches mainly grammar and basic vocabulary. The app uses a mixture of listening, speaking, and writing (typing) exercises to help you learn and remember French. Duolingo is designed as a game. Their gamified approach to learning a language really pays off. The app can become addicting, and you might find yourself reaching for your phone throughout the day to practice French. Lessons are sorted into groups which cover specific grammar rules or vocabulary.

Duolingo won't bring you to fluency, but it will give you a solid foundation in French grammar and vocabulary. A study found that completing a Duolingo French or Spanish course is comparable to completing X semesters of a college level foreign language course.

Duolingo works under a freemium model. The app is basically free to use (with ads). However you also have the option of paying for a premium version which removes ads and gives you unlimited access to the app.

FluentU French

Babbel

Babbel is a language course built around quiz like lessons. Babbel teaches you new grammar and vocabulary, and then tests you on it with multiple choice, matching, or fill in the blank exercises. In the early stages Babbel teaches single words and very basic phrases. The later course material features French dialogues and teach longer and more complex phrases.

Babbel is often compared to Rosetta Stone. Their methods have some similarities. The biggest difference is that Babbel explains grammar, while Rosetta Stone has a strict no translation policy. Also Babbel is a lot cheaper than Rosetta Stone. Depending on your learning style, Babbel may be a useful option for learning French.

Can you learn French at home?

With apps and online courses it's not hard to learn a language from any location, provided you have internet access. However even with an ever increasing number of new and shiny mobile apps to learn French, some people still still prefer the classic person to person approach. What many don't know, is that you can take the traditional class and tutor experience and have French learning sessions in the comfort of your own home. Here's how...

Italki

Italki is a language learning site that connects students with teachers from around the world. There are literally thousands of teachers across more than 100 languages. Once you create a free account on the site you can browse the teachers' profiles and book a paid lesson with the one that works best for you. The lessons are one on one video classes, and usually happen over Skype. 

Every teacher has his or her own approach to teaching a new language. Some may be more hands on, while others might be more hands off and simply help you with French speaking tips. Most teachers provide learners with class materials, videos, audio, pdf textbooks, and anything else that you might need to learn French. A single class can last anywhere from 30 minutes up to an hour and a half (most classes are 1 hour).

In addition to paid classes, Italki also has some useful free resources you can use to learn French. There's a learning blog written by teachers and a public notebook where you can write journal entries to have them checked by native speakers. Italki also allows you to search the profiles of other students to find French speaking students who want to improve their English, and set up a language exchange. The idea is you help them with your native language, while they help you practice and study French.

The best way to learn French if you want to speak the language, is to practice with a real French speaker. Italki allows you to do that no matter which language you want to learn.

*With a purchase of $20 or more. After you finish your first lesson 10 free Italki credits will be added to your account.

Language exchanges

One of the best ways to improve your proficiency is to speak French with real people. You can review grammar rules and word lists until your blue in the face, but until you start working on your spoken French, you'll never be fluent. Luckily you bring a real life immersion experience into the comfort of your own home with a language exchange. Language exchanges work very simply.

You find someone who speaks your target language, and who also is learning your native language. You then take turns practicing with another to improve your reading, writing, and most importantly speaking. There are several online language exchanges you can use to practice with people from around the world.

Speaky

This channel is run by French native speaker Elsa. Elsa's channel takes a day in the life approach to learning French. She shares all kinds of daily activities and conversations with her viewers. These videos are a great resource if you want to improve your French by learning how it's used in every day life.

Free apps

Learn French for beginners

This free app covers reading, listening, speaking, and writing through grammar and vocabulary lessons. There's quizzes and guides on the French alphabet. The app also includes a free French translator.

Learn French Free

Learn French Free is an app that helps you get started with French Vocabulary. It works like a phrasebook. You learn new words on various topics such as directions, shopping, weather, and more. You can bookmark your favorite phrases and review them.

Duolingo

As we mentioned before Duolingo is a great app for learning the foundations of the French language. The app is mostly free to use with ads.

