Looking for a more detailed guide? Check out our comprehensive step-by-step language learning framework here.
Learning French is an exciting journey, whether you’re preparing for travel, career opportunities, or personal growth. This guide will provide practical steps to help you learn French effectively.
1. Choose the Right Course
Taking structured French classes, whether online or in person, provides a clear learning path, speaking practice, and corrections. However, if you’re learning on your own, picking the right course is crucial.
One of the best free resources is French in Action by Pierre J. Capretz. This immersive video course, available on YouTube, teaches French through a story-driven method. The videos may seem a bit old-fashioned, but the content is highly effective.
For vocabulary retention, our Anki deck complements French in Action perfectly and can also be used independently.
Avoid apps like Duolingo, which teach isolated sentences without context and lack an efficient repetition system.
2. Immerse Yourself in the Language
French in Action provides great immersion, but you should surround yourself with French as much as possible.
- Watch French TV shows and movies with French subtitles to reinforce listening comprehension.
- Listen to French music and podcasts to train your ears.
- Follow YouTube channels that provide comprehensible input designed for French learners.
The more you expose yourself to natural French, the faster you’ll internalize grammar and pronunciation.
3. Practice Consistently
Active practice is essential to improve your fluency.
Chatting: Use HelloTalk or Tandem to text with native speakers.
Speaking: Find a language exchange partner or a tutor on italki or Preply.
Writing: Keep a French diary or write short texts and get corrections from ChatGPT or native speakers.
4. Don’t be Afraid of Mistakes
Many learners hesitate to speak because they fear making mistakes, but errors are part of the learning process. Instead of worrying, embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. The more you practice, the more natural speaking will become.
5. Build a Study Routine
Consistency is key in language learning.
Practice daily when using spaced repetition tools like Anki to reinforce vocabulary effectively.
Mix different activities—alternate between reading, listening, and speaking.
Set a daily or weekly schedule—even 15-30 minutes a day makes a difference. Allocate specific timeslots for different language learning activities.
Conclusion
Learning French takes time, but by choosing the right resources, immersing yourself in the language, and practicing consistently, you’ll make steady progress.
If you’re serious about mastering French or any language, check out our full step-by-step guide for a deeper dive into effective learning strategies
1 thought on “A Short Guide to Learning French”
I work for a multilingual company in Canada, and while it isn’t strictly required for us to learn French it has been said a few times that knowing both languages is a big asset. So, I started looking into learning French, and found the first part of the French deck on Anki’s website and blasted through it. Once I was finished all the cards in it I then found out there was more to it here. I’ve had a lot of fun learning french with this deck, and I’m happy that it also introduced me to the ‘French in Action’ videos which were also super helpful. 10/10 for me; 350 cards down and 2,030 to go!