When it comes to the romance languages French is second only to Spanish in popularity. The language is famed for its beautiful sound and rich cultural heritage (you probably already new that).

And if you’re learning French you also probably know that speaking it as a foreign language isn’t all sunshine and roses. There are some difficult aspects you will have to face and overcome if you want to speak it fluently. Here are 3 ways Yabla will help you do just that.

This article is about how Yabla can help you if you’re learning French. For an in depth review about Yabla and its features check out our full review here.

1) It will connect spoken French with written French

Most people start learning French one word at a time. After learning the alphabet and basic pronunciation you see the word in its written form and hear it spoken slowly.

This works well until your first exposure to native French. Words will be spoken fast, and often sounds disappear or change in native speech. Words you know when they’re are said in isolation or written out become unintelligible at native speed.

This is where Yabla’s video player really helps out. Pick a video based on your French level, and watch it without any subtitles (no French, no English). Take the video section by section and write down any and all words you think you hear.

Use the video’s slow play button if you have to. Then play the same section again with subtitles to see if you missed any. Chances are the first few times you do this you’ll find some words you know but didn’t hear. Keep doing this simple exercise and your ear will begin to recognize natural French speech.

Another similar exercise is to take a section of video without subtitles and write out what you here whether you know the words or not. See if you can figure out how new words are spelled simply by the way they sound.

In French this can be tough, but do it enough and your listening will improve and you may find that French words in general are easier to remember.

This is because your brain remembers things by making associations and connections. If you can connect the sound and sight of a word you’re much more likely to remember it.

2) It will help you master the subjunctive mood

If you’re a native English speaker the French subjunctive mood can get pretty confusing. Not only do you have to conjugate the verb, you must figure out how and when to use the subjunctive. This is hard because we don’t really have an English equivalent. You can use Yabla to help you get a handle on this seemingly odd aspect of the French language.

The best way to do this is to become familiar with the subjunctive conjugations, at least enough so that you can recognize when the subjunctive mood is being used.

Here's a more in depth look at the French subjunctive mood.

 Next watch a French video on Yabla with French subtitles and look and listen for any words that indicate the tense. Once you find some make note of the context. Then ask yourself: Why was the subjunctive used in this instance and not another?

Take the sentences you find that used the tense and either write them out in a list or incorporate them into your flashcards (you’ll have to use Anki or memrise because Yabla’s flashcards only let you use one word per card).

Picking out the subjunctive form in context will help you see the bigger picture as to how and when it's appropriate to use.

3) It will expose you to French Idioms

A confusing but fun part of learning a foreign language is stumbling across its idioms. Idioms are expressions that don’t usually make literal sense (Think of English’s “by the skin of your teeth” or “on cloud nine”). 

Odds are if you watch enough native French video you’re going to come across some idioms. The higher your French level the harder they are to miss. Idioms are an effective way to boost your French fluency but you’re less likely to find them in a textbook or course.

A brief intro to some common French idioms.

 Even if you do come across them in your French101 book it’s probably not explained very well. Like any other aspect of language idioms are a lot easier to understand when you see them in context. Yabla’s French videos will help you do just that.

Conclusion

Yabla is a great way to overcome the less romantic parts of learning French. The site is simple and easy to use, but it’s also effective. At $9.95 for a one month subscription it’s affordable too.

The site has some free French videos that let you use the player and get a feel for its features. We recommend you check it out and see for yourself if Yabla is right for you!

Babbel may not be as well known as courses like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, or Duolingo, but the company definitely has its own dedicated following of language learners. With over 1 million users worldwide Babbel is a language course worth taking note of. 

Babbel's courses are known for helping beginners learn foundational grammar and vocabulary in a foreign language. Some common critiques of the platform include the lack of speaking and writing on the part of the user and a lack of more advance level material.

You can read more about the general strengths and weaknesses of Babbel in our Ultimate Babbel Review. In this post we're taking a look at how well Babbel can help you learn the French language.

Enjoy

In Babbel French right for you?

Yes 

If you're new to French

Babbel courses are designed for beginner to low-intermediate level learners. They start with the basics of the French language like simple vocabulary and alphabet and then take you through more advance material step by step. 