Free French programs

FSI French courses

Final thoughts

If you want to study French, your options are nearly endless. However depending on your goals and learning style it can be hard to find the course that's right for you. Hopefully this post will help you find the best way for you to learn French. Studying French can be a deep and truly rewarding experience. Whatever language learning tool you choose, keep your head down and make sure you don't give up. Remember that the road to fluency is a marathon not a sprint. As veteran language learners will tell you, a little patience and perseverance will get you where you want to go!

Pronunciation is an important but often overlooked aspect of language learning. Speaking French with a native accent will help you understand French speakers, as well as make it easier for them to understand you.

 Accent and pronunciation are two of the biggest reasons foreign languages seem foreign. If you're able to get them right you'll be well on your way to fluency.

In this post we break down the French sounds system vowel by vowel and consonant by consonant. Our goal is to provide you with a the ultimate resource for French pronunciation! 

What's in an accent?

Many people assume that you have to be born with an accent. Either you have the genetics or you don't. French people are born with French accents, and English speakers with English ones.

In reality though, there's no physical difference between the mouth of the average Frenchman and your average native English speaker. An accent is made up of individual sounds (vowels and consonants), which are made by moving your tongue and or lips in specific positions. 

If you can physically move your tongue and lips in the right position,then you can speak French in a native accent. It's as simple as that. 

Notice I said simple and not easy.

For your entire life your tongue and lips have been accustomed to one set of positions (or more if you have more than one native language). Introducing them to completely new positions will be awkward and uncomfortable for awhile before your mouth adapts. But if you start slowly and focus on mastering a few sounds at a time, you will able be to speak in French with corrent accent.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

A more in depth look at what the IPA is and how it came to be

Intro to the French sound system

In this post we've sorted French sounds by their similarity to English pronunciation. We start with French consonants and verbs that have the same pronunciation as English ones. Then we cover French sounds which are similar to English sounds, but with a slight differentiation. Finally we look at French sounds that have no similar equivalent in the English sound system.

We've included audio, as well as diagrams to help you understand how French pronunciation works. 

French sounds that are the same as English ones

Consonants that are the same as in English

*This sound typically only appears in French words which are borrowed from English.

Vowels that are the same as in English

French sounds similar to English ones

Consonents that are similar to English

*The English [ɫ] brings the front and back of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth. The French [l] only brings the front of the tongue toward the top of the mouth (see diagram below).

Vowels that are similar to English

*The french [a] is slightly more forward in the mouth than the American [ɔ] in shot or thought, only with the French [a] the tongue is slightly more forward (somewhere in between the English shat and shot). See diagram below.

The English [i] is high up in your mouth, while the English [ɛ] is more in the middle. The French [e] is halfway between those two English vowels. See diagram below.

French sounds you won't find in English

Vowels not found in English

French rounded vowels

French rounded vowels are made by taking the mouth formation from English vowels and rounding your lips without moving your tongue. 

*Take the English [i] sound and round your lips without moving your tongue to get the French [y]. See diagram below.

*Take the English [ɛ] sound and round your lips without moving your tongue to get the French [œ]. See diagram below.

*Take the English [ʌ] sound and round your lips without moving your tongue to get the French [ɔ]. See diagram below.

*Take the French [e] sound and round your lips without moving your tongue to get the French [ø]. See diagram below.

Nasal Vowels

As the name implies nasal vowels are vowel sounds that allow air to pass through your nose as well as your mouth. English actually has some nasal vowel sounds. Think of the difference between the a sound in the English word can't, vs the a sound in the English word cat. The a sound in can't is a nasal one.

If you were to hold your nose closed while saying the word cat nothing happens. If you hold your nose while saying can't, then you'll notice the sound is blocked. This in essence is a nasal sound, and you can do the same type of test when practicing French nasal vowels.

For help on how to pronounce these vowels correctly refer to the video below.

Consonant sounds not found in English

It's also helpful to think of this sound as an [n] sound made by touching the middle of your tongue to the top of your mouth (see diagram below)

The tongue position of [ɥ] is the same as [i]. However the lips are rounded when making a [ɥ] sound. 

French is also the official language of 29 countries. Two of them (France and Canada) are in the top 10 of world-leading economies, and two of them have the highest GDP per capita (Luxembourg and Switzerland). Considering the economic prosperity of these French-speaking nation, as well as the language's cultural influence, it's no wonder the request for French translators is high and constant. 

