Podcasts are my laziest recommendation for improving your language skills.
By B1 level, you can listen whilst you exercise, drive, cook, hang up the washing, you name it.
Good news for the time poor, and excellent news for the lazy learner, as you will just pick stuff up naturally if you listen often enough.
In order to take your listening to the next level, you need to be exposed to a nice range of content.
This selection includes teacher-led explanations, cultural discussions, storytelling, compelling monologues and natural conversations. Try out a few, pick a couple you quite like and stick to them for a while, then move onto something new.
B1 → B1+
A2 to B1 can feel like a big jump, so it’s important to start slowly. Don’t assume you’ll understand everything straight away. Feeling panicky about it? Begin with Français avec Pierre and watch his videos to ease you in.
Français avec Pierre
Average episode length: 10 minutes
Pierre creates short and compelling podcast episodes, also available as videos on Francais avec Pierre Youtube channel.
Pierre discusses vocabulary, grammar and more, and even sometimes chooses more abstract subjects such as Est-ce que les animaux ont des emotions? – 5 minutes de français.
Access his transcripts here for free.
Listen to Adjectif ou adverbe? 5 erreurs que font (presque) tous les étudiants.
Easy French
Average episode length: 30 minutes
Hélène and Judith host Easy French, a well-known podcast focusing on simple, everyday conversation.
As well as the podcast, Easy French has a Youtube channel for which they interview French people on the streets. Great if you need some visual support.
Listen to 152: Conseils pour voyageurs en France.
My French Journey
Average episode length: 9 minutes
Creator Julie Marchal produces episodes ranging from answering bigger questions like Pourquoi vous stagnez en français (et comment surmonter ce blocage) ! to listicles and grammatical explanations.
Julie puts each episode transcript into the episode description on Spotify.
Listen to Le Staycation – Voyager sans partir loin! (#105) and read the transcript here.
Intermediate French with Carlito
Average episode length: 12 minutes
French teacher Carlito creates episodes on French language and culture, focusing on personal stories, history, art, and traditions.
He speaks very clearly and at a manageable pace for learners new to B1 material. He peppers his episodes with the odd word in English to explain the meaning of challenging vocabulary.
Access the free transcripts here.
Listen to French Slang Demystified: Speak (and Understand) Real French Today.
B1+ → B2
The B1-B1+ section above was very learner-focused. Now it’s time to move on to some deeper content, where you can really delve into French culture. Two out of the four options below have accompanying video content, so if you need a visual aid, try out Le French Podcast and Podcast Français Authentique first.
French Decoded podcast
Average episode length: 25 minutes
French Decoded podcast is created by a woman called Aurélie. She discusses history, art, literature, travel, cinema and more, using common words and at a moderate pace.
This is the perfect podcast for true Francophiles; learn about Alex Dumas (who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo), the Louvre, Louis Vuitton, French cinema and more.
Access the transcripts for free here.
Listen to La fabuleuse histoire de Louis Vuitton.
Le French Podcast
Average episode length: 15 minutes
Le French Podcast is created by Jordi Porte.
His content ranges from listicle-style, to storytelling and more.
You can also watch Jordi as you listen on his Le French Club Youtube channel.
Listen to 15 Expressions Avancée avec Y et EN à Connaître Absolument!
Podcast Français Authentique
Average episode length: 15 minutes
Tekfak Johan is behind Podcast Français Authentique. He discusses many different things, including key figures, idioms and general life advice. Sometimes his wife joins him for some dialogue reenactments.
Tekfak also videos all of his content, and provides transcripts for free.
Listen to (or watch on Youtube!) Des personnalités qui ont fait la France 2/3 – Neuf écrivains and read the transcript.
Juste un moment
Average episode length: 5 minutes
Created by Isabelle Vogt, Juste un moment presents stories and interviews on cultural and other topics, ranging from hieroglyphs to ghosts.
The pace is perfect for B1+ level learners.
Listen to 135_Monte Cristo.
B2
Now it’s time to dip our toes in at the deep end. This is where we bridge the gap between content for learners and podcasts for native speakers. Before you throw yourself into content made for natives, try out French with panache. Once you get more comfortable, you can start exploring native level content, and you’ll be off!
French with panache
Average episode length: 30 minutes
French with panache is created by Violaine and Nathan, journalists and certified teachers. They discuss different features of French society including lifestyle, politics, social issues and more.
The tone is upbeat and conversations between the two are easy to understand, and the episodes are peppered with clarifications (whether spellings, synonyms or further context) of more challenging words and phrases.
The transcripts for episodes 11 to 52 are freely available. For episode 53 and beyond, you’d need to join their Patreon.
Listen to Quand les français font des fautes… de français.
Les Pieds sur Terre
Average episode length: 30 minutes
Les Pieds sur Terre features personal testimonies from ordinary people about extraordinary life experiences (e.g. incarceration, migration, injustice, intimate life moments).
This is definitely a challenge for learners as it’s not specifically designed for learners. It’ll give you good exposure to native-speed stories, varied accents and conversational language.
You can find more information on each episode here.
Listen to “Ghosting” : quand l’être aimé disparaît sans explication.
Final thoughts
Now you’ve got a great selection of podcasts to test drive. Don’t worry too much if you struggle with one. Different formats work for different people. Move on and try another one.
As you gain more confidence with a couple of favourites, test out some with different formats, so that you get comfortable with listening to storytelling, interviews or conversations, informative pieces and more.
If you feel you still need the support of transcripts when you listen to podcasts, check out my 10 top podcasts with free transcripts for A1-B2 French learners post.
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