By Emily Monaco Last updated: March 27, 2024

13 Fun Ways to Learn French That Actually Work

It’s no secret: learning French takes a lot of work and commitment.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, too.

Turning your French learning experience into something that you truly enjoy is one of the best ways to ensure that you’ll stay the course and really advance in your foreign language studies.

Read on for my top 13 fun ways to learn French that actually work really well. 

Contents

• 1. Read French Comic Books (BDs)
• 2. Watch Recent French Movies
• 3. Make a French Recipe
• 4. Meet a French Conversation Pal
• 5. Book a Trip to a French-speaking Country
• 7. Listen to French Podcasts
• 8. Have a Meal at a French Restaurant or Café
• 9. Read or Listen to a French Novel
• 10. Watch French Vlogs on YouTube
• 11. Shop at a French Market or Bakery
• 12. Listen to French Music
• 13. Watch French Comedy
• And one more thing...

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

1. Read French Comic Books (BDs)

In France, comic books are far from being solely for children and teens. Known as bandes dessinées or BDs for short, these books can cost a pretty penny – around 10 euros a volume – and are beloved by children and adults alike. The proof is in the pudding: clubs like the International Bande Dessinée Society and BD events exist the world over, and stands devoted to the genre pop up at Paris’ famous Salon du Livre.

BDs have been known as “the ninth art” in France since the 1960s, with some of the most famous hailing from either France or Belgium, including “Astérix,” “Tintin,” “Lucky Luke” and “Spirou,” just to name a few. The stories combine history, general culture and a good dose of word games for enjoyable books whose appeal spans generations.

The highly intelligent language typical of most classic BDs combined with their innate illustrated aspect make them the perfect way to perfect your French: what can’t be deduced from the words themselves can be gleaned from the context and the accompanying images. Your resulting vocabulary may be a bit unconventional, featuring terms related to pre-common era Rome or the early American west, but you never know when that might come in handy.  You’re bound to gain more useful vocabulary as well, not to mention talking points with other culturally-astute BD readers.

2. Watch Recent French Movies

It’s no secret that learning a foreign language can be made even easier with foreign language films, but it’s gotten even easier now that pretty much every film is available via the web or DVD soon after release. To make your foreign film experience even more enlightening, don’t forget to turn on the subtitles.

Now before people start getting up in arms, let’s take a moment to explain. I’m not talking about English subtitles, which past a certain level are more of a hindrance than a help, causing learners to rely on their native language as a crutch instead of seeking meaning through context. The subtitles to which I’m referring to in this case are the French subtitles intended for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

As opposed to other subtitles, which tend to stick to the meaning without replicating the dialogue verbatim, this closed captioning should honor the words being spoken fairly accurately, meaning that if you miss something due to an accent or someone swallowing their words on screen, you have a back up.

Expand your vocabulary even further by veering away from classics of French cinema so frequently touted in favor of newer films like “Les Petits Mouchoirs” and “Intouchables,” which will help you brush up on your French slang.

Check out this post to learn about 16 French movies everyone should see. And here’s a great post on the 25 French movies everyone should see to learn French:

3. Make a French Recipe

French cuisine is reputed the world over. While there are many iterations of classic French recipes available in English, why not try your hand at a tried and true French recette (recipe)? French recipe sites like Marmiton or Elle à Table allow you to track down your favorite French dishes and make them as though you were in your very own French kitchen.

One super popular French YouTube channel in French is Hervé Cuisine.

Of course, your American kitchen may be missing a handful of essentials, and we’re not just talking about French mouths to feed. Be sure to either buy a metric kitchen scale or get familiar with conversion websites, as all French recipes will be written in grams and milliliters. Traditional Oven isn’t a French site, but it will become your new best friend if you need to convert grams to cups. Remember: volume and weight will not be the same for every ingredient, so 100 grams of sugar and 100 grams of flour will have very different volume measures in cups!

A few ingredients commonly available in France don’t exist or are quite difficult to track down in the States. Recipes calling for fromage blanc or fromage frais  (creamy cheeses) can usually be made with either Greek yogurt or sour cream, respectively. Feuilles de brick (small, thin sheets of dough) can be replaced with phyllo dough.

Though you will confront a few hiccups like these, you will notice that instructions for French recipes are almost always written in the infinitive – a nice way to ease yourself into the language of French cooking. So tie on your tablier (apron) and get cooking!

