{"id":118427,"date":"2016-11-09T20:11:57","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T01:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/ted-talks-in-french\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T04:36:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T09:36:56","slug":"ted-talks-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/ted-talks-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Must-watch TED Talks in French"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TED Talks in French offer a dynamic platform for sharing innovative ideas and inspiring stories from the Francophone world. They cover a wide range of topics, from science and technology to art and culture and much more.<\/div>\n
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These talks provide a unique opportunity for French learners to improve their listening comprehension while gaining valuable insights. Check out these seven TED Talks in French and discover the power of ideas worth spreading!
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1. “Alors on danse”\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Then we dance”<\/p>\n

If you’re a music-loving French learner, check out this TED Talk. Stromae is an international music star with an interesting perspective. His talk is about 80% English <\/strong>and he often repeats himself in English and then French, making this a great video for beginners.<\/p>\n

In the video, Stromae gives us insight into how electronic music is made<\/strong> and where he draws his lyric inspiration from. He breaks down each layer of the song to show how they all fit together and then gives a performance at the end.<\/p>\n

You’ll hear phrases such as terre \u00e0 terre<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(down to earth), envie de danser<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(feel like dancing) and Est-ce que vous \u00eates pr\u00eats \u00e0 repartir ?<\/em><\/strong> (Are you ready to go again?).\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. “Voyage entre deux inspirations”<\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Journey between two inspirations”<\/p>\n

In this TED Talk, Guillaume N\u00e9ry\u00a0gives us a glimpse into the world of freediving<\/strong>, discussing the sport’s physical and psychological challenges. He also talks about the beauty of freediving and learning to be at ease underwater.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The TED Talk includes footage from N\u00e9ry’s record freedive, his training and other diving experiences. A lot of the language will be quite complicated for a beginner in French, but there are still plenty of opportunities to learn here.<\/p>\n

You’ll hear some French-English cognates<\/a> such as profonde<\/em><\/strong> (deep or profound), intense<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(intense) and e<\/strong>ffet<\/strong><\/em> (effect). He also uses some vocabulary related to the body like les poumons, le c\u0153ur et le cerveau<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(the lungs, the heart and the brain).\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. “Peut-on penser l’origine de l’Univers ?”<\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Can we conceive the origin of the universe?”<\/p>\n

\u00c9tienne Klein presents a very interesting talk on various theories about the universe<\/strong>, delving into whether the origin of the universe is a scientific or a spiritual idea. He progresses through a logical argument, presenting both viewpoints.<\/p>\n

Klein uses some visuals, but this is mainly a lecture rather than a demonstration. He uses a lot of academic language and unusual vocabulary due to the nature of the subject, so this talk is best for intermediate and advanced learners<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You’ll hear some advanced verbs including greffer<\/em><\/strong> (to graft\/transplant), tenter<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(to attempt), s<\/strong>‘\u00e9loignent<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>([they] move away) and aper\u00e7oit<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>([he\/she] perceives). If you enjoy this talk, Klein has a book on the same topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. “Un polyglotte sommeille en vous”<\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “A polyglot lies dormant in you”<\/p>\n

S\u00e9bastian Roger de Nu\u00f1ez is a hyper-polyglot who speaks more than 10 languages, and his TED Talk serves as inspiration for language learners<\/strong>. He talks about why we learn other languages, the relationships between languages and useful learning methods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There’s some complex language, including some French idioms. For example, Nu\u00f1ez says “je n’ai pas jet\u00e9 l’\u00e9ponge,”<\/strong><\/em> which is the French equivalent of “I haven’t thrown in the towel,” but uses “sponge” instead of “towel.”<\/p>\n

You’ll also hear some beginner and intermediate phrases such as j<\/em>\u2019<\/strong>estime<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(I believe), j\u2019ai<\/em>\u00a0s<\/em><\/strong>u retenir<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(I managed to remember) and en tendant bien l’oreille<\/em><\/strong> (listening carefully).<\/p>\n

5. “Journalisme humanitaire, au-del\u00e0 des clich\u00e9s”<\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Humanitarian journalism, beyond clich\u00e9s”<\/p>\n

\u00c9lodie Vialle\u00a0presents a very compelling talk on the subject of humanitarian journalism<\/strong>. She discusses how the media can retain the dignity of those impacted by poverty by eliminating stereotypes and post-colonial thinking.<\/p>\n

You’ll hear some useful phrases such as gagner sa vie<\/em><\/strong> (to earn a living), r<\/em>egardez-le bien<\/em><\/strong> (look at it carefully) and \u00e7a tombe \u00e0 l’eau<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> which translates literally to “it falls in the water” but means “it falls through.”<\/p>\n

Some more advanced phrases used include mais force est de constater<\/em><\/strong> (but it should be noted) and jette en p\u00e2ture<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> which literally means “throws it to pasture” but is equivalent to the phrase “thrown to the lions.”<\/p>\n

6. “Prot\u00e9ger les oc\u00e9ans pour un autre anthropoc\u00e8ne”\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Protecting the oceans for another Anthropocene”<\/p>\n

C\u00e9sar Harada presents a fascinating talk, briefly explaining three major threats to ocean life and then guiding us through his team’s revolutionary work<\/a> to build technology to help save the oceans<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harada uses videos, prototypes and visual aids to explain his technology and crafts a compelling story around his drive to save the oceans. There’s plenty to watch here; you might even forget to focus on the language at some points.<\/p>\n

Listen for interesting phrases like mar\u00e9e noire<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> which literally translates to “black tide” but refers to an oil spill, and se coller ensemble<\/em><\/strong> (to stick together). There are also some cognates like plates-formes<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(platforms) and personnel<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(personal).\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. “La th\u00e9rapie cellulaire, avenir de la m\u00e9decine ?”\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n

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English title:<\/strong> “Cell therapy, the future of medicine?”<\/p>\n

Anyone with an interest in scientific advancement will enjoy this video. The ideas Fabrice Chr\u00e9tien explores and his explanation of the biological processes involving cells<\/strong> are presented with the non-scientist in mind.<\/p>\n

Chr\u00e9tien talks us through stem cells and the possibilities and limitations with the help of some visual aids. The language can get a bit complicated, but there are some good phrases for French students to learn.<\/p>\n

For example, you’ll hear En revanche…<\/em><\/strong> (On the other hand…) and Comment \u00e7a marche ?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>(How does it work?). You can also pick up some more advanced vocabulary like <\/span>emb\u00eatantes <\/strong><\/em>(pesky) and un<\/em><\/strong> amas <\/em><\/strong>(a heap or cluster).<\/p>\n

How to Use TED Talks to Learn French\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Depending on your level of fluency, you may find some of these talks challenging to understand. Here’s what I recommend to help beginners<\/strong> and intermediate learners <\/strong>tackle more difficult talks:<\/p>\n