If you want a foundation in core grammar & vocabulary

At the end of a Babbel course you should have around a B1 (low intermediate) proficiency in the French language. You should be able to known enough French to talk about yourself, your interests, describe basic actions in the past and present, and communicate your desires and plans. 

If you're on a budget

Babbel's price point is low compared to other language courses. A single monthly subscription costs $12.95 but the monthly rate can be as low as $6.95 per month depending on how many months you buy upfront. 

No

If you're an advanced student of French

Babbel doesn't offer any material for advance level learners. There's simply no content past the low intermediate level. Maybe an advance student could use Babbel for review, but more likely the course won't be very helpful.

If you're focused on speaking

Babbel doesn't offer any way for students to practice speaking or writing original sentences in French. You will have to recall individual words or finish an incomplete phrase, but more often than not in the lessons you're a given a list of possible answers to pick from.  

This keeps the course simple, and it works for teaching vocabulary and grammar, but it isn't good for developing your recall and communication skills in French.

Pros & Cons of Babbel French

Pros

It's great for mastering verb conjugations

Babbel is an effective tool for practicing French verb conjugations. If you're new to language learning that you may have been thrown for a loop when you first discovered that you have to conjugate French verbs. 

Babbel's French course has a series of mini courses specifically for French verb conjugations in the present tense.  At the beginning of each lesson you are given a rule of conjugation and a few examples. Then for the rest of the lessons you practice that rule with Babbel's usual quiz format. 

A little info on French Verbs

Specific lessons include -er verbs, ir verbs, reflexive verbs, the verb être, and more. 

Being able to focus on individual conjugations like this can propel your French skills. If you spent 15 minutes or so a day working through these specialized lessons it wouldn't take long to get comfortable with French verbs

It helps you get comfortable with tenses

Another problem point for new french learners is getting used to the various tenses. If it wasn't hard enough remembering how to conjugate a French verb in a different tense, you also have to remember how and when each tense is used. 

The way French tenses are used aren't always comparable to the way we use tenses in English so this can get confusing (we won't get into the grammatical nuances here).

Babbel's French course also includes a mini course on the different French tenses so that you can become familiar with how each is used along with the different conjugations.

Again this pinpointed style of study can be very effective for remembering this part of the language.  ​

There's a lot of material

Babbel has put more time and resources into developing courses for the languages that are more popular. Less popular languages sometimes offer little after the basic beginner courses. French doesn't have such a problem.

French is one of the most popular foreign languages for native English speakers and as a result it has a ton of courses to work through on the beginner and intermediate levels.

At the time of this article there are 59 individual courses under Babbel's main French course. Each has anywhere from 10-20+ Lessons.

It's a portable platform

Babbel's courses are available online or via app for tablet or mobile. This makes it a great way to practice French throughout the day where ever you find yourself. 

Cons

No content past the intermediate level

The biggest shortcoming with Babbel French are also the biggest shortcomings with all Babbel courses: there just isn't any content past the lower intermediate lessons. 

Most likely the market for beginning French students is much larger than the one for advanced so Babbel (like most companies) focuses their efforts on catering to new learners.

Still some higher level material would add tremendous value to their platform.  

What other people are saying about Babbel French

Conclusion

Babbel's French course is a viable option for beginner students of the language. The course doesn't go a long way in developing speaking skills, but it is an effective way to master some of the harder parts of French grammar and walk away with a working knowledge of the language. 

​Prices vary from $12.95 per month down to $6.95 per month. With a 20 day money back guarantee period it's a great idea to try out Babbel French for yourself and see if it's right for you!

Rosetta Stone is probably the most well known language learning course on the market, and it has its share of praise and critics. 

Typically some beginners like the way the courses softly introduce you to a new language, and leave you with a good foundation in grammar and vocabulary.

 The critics of Rosetta stone often point out its slow pace, price tag, and inability to develop your speaking skills.

You can read more on the general pros and cons of Rosetta Stone language courses in our Ultimate Rosetta Stone Review. In this article we are specifically looking at how well Rosetta Stone works with the French language.

Is Rosetta Stone French right for you?

Yes if you’re a beginner

Rosetta Stone course are specifically designed for people who have never learned a foreign language before. Their approach is to walk you through the beginning phases of French step by step. 

Rosetta Stone is well ordered and takes a lot of the stress and guesswork that other courses sometime leave room for.

