Podcasts are an easy way to improve your French comprehension and vocabulary skills
What are the best French language podcasts to practice your French and make prompt progress?
As a French tutor online, I am often asked by language learners if I know relevant resources available online to improve one’s conversation skills. Here are some of the best French podcasts to listen to.
1. Daily French Pod
Improve your comprehension and vocabulary skills with Daily French Pod. With a series of well-planned and succinct lessons, these podcasts are a wonderful introduction to the French language. They are based on daily situations that may occur in France. The lessons are conducted entirely in French. The pace of spoken French is normal speed, although it slows down when the speaker is talking directly to the listener. Some prior knowledge is requested, so these podcasts are not suitable for a complete French beginner. The transcripts are available in the pdf format for each listening, which is very useful to verify your comprehension.
2. Coffee Break French
Coffee Break French gives the listener a front row seat to a series of highly practical lessons by French language teacher Mark as he coaches his student Ana. Learning at the same time as somebody else is a fantastic way to make the words, grammar and phrases stick in the mind. What’s more it’s not as intense or as boring as being in the classroom yourself. The French lessons are easy to follow, last for about 10-15 minutes and are aimed at the beginner. One of the greatest strengths of this podcast series is Mark’s personality that motivates the listener. To help students get the most out of each podcast there are accompanying notes. The podcast series is produced by the Radio Lingua Network, a reliable online provider of language courses.
3. One Thing in a French Day
This entertaining podcast website offers « A small slice of a Frenchwoman’s day ». Each French podcast focuses on a different daily event, such as going to a museum exhibition, going for a walk, and shopping in an organic store. They are presented by native Parisian Laetitia who discusses each day’s event in normal speed French. Her diction is clear and the words are easy to understand. New podcasts are published regularly, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the transcript is available in the newsletter.
4. News in Slow French.com
News in Slow French is a wonderful podcast series where news stories are read out in French at a much slower speed than you would hear on the television or radio. The pronunciation is perfect, allowing the listener to hear every word distinctly. It’s slow French that will help you learn quickly.
Each podcast is broken down into a number of sections, and features different stories, conversation between the hosts, a few points of grammar and some common French idiomatic expressions. News in Slow French is suitable for the beginner and intermediate, and to aid learning, a transcript of each lesson is also available. The absolute beginner may struggle at first, but the pace of the spoken French is slow enough not to frighten anyone away. And it doesn’t take too long for the listener to acquire a lot of new vocabulary.
5. One Minute French
Yes, you can learn so much French with so little material. These short, sharp online French lessons pack in quite a bit of good information for the beginner. Teacher Pierre-Benoit takes the listener through enough French language basics to help them converse during a vacation or business trip. They may be called ‘One Minute French’ but each online French language podcast lasts for two to four minutes.
Interested in working on your listening and speaking skills with a private French tutor online? Contact Caroline now!