Having these facts in mind, one could ask about the relevance of French in business and culture in the years to come. While most projections label Mandarin and Spanish as the languages of the future, a few years ago, a study by investment bank Natixis suggested that by 2050, French would be the most-spoken language on earth. 

But Natixis’ study counts all inhabitants of French-speaking countries as French speakers, which can be a questionable methodology. For instance, if we assumed all those who live in English-speaking countries are English speakers, we would dismiss the fact that the United States has a growing Spanish-speaking population, and our estimates would be highly inaccurate. 

In a Forbes piece, scholar Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry links the future of French as a leading language, not to Switzerland and Luxemburg, but to a continent-wide fast-growing powerhouse: Africa. 

But, as widespread and culturally relevant as French is and will continue to be, some French expressions are misrepresented in pop culture, and some interesting details of the language history mostly remain unknown.

In this graphic, we’ll explore ten interesting facts about the French language that you might not know. From the place of French in English history to an odd way  of counting, and some people’s custom to speak the language backward. 

The language learning industry is a booming market. Every month or so a new site or app pops up claiming to be the fastest or easiest way to learn a foreign language. 

Unfortunately though, not all courses live up to the hype. The old adage "You get what you pay for", doesn't always hold true for foreign language programs. 

If you're searching for a quality French course, there's a good chance you've experienced this first hand. 

In this post we look at 5 of the best programs for learning French. Our hope is that we can spare you the trouble of throwing money at a product that doesn't live up to its marketing claims, and help you find a course that will help you reach your learning goals!

But before we get into our list, it's probably a good idea to talk about what exactly makes a good french course.... 

Surprisingly enough, conversational ability is often overlooked in language learning programs. 

It's easy to find an app or course that teaches basic grammar or word by word vocabulary. A good French learning resource will of course teach you vocabulary and grammar, but it will do so in a practical way that helps prepare you for actual french conversations. 

The vocabulary that's taught should be useful and applicable to real life situations. A solid language program will also use a method beyond simple route memorization or repetition. You want to learn French in a way that engages you and forces your mind to actively use the language. 

For native English speakers, French is not the grammatical behemoth that you're likely to run into while learning languages like Japanese, Arabic, and other languages far removed from your native tongue. 

That being said, there are some key differences in French that may take some getting used to.

Grammatical gender

The first is grammatical gender. All french nouns can be broken into one of two groups: masculine or feminine.

 Based on its gender, a French noun will usually have a particular ending (note: the gender is grammatical and doesn't necessarily have to do with the gender of the thing you're talking about). 

There's also the issue of verb conjugation. French verbs will change form based on who or what is performing the action. To the native English speaker this will seem weird at first. 

In English we can say things like "I swim, you swim, we swim, they swim, and she/he swims". In French the verb "to swim", will change based on whether I, you, we, they, or he/she is swimming. 

An intro French verb conjugation

While these aspects of the language might scare off new language learners, they're not all as scary as they might seem. They are certainly nothing a decent explanation and a bit of consistent practice can't overcome. 

A good French program will do just that, adequately explain the more difficult grammatical concepts and give you ample opportunity to practice them. 

We talk about this a lot on our website, but it bares repeating. There are four aspects of a learning a foreign language: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. 

Why are these four parts so important? Because they reinforce one another. It's a lot easier to remember a French word that you read, hear, say, and write. These four aspects also help you use the language in a real world context. 

The best courses are the ones that give you the opportunity to learn all four aspects of French, so that you engage with the language in a way that's holistic. 

The unfortunate alternative is that students of French get stuck focusing on one or perhaps two aspects of the language and neglect the other two. 

Now you know our top picks for French learning resources! I hope you found this list helpful.

Every program on this list includes some sort of free trial. If you're on the fence about which one is right for you, I recommend taking the course you're interested in out on a test run. 

Which program is right for you depends largely on your individual needs, learning styles, and preferences. There is no one size fits all when it comes to language learning! 

Is Rocket French right for you?

Yes

If your French is at a beginner or intermediate level

If you're looking for a complete French course

No

If you're simply looking for an extra learning tool

What’s included in the Rocket French course

Course levels

Rocket French is available in three course levels. The levels are named premium, premium plus, and platinum. 