Yes if you want to learn grammar and vocabulary

At its core Rosetta Stone is a vocabulary and grammar course. It aims to teach you the foundational parts of the French language. By the end of their 5 levels you will have a working knowledge of the language.

No if you’re more advanced

Rosetta Stone will seem more slow paced and redundant the higher your level of proficiency in the French language. In you’re above an intermediate level in French then Rosetta Stone probably isn’t worth your time, as the material will seem too basic.

No if you want to start speaking right away

Even with its voice recognition component Rosetta Stone doesn’t offer much in the way of practical speaking practice. 

If you want to start speaking right off the bat then you should probably look for a more practical (less gradual course) like Pimsleur or a self study program. Rosetta Stone will teach you new words and phrases, but they probably won’t be very practical for you at first.

Pros

Rosetta Stone works well for the Romantic languages

It’s highly likely that Rosetta Stone designed a language course for a Romantic language (probably Spanish), then used that course as a template for all its other language courses. If you have used Rosetta Stone in more than one language there’s a definitely a cookie cutter kind of feel to the courses.

As a general rule of thumb the closer a language is to English the better the Rosetta Stone course will work. If you’re learning French then you won’t have a lot of the challenges that students of Japanese, Arabic, and Thai might have if they used Rosetta Stone

French vocabulary and Grammar is similar to English

Both French and English have deeps roots in Latin, so in French you’ll find a lot of words that look and sound similar to their English counterparts.

French grammar, while not exactly the same as English, is very similar; especially compared to other foreign languages. One reason this makes French easier to learn with Rosetta Stone is that French uses the same word/sentence order that English does: SVO (subject, verb, object).

​

French and English alphabets are similar

Intro to the French alphabet

Both French and English use a latin alphabet, so you don’t have to learn a new script like cyrillic or Greek. Languages will different scripts or no alphabet at all are harder to learn  with Rosetta Stone. You won’t have any of those problems when learning French.

Cons

Doesn’t prepare you for native speakers

Like any language course Rosetta Stone is not a substitute for practicing with real native speakers or at least listening to native speech via media or recorded dialogues.

Native speakers often speak quickly and weld sounds together while dropping others. This makes it hard make out what they’re saying even if you the know the words already.

There's nothing in the Rosetta Stone method that helps prepare you for this. The audio is always spoken slow, and pronunciation is always prim and proper. 

Vocabulary is often impractical

If you want to start speaking French right away then Rosetta Stone is a bad choice. The course does a decent job of teaching the foundational grammar and vocabulary of French.

However you will a lot of the words and phrases to be impractical in real life (especially in the beginning of the course). Knowing “the dog is on the ball”, or “the boys have bicycles” isn’t particularly helpful when you meet someone in the real world.

Conclusion

Rosetta Stone works well with French because of the language’s close proximity to the English language.

While it won’t do much to develop your speaking skills it will give you a solid foundation in French vocabulary and grammar. Advance learners should look elsewhere but beginners may find the course useful.

Is Frenchpod101 right for you?

If you’re a beginner or middle-level French learner then we recommend you check out Frenchpod101. The majority of the lessons are geared toward these levels. There is some advanced material as well, but if you’re at a higher level of French you may find better value elsewhere.

Because Frenchpod101 is built around the podcast format the majority of its lesson are audio (there are some video lesson too). This makes it a solid choice for anyone looking to get more comfortable with listening to native French speakers.

The lessons are organized around a scripted conversation and also do an excellent job of introducing new vocabulary and grammar concepts.

You also may want to consider Frenchpod101 is you’re looking for an interesting learning tool that you can take with you. All lessons and content are available on Iphone, Ipad, and Android through the Frenchpod101 app.

Features​

Podcast episodes

Each podcast lesson is built around a French conversation. More often than not the conversation is about a grammar point, cultural lesson, or useful French phrase. At the start of each podcast the hosts will introduce the lesson and the topic of the conversation.  

Lifelike situations

Frenchpod101 does their best to keep their lessons relevant to real life. Often the featured French conversations are ones that you could encounter in everyday life. You’re able to walk away from each episode with at least one useful French word or phrase, if not more.

Conversations are natural and interesting

The hosts make an effort to keep things engaging and fun. It’s not uncommon for them to share personal stories, the occasional joke (some are better than others), or an interesting fact about French language or culture. This makes for a nice break from the dry content of most French audio courses.

