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Experience France Resources

We’ve handpicked authentic French resources so you can enjoy what real French people watch and listen to every day and apply the natural approach to language acquisition for yourself. You can use these tools to get started listening and clock as many minutes a day and sessions a week as you can. As your listening grows, you may find yourself naturally wanting to speak more. And with this you can work towards practicing pronunciation and speaking, ideally with a coach.

Everything below is adaptable and can adapt to whatever amount of time you have, at your own pace. Whether you are just starting out with the Discover plan or preparing for an immersion with Immerse and Grow, there’s something here for you.

How to Use These Resources

Whether you prefer to listen, watch, or explore classes, these tools help you experiment with the natural approach to:

  • Listen first without translating

  • Re-listen before reading

  • Speak aloud even if it feels imperfect

  • Focus on meaning before grammar

Listen:

  • Les mots d’Aurore: a gentle YouTube series where Aurore shares everyday French words and expressions through stories, sounds, and moments of real French life. (Good for beginners)
  • Easy French (YouTube): Street interviews from across the Francophone world, with subtitles in French and English, so you can hear how people really speak in markets, cafés, and city streets. A wonderful way to tune your ear to natural rhythm, accent, and everyday expressions. (Intermediate)
  • FrenchPod101: Structured audio and video lessons that blend vocabulary, dialogue, and cultural insight, ideal for building listening habits and useful phrases you can try out in real conversations. Bite sized and flexible, perfect for steady progress at home. (Beginner to intermediate)
  • Audiobooks: Free classics on archive.org — Zola, Dumas, Camus.

For example, Le Ventre de Paris, by by Émile Zola evokes the sounds and energy of old Parisian market life.

  • Inner French Podcast: an intermediate podcast exploring French culture and society in clear, natural spoken French. It helps you build listening confidence without relying on translation or heavy grammar explanations. (Comfortable intermediate)
  • Radio France Podcasts (Various levels)
  • Arte Podcast (Advanced listening)
  • Le Journal en Français facile: This daily news podcast, from the broadcaster RFI, summarises the day’s news in simple French. You have the option to subscribe yourself (S’abonner) via your smartphone/tablet or download & play them via your computer. They also provide you with the transcript should you wish to listen & read the text at the same time. To subscribe click on the “S’abonner” button.
Radio France Podcast
Le Journal en Francais facile
  • L’Étranger by Albert Camus: For a longer listen (2 hours 50mins) then here is the audio book of “L’Etranger” read by the famous French author & philosopher, Albert Camus, that will definitely help you to train your ear. As above, you don’t need to translate everything but if you do want to follow the book then do not use the English version.
  • French musicians: Carla Bruni, Stromae, Francis Cabrel, Zaz, Édith Piaf. Stream them while cooking or unwinding. Listen for rhythm and words you recognise. Which lyrics stay with you, and why?

Watch:

  • Des Racines et des Ailes: A beautifully filmed journey through France and beyond, exploring nature, heritage, and culture at a gentle, unhurried pace. (Intermediate)
  • Automoto: For car enthusiasts, this long-running show dives into the latest automotive trends, classic models, and the people behind the machines. (Intermediate+)
  • Norbert, Commis d’Office: Top Chef winner Norbert Tarayre visits home cooks across France, revisiting beloved recipes and bringing warmth and humour to everyday French cuisine.
  • Pékin Express: Now in its 21st season, this adventure series follows pairs of French contestants as they hitchhike across far-flung countries — this year through Kazakhstan — facing challenges, teamwork, and plenty of surprises along the way. (Intermediate)
  • Movies and series: Lupin, Amélie, Les Choristes. Watch in French, with French subtitles.

Did you know?

You can start using French verbs long before you’ve “mastered” conjugation charts.
When you hear and repeat phrases like je fais le café, nous faisons une promenade, ils font la cuisine, your ear starts to recognise the pattern on its own.
Focus on meaning and rhythm — the grammar will quietly fall into place.

More Practice:

  • Set your Waze navigator to French and take a drive to the store. You know the terms in English, this will help you soak in the French.
  • If you’d like fuller access to French television platforms such as TF1, France24 or M6, you may need a VPN. You can set it up to access streaming content from these channels.

Prefer a More Structured Route?

You may be curious about other approaches beyond the Natural Approach. There are many excellent tools and programmes available, and here are a few we recommend if you are looking for an app to get started, a classroom setting, or a French learning holiday.

You Want to Learn
on Your Own

You Want to Learn with
In-Person Classes

You Want a Holiday in France

These tools can support vocabulary building or structured study, but we encourage you to keep listening and understanding at the heart of your learning before analysing grammar in detail.

Handy Tips for Before You Come to France

Navigation Apps

Download the following apps to help you get around in France:

Writing

Lexibar: A French writing support tool that helps you find correct accents, verb forms and vocabulary quickly. Useful for checking spelling and building confidence when writing in French.

Download Lexibar from the official website and choose the version for your computer, Windows or Mac.

Open the installer file, follow the setup steps, and restart your device if prompted so it integrates with your keyboard.

Tips for YouTube Listening

  • Add subtitles: You can enable subtitles on YouTube when you are listening in French. Just note that they are auto-generated, so not 100% accurate. The link for this video is here: https://youtu.be/Qxn3A6cwEFA.
Tips for YouTube Listening Sub title
  • Slow down the audio speed: To change the speed of the audio, click the cog icon in the red circle. 0.75 is normally good at first, when you’re concentrating on the comprehension, but to get the ear used to normal French then play at normal speed. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand EVERY word or sentence at this point!
Tips for YouTube Listening Slow down the audio speed

Download Museum Applications

You can download museum apps as part of your immersion preparation, or simply to create a little moment of France at home. Explore an artwork on your phone, tablet, or computer. Listen to the short audio descriptions and let the language wash over you.

Even if you are not travelling right away, this is a form of virtual immersion. Notice repeated words. Notice tone and rhythm. If you are working with a coach, you might bring one artwork or one question into your next conversation.

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