Looking for great French websites to support your language learning?
Here are some of the greatest online resources you might want to use if you are learning French. They all serve a different purpose and a combination of some of these tools can help you get effective learning.
1. Le point du FLE - Useful for finding practice exercises
Le point du FLE is a free website, directly accessible to everyone. Le Point du FLE can be translated into English as the Corner of French as a Foreign Language.
It is an online directory for French language resources. It focuses mainly on bringing to you a wide selection of exercises to support your language study.
It's great for Teachers who are looking for resources for their classes and for French learners as well.
For self-taught learners, you will appreciate quality exercises for many topics from total beginners like (A1, A2) to more advanced learners. The site uses pictograms to indicate which type of information (video, lesson, exercise, audio,...) you can expect to have by clicking on the links on their website. This is very helpful as it guides you through deciding if you want to have a look at that specific resource or not. On the net, it's one of my favorite websites.
2. Forvo - Essential for words pronunciation
When learning a language like French, pronunciation is crucial. Some of the available resources online will only provide content but with no pronunciation hints. Forvo is the go-to place if you want to know how to pronounce a word. Just type it in the research bar and you will get its native pronunciation.
Forvo will not only give you the pronunciation of the words but also will give you pronounced phrases related to that word you researched. And guess what? Forvo is free to use for French language, and for many other languages like Spanish, English, Italian, ...
3. Word Reference - Best for translation of words
WordReference is a multilanguage online dictionary (dictionnaire de langue). It is a website that translates from French to Spanish (français-espagnol) and from French to English(francais-anglais) or the opposite. This type of tool will always come in handy as you need them to understand the keywords of your target language.
There are lots of online dictionaries out there. However, choosing the good ones is an important step as you don't want to end up with some lousy literal translation. Getting contextual traduction is crucial and WordReference can help you in that way. When you type the word you want to translate, the website will also propose related words and examples of contextual sentences. This will guide you through the meaning you want to give to the words you are using.
WordReference is entirely free. You can use it anytime without the fear of being charged. There is also a French conjugator for all the verbs that you might want to know the conjugation.
4. Linguee - A Great free translator
Linguee works just like WordReference. It is a free online dictionary and word translator. If you are stuck with any term in French, just head to Linguee and type your word to get it translated into Spanish (Traduction français-anglais) or English (traduction français -anglais). It gives more language translation possibilities. You can even translate from French to German, Portuguese, Polish (polonais), Italian, Danish and more languages.
Linguee will also suggest related words and phrases as well as sentences in context to help you understand better the meaning of a word.
Both Lingue and WordReference offer words prononciation.
5. Lingoda - Best for an immersive learning
Even if you are a self-taught learner, you might need at some point someone with whom you can practice talking French. In case you consider taking online French classes, Lingoda can be an appropriate choice.
Lingoda is an online language school, one of the best immersive resources you can find online. Lingoda provides group classes or private classes on Zoom. All learning materials are provided by Lingoda and are designed for an online learning setting, according to the Common European Framework Reference for languages standards (CEFR). With Lingoda, you have the advantage of being exposed to different accents and through their communicative approach, you get quickly speaking. If you like well-structured classes with proven results, then Lingoda might be the right choice. Prices start range between 12 and 15 Euros per one hour group lesson. They offer a 7-day free trial, so why not try and see by yourself if this is what you are looking for? The free trial will give you access to try out 3 group classes for free or one private class, depending on the type of classes you choose to join.
For those who like challenges, Lingoda periodically runs the Lingoda Language Sprint, allowing you to take intensive classes during 2 months (1 class a day or every 2 days). If you are able to attend all the classes, you can get up to 100% cashback. However, this is not for everyone. If you can commit daily, better join the regular classes.
6. Lingopie - Great for a painless and subconscious learning
Are you a movie lover? If you love watching movies, series, or TV shows then you are probably watching stuff on Netflix or YouTube. They are indeed great places to find French movies. However, there is another great resource, specially designed for language learning, which is Lingopie. Lingopie has over 1000 hours of French movies or series that you can binge-watch while having fun and learning at the same time. What I mostly like about them is the possibility that you have to read the script in your target language while eying your favorite TV series.
You have the subtitles and if a word looks unfamiliar, you can just click on it to get it translated into your native language. Once you have finished watching your movie, you can review the new words through their awesome flashcards feature. Learning in a subconscious way, while watching a film is one of the easiest ways to improve your vocabulary on one hand, and to get used to the pronunciation of the words on the other hand. Most movies and TV shows are from France, so if you are looking to learn French from France, you are then served.
However, unlike most of the websites listed above, Lingopie is not free but it won't break your bank. You can access all the movies (French, English, Spanish and Italian) and TV series for $12 a month if you subscribe to a monthly plan. Currently, they are offering up to 70% discount on subscriptions, which makes you pay only $5.99 per month for an individual yearly subscription.
They also have a family and friends plan, giving you access to a shared option with up to 4 friends for only $99 a year during the current sale.
In case you want to try out Lingopie before subscribing, they have a 7-days free trial that you can join and see by yourself if it's something that you would like to add to your learning resources.
7. Italki -Affordable and ideal for conversational lessons
Italki is a language learning platform, that connects language learners with teachers around the world. Classes are held 100% online. Italki has community tutors who are native speakers and professional teachers who are certified. It's the best plan for those who just want to have conversational lessons with native speakers at affordable rates.
You can find tutors with rates as Low as 6 to $7 per hour., you just have to search on the platform. Italki's Review is available here.
8. Expressio - Best for learning Common French idioms
If your objective is to improve your vocabulary, at an intermediate level, learning about French idioms could be a great start. Websites like Expressio.fr propose daily French idioms with their meanings and tell the history behind these expressions. It also gives you examples of sentences and equivalent idioms in multiple other languages.
9. TV5 monde - Great audio and video exercises with feedback
TV5 Monde is an international French TV channel. Its website for French learners and teachers is a great resource as you can find many lessons and practice exercises for free. Resources include audio, documents, and videos. It's ideal for learners whose level is between A1 and B2.
10. Ortholud
Ortholud is a free website for practicing mostly for grammar and vocabulary practice, great for Teachers and French learners. Even if this website is intended for a younger public I do recommend it as the exercises are interesting and can help you consolidate a grammar point. They propose crossed words, dictations, puzzles, fill-in blanks, and many types of quizzes.
To Wrap it up
This is a selection of some of the best online French learning resources. Of course, we believe that we are also a good alternative free learning resource even if we are still in the process of developing our website.
Some people may be surprised not to see apps like Duolingo or Busuu but it is purposely done since I had already covered an article about the best apps for learning French. I wanted you to have access to several resources that you can combine to start learning French and move toward fluency. If you find these 10 resources for learning French to be great, then consider liking and sharing this post with your friends, and don't forget to join our newsletter (see below) for more resources.
I use bitesizefrench.com/daily-quiz/ for listening practice, free and updated daily with new content.