​Tools and Resources

While podcasts are the mainstay of Frenchpod101, the site also has some interesting features to help you get the most out their lessons. In our opinion the most helpful are the flashcards, slow playback, and lesson transcripts (unfortunately these features are not available with a basic subscription). 

Flashcards

The flashcards are ideal for reviewing new words. They use a spaced repetition system like in Anki or Memrise. The advantage here though is that you can add new words and make cards with a single click. It can take almost a minute to make a card in Anki or Memrise.

Slow playback

It might not sound impressive at first, but Frenchpod101’s slow playback is a handy feature. You can listen to each from the French dialogues in isolation and (if you want) at a slower speed.

Connecting the sounds to the correct spelling can be an issue in French, this feature is an answer for that. It’s also great if you want dissect the pronunciation of a word.

Lesson transcriptions

Having a transcript of each French dialogue might be the feature you end up using the most. I wish it was available at the basic level but you’ll need at least a premium subscription to access them. The lesson transcriptions let you double check the French you hear and make for go review afterwards. 

Other features

There are also grammar helps, a dictionary, and word lists on the site too. They are helpful, but if you compare them to other free resources on the web they’re nothing special.

Price

Subscription options

There are 3 subscriptions levels to choose from if you want to use Frenchpod101: basic, premium, and premium plus. The more months you pay for up front the cheaper the price is per month and vice versa.

At the basic level you get the entire podcast catalog. Other than a couple small features (like lesson notes) there isn’t much else at this level.

A basic subscription is $4 per month if you buy 24 months and it can be as much $8 per month for one month. All in all this is the best value. The podcast episode are enough on their own to improve your French. 

After the basic level comes the premium level. This level opens the doors on all the bonus features, the most important of which is probably the lesson transcripts. Though I prefer the basic level, premium isn’t bad.

It starts at $10 a month if you get 24 months and can be as much as $25 per month if you pay for one month.

Premium plus is really the only subscription level I wouldn’t recommend. The price seems a bit steep.

At this level you get everything in the premium level PLUS instruction and assessment from a real teacher. The price tag for this level starts at $22.88 per month for 24 months and can run upwards of $47 per month for 1 month. 

Frankly I think you’re better off getting the basic level and using the rest of your money to book a tutor from Italki. It would probably still be cheaper and you’d get more out of it. 

Problems with Frenchpod101

You don’t need to speak any French

As with any French course you have to make sure you take time to practice using your French with real people. Audio courses are nice tools but if you listened to Frenchpod101 all day long for months and never practiced what you learned I doubt you’d see much change in your speaking ability. 

Lack of community

​There’s no way on the site to connect with other French learners. With so many language sites offer communal features you’d think Frenchpod101 could step up their game. It’s always more fun to learn with other people.

Best way to use Frenchpod101​

Study & review

If you want to get the most out of Frenchpod101, then I recommend listening to one episode per day. With each episode take any new words and put them in a review flashcard deck. Take a few minutes everyday to review the deck. Do this on a regular basis and your French ability will grow. 

Listening & pronunciation​

As said before, Frenchpod101 can help you practice pronunciation. Use the slow playback, lesson transcripts, and audio to hone in on the French sound system and compare it to your own accent. 

Get the most out of your time

Frenchpod101 is great for filling up the small gaps of time that come up throughout the day. Anytime you have 5 or 10 free minutes you can use their mobile app to get a little extra french practice in. ​

Conclusion

Frenchpod101 can be a powerful asset to your French studies. However, it shouldn’t be the only one in your arsenal. It works best as a supplement to your regular French learning regime. It’s especially good for helping you learn new words and work on your accent. 

With a free one week trial (no payment info needed), it can’t hurt to work through a couple podcast episodes and see what you think. 

Pimsleur’s French courses have a split reputation. Many people swear by them, and won't fail to recommend them to French learners. Others criticize it’s high price tag and audio only approach.

In this article we’re not going to get into the nitty-gritty of makes Pimsleur a good (or not good) course. We already did that in our Ultimate Pimsleur Review.

The purpose of this article is to point out some of the unique features of Pimsleur’s French course and how they can help or hinder your French learning.

Summary of Pimsleur Method

(all languages)