Each level gets progressively more difficult and together all three walk you through the French language from the level of absolute beginner (with little to no knowledge of French), up to intermediate (being able to express yourself freely on most common topics). 

Lesson types

Each level contains three lesson types: interactive audio lessons, language culture lessons, and survival kit lessons.

With the exception of the survival kit lesson each lesson type is broken down into modules. Each level has 7-8 modules of interactive audio lessons and an additional 7-8 modules of the language & culture lessons. Each module will contain anywhere from 3-8 lessons 

Interactive audio lessons

The interactive audio lessons are built around a recorded dialogue between two French speakers.

The lesson then presents the new French words and phases presented in the dialogue so that the user can see how they’re used and what they mean. You will also be given a chance to practice what you’ve learned alongside a recording. 

Language and culture lessons

The language and culture lessons teach grammar as well as introduce the user to French culture.

Typically these lessons include a text with lengthy explanations and examples of how the grammar in the text works. As far as grammar explanations go, the language and culture lessons go pretty in-depth. 

Survival kit lessons

The survival kit lessons are like an add on to the bulk of the course content found in the other two lessons types. The survival kit lessons don’t follow a module system.

Instead they are a collection of phrasebook type lessons centered around various topics such as shopping, life in the city, numbers, etc. 

Reinforcement activities

At the end of each lesson in Rocket Languages there is a reinforcement section, where users can practice what they’ve learned.

These reinforcement sections are broken down into five activities: 1) Hear it say it!, 2) Write it!, 3) Know it!, 4) Quiz, and 5) Flashcards.

Hear it say it! 

Hear it say it! activities play a clip of audio from the lesson and give you the chance to repeat it. The main purpose of this exercise is to help you develop your French accent with the course's voice recognition software.

Write it! 

Here the user simply writes (types) what he or she hears from the audio. A virtual keyboard is provided so users can easily use accent marks when needed. 

Know it!

In this activity the user is given an English word, and he or she must speak the French translation. Rocket Langauges uses voice recognition technology to grade the user on his or her pronunciation.

The goal behind the point system is to bring an element of fun and competitiveness into your language learning. 

Benchmark tests

At any point in the course the user can take the benchmark test. Users are asked a series of questions and give three lives. Each time they answer incorrectly they lose a life.

The longer the user lasts by answering correctly, the higher his or her score. The purpose of this benchmark test is so that users can track their progress as they work through the course levels. 

While taking the benchmark test everyday may not prove that beneficial, taking it every week or so will allow the user to see the difference in their French proficiency. 

Pros of Rocket French

It improves your conversational ability AND your grammar

You study the language in a holistic way

Great option for audio learners

Rocket French’s real strength is as an audio course. If you prefer an auditory learning style then Rocket French is certainly worth checking out. Not only is the course well organized and thorough, the quality of the recorded audio is quite good.

When listening to the dialogues it’s not hard to imagine that you’re sitting in on a conversation between two people in the real world!

60 day money back guarantee

If you aren’t happy with the course for any reason, simply contact Rocket Languages within 60 days of your purchase, and they will refund your money with no questions asked.

60 days is a long window for a money back guarantee, and I think it goes to show that the company really does stand behind their course. Rocket French also offers a free trial so users can check out the curriculum without having to pay anything.  

Available online or on mobile

Back in the day Rocket French was only available as an online course through their website. However the team behind the course has since then made the transition over to mobile.

The mobile app version of Rocket French works seamlessly and has all the valuable features of the online web based version. 

Cons of Rocket French

It's not an overly entertaining course

Visually lacking

Rocket French is known as an awesome audio course. Unfortunately that reputation doesn’t carry over to the visual side of things. The aesthetic of the course is very practical. From a visual perspective the course is easy to navigate and simple to use.

However there is a lack of visual elements in the actual lesson material (aside from the occasional hand drawn caricatures).

It would be nice to see more visual elements in the course material to help reinforce the audio and written content. If you prefer a visual learning style then this course may not resonate with you. 

What other people say about Rocket French

Alternatives to Rocket French

Conclusion

Starting at $99.95 for Rocket French level 1