Here’s a great post that goes over 14 more cooking shows in French:

4. Meet a French Conversation Pal

If you want to brush up on your French conversation skills, there’s no better way than to practice with a native. Try visiting your local Alliance Française or French cultural center and putting up an ad for a language exchange, or join formed Meetup groups in your area devoted to French language exchange. By speaking 30 minutes in your native language and 30 minutes in French, both you and your pal will benefit from the language savoir-faire that only a native has.

If you can’t find someone in your city, turn to the next best thing: the Internet. A variety of sites like Conversation Exchange and The Mixxer allow you to pair up with a local in France to chat via Skype for a meeting that’s almost as good as the real thing. And if you have a couch to crash on, consider hosting French-speaking Couchsurfers in your home or at least meeting one passing through your town for coffee.

5. Book a Trip to a French-speaking Country

This option might require a bit of foresight, but there’s really no better way to learn a foreign language than to spend some time in the country; in this case, it’s time to go to France to learn French!

If you can, try to plan a week-long stay, and sign up for morning classes at a local language institute. You’ll brush up on your French skills in the natural environment, and you’ll also meet like-minded travelers looking to learn the language, just like you.

In the afternoon, you should, of course, take in the tourist sights, but also be sure to plan ahead and look to see if there are any clubs or other activities that you can visit on your stay. If you’re a karate aficionado, try to find a dojo offering free test courses (many in France do!) If you’re an artist, try to find a painting class with a French instructor. If you can’t get enough of French food or wine, try a French-language cooking class or wine tasting. Learning about something you’re interested in in French will make the language learning a piece of cake.

7. Listen to French Podcasts

Podcasts may be the hero of the new language learning world. Not only can you listen to them everywhere on headphones, there are literally hundreds of choices in every language. If you like French culture, go here. If you’re interested in geopolitics, click here.

And then there are the podcasts that are specifically made for language learners, such as Daily French Pod.

To learn about more French podcasts for all levels, check out this post:

8. Have a Meal at a French Restaurant or Café

Almost every town has a French restaurant or café. So if you can’t quite swing taking a trip to a French-speaking country or region at the moment, try popping into your nearest French establishment and ordering in French.

Here’s a thorough post of how to order food at a restaurant in French:

If you’re planning on ordering wine to go with your meal, you’ll want to check out this great video about how to order wine (and more) in French:

9. Read or Listen to a French Novel

If you’re a reader, there’s nothing better than preparing a cup of tea or coffee and sitting back in your favorite chair with a good book. And there’s no reason that book can’t be in French if your language level is high enough to enjoy it.

If you’re a beginner, you could start with children’s books and if you’re an intermediate, you can get into some of these books:

10. Watch French Vlogs on YouTube

Everyone loves watching bloggers. Well, I do anyway. It’s sort of like the new TV for me. What’s great about vlogs is that there’s something for everyone. Any subject from travel to cooking to make up is covered. And, admit it, you’re watching them anyway already. Why not learn some French at the same time?

If you want to learn about 15 more French vloggers, check out this post:

11. Shop at a French Market or Bakery

French markets and bakeries have popped up like flowers all around the United States and the world. Who doesn’t love a french baguette prepared by a real French person, or at least someone who was taught by a French baker. 

There are also commonly French stalls in farmer’s markets around the world, selling the high quality French food and drink products that the country is famous for.

Check out this post to learn all the words and phrases you’ll need to shop in French:

12. Listen to French Music

Music can be inspiring, motivational or relaxing, depending on what type of music you choose. French music spans pretty much every genre on earth, from rap and hip-hop to classical, house, electronic, rock-and-roll, and they even have their own version of country music called Musique Country in French.

The country music genre, which originated in the United States, has gained popularity in various parts of the world, including France. 

Another popular musical genre in France is Chanson, which is characterized by its poetic and often narrative lyrics. It encompasses a broad range of styles and themes, including love, politics and daily life. Chanson artists often focus on storytelling through their music, and the genre has produced iconic figures such as Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour.

13. Watch French Comedy

The great thing about comedy in another language is that you learn not only the language, but the culture. French comedy has a unique sense of humor that you’ll probably understand as a learner of the language of love.

If you want to check out more French comedy, dive into this post, which covers the French comedians you should know about:

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And one more thing...

If you like learning French on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.

FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.

For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:

Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."

All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)