Learn the language of love online.
Hollywood cliches aside, however, the French language is spoken by 77 million speakers as a first language and 51 million as a second language- making it the 11th most popular language in the world. It is also the medium for an important body of literary art: Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, Jacques Prevert.
You haven’t read Dumas until you know the “s” is silent.
About.com is a great resource for learning about anything you can name but it is really helpful with languages. It includes vocabulary and grammar tests and quizzes with corresponding lessons. It also has links to other helpful sites for the Francophile.
Jeu De L’Oie Pour Apprendre Etudier Le Francais
“Jeu de l’oie pour apprendre etudier le francais” means “Game of the goose for learning to study French”. It is what it sounds like it is- only not quite. For every question you get right, your goose gets to move forward until you get a number that lands you directly in the house on the end.
The questions are arranged by level and start with the beginning of French grammar.
This is the ultimate language resource. It helps you find online language tutorials for just about any language you think of: Finnish, Afrikaans, Tagalog. French is a big seller however and they have lots of resources. So browse for a bit and find the one that best suits your style.
This site is affiliated with public television and has loads of excellent educational videos. If you happen to be a total nerd, it’s an amazing site for a bland Saturday morning with nothing to do. But for language-learning purposes, it can’t be beat. It includes the entire series of the French In Action course, hosted by Pierre Capretz(whoever that is). It tells the story of Mireille and Robert- a French woman and an American man who meet in Paris. The whole lesson is in French from the start, yet the total beginner does not feel overwhelmed.
The greatest advantage is being able to hear actual French conversation. The only real way to learn a language fluently is immersion- going to that country and chatting with people. But if you can’t do that yet, hearing conversation on the video is the next best thing- and it’s totally free.
Other Resources
Bonjour.com- Language course
Lemonde.fr- #1 French Newspaper, fun to try to read when you get a little better.
Cyberfriends.com- Find a French penpal to correspond with.
The French Tutorial- excellent resource with a downloadable series of lessons.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:41 am
As an English speaker living in France my life is a constant battle to improve my French. The one thing that gets you though is the regional (very stong accents). Nothing can prepare you for that! I promise you. Interesting article.
April 9th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Wonderful article, Stephanie! You do a great job listing and describing the resources. One of my kids is possibly interested in learning French, and I’ll pass this along. Thanks!
April 9th, 2009 at 6:44 am
My French is so rusty, I’ve been thinking of brushing it up for a while so this is well timed. Thanks Stephanie.
April 9th, 2009 at 6:48 am
My other language is a tiny bit of Spanish. This could be very useful.
April 9th, 2009 at 8:22 am
“Cara mia, you spoke French!” – Gomez Addams
Good work, and nice use of screen shots and reference sources.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
these site will surely be of help to those who are trying to go to Canada since it is required of applicants that he/she knows French.. Thanks Stephanie.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:07 am
C’est trés manifique, Stephanie. Trés bon.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:34 am
thanks for this… but i like the spanish language…