Do you relate to any of these?
👉The podcasts I’ve tried in the past have always gone over the same language
👉When I listen to other people learning, I remember their mistakes more than the correct phrases
👉If I tune out even for a second, I feel lost, defeated and/or bored
👉When the speakers speak too quickly, the words all blur into one
Contrary to what some apps will try to sell you, learning does not happen through osmosis. Listening to music, podcasts and radio shows in your own language may be a relaxing, passive activity, but in your target language, you’ve got to be active, and interested!
My diagnosis of the biggest cats on the French learning scene?
- Coffee Break Languages = BORED.
- News in Slow French = REALLYYYYYY???
- Michel Thomas method = SPARE ME.*
*The Michel Thomas method may well work in person if you are a learner, but I’ve no experience in that and certainly do not want to listen to other people becoming fluent without me.
For effective language learning, instead of thinking that a podcast can “teach” you a language, it’s important to reframe this so that you commit to teaching yourself a language, using podcasts as a tool. To be successful at this, check out my post on 5 free ways to become the ultimate active listener.
Now that you know the method, here are my most recommended podcasts per level:
Beginner (A1)
Duolingo French podcast
Average episode length: 20 minutes
Thank the lord! Duolingo has stepped away from gamification for 5 minutes to produce this great resource. Each episode is about 50-50 English and French, where the English speaker adds extra context on what’s going on.
Make sure to read the full transcript as you listen.
If you’re a beginner, don’t expect to understand full phrases; instead you’ll spot cognates, French words we use in English, and plenty of language from your school French. Make sure to pick episodes that pique your interest and that will increase your curiosity.
Listen to Episode 87: Paris – Le goût des pâtisseries (the taste of pâtisseries), whilst reading the episode’s transcript.
Pre-intermediate (A2)
Languatalk Slow French
Average episode length: 20 minutes
What a find! On Languatalk Slow French, teacher and host Gaëlle discusses interesting topics including politics, French cuisine, language, history and more.
Make sure to read the transcript as you listen. Gaëlle speaks mostly in French, and interjects with English every so often. She provides a list of the trickier words directly below the transcripts.
Gaëlle uses a challenging range of language for A2 level, so it’s worth choosing episodes that discuss something or someone you already know about.
Listen to the episode on Stromae, whilst reading the episode’s transcript.
French en route
Average episode length: 8 minutes
Babbel’s French en route is so varied; it features stories from across the French-speaking world, from Belgium and Canada, to Martinique and more.
Read the transcript with accompanying pictures as you listen.
There are two versions of each episode, one completely in French, and the other with English context.
Listen to the episode called Heartbreak, Fries and Belgian Beer in French here, or the version with the English narrative too here, and read the accompanying transcripts here (EN+FR) and here (FR only).
Intermediate-Upper intermediate (B1-B2)
Le français avec Fluidité
Average episode length: 15 minutes
Created by French teacher and polyglot Fabien, Le français avec Fluidité covers a wide range of really interesting topics, including culture, art, history, French geography, tourism, daily life and more.
You can access the transcripts here.
Listen to L’histoire d’Angèle, whilst reading the episode’s transcript (click “télécharger la transcription en français”), or even better, you can watch the video version of Le français avec Fluidité on Youtube, and put subtitles on in French.
l’Histoire au jour le jour
Average episode length: 6 minutes
l’Histoire au jour le jour is suitable for even those only lightly historically-inclined. Each episode covers an event that happened on the day of episodes recording, but in the past. The pace is nice and slow, and the vocabulary fairly simple.
Access the transcripts here.
Listen to 1er juillet whilst reading the transcript.
Ta vie en Français
Average episode length: 15 minutes
Creator Jonathan Soreau discusses both light-hearted and heavier topics on Ta vie en Français. He discusses everything from French irony to individual liberty.
He speaks clearly, at a steady pace and with a varied intonation to keep his listeners engaged. His transcripts are available for free if you sign up to his newsletter.
Listen to Comment perdre mon accent? whilst reading the transcript.
French mornings with Elisa
Average episode length: 18 minutes
This is a fairly new podcast; I hope creator Elisa keeps going, to build a library of episodes for learners! Elisa talks about a range of topics in her episodes, from personal experiences, to her musings on the French. The pace is suitably slow for intermediate learners and she speaks really clearly.
Access the transcripts here.
Listen to Ep01 – 5 Questions à se poser pour apprendre une langue whilst reading the transcript.
Little Talk in Slow French
Average episode length: 1 hour
Creator Nagisa Morimoto talks about mostly about French culture and history, but she sometimes chooses more global topics such as which are the most equal and unequal countries in the world? She talks nice and slowly, and peppers her episodes with explanations in English.
Access the transcripts here.
Listen to 20 raisons de rester optimiste dans ce monde de fous whilst reading the transcript.
InnerFrench
Average episode length: 27 minutes
Creator Hugo is a professor at a Polish university. On InnerFrench he covers lots of different topics, from French culture, to discussing issues such as “living with robots.”
He has a huge collection of episodes, so InnerFrench is sure to keep you entertained. Access the transcripts here.
Listen to episode 3 Les pays les plus heureux du monde and read the transcript.
Journal en français facile
Average episode length: 10 minutes
Journal en français facile is a great thing to listen to once you’ve got up to speed with the latest news in your native language, as you’ll be able to deduce a lot of vocabulary you haven’t learnt yet.
As ever, listen along with the transcript in front of you, and for this one, I’d recommend you listen at 0.8x speed.
Final thoughts
When I had any level below B1 in the foreign languages I speak, I would always sit down for a “study session”, read a podcast’s transcript whilst listening, and would pause, rewind and make notes on new vocabulary.
Listening to podcasts with the right technique – as I laid out in my 5 free ways to become the ultimate active listener – will lead you to improve significantly. This will be what makes the difference with your listening skills, where you’ll no longer be one of those learners who can dish out French here and there, but can’t understand what people say back to you..!
What do you think of this selection? Are there any other podcasts you swear by on your French learning journey? Comment below!
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