Can you learn French by yourself?

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History is full of self-taught polyglots. The Brazilian writer Machado de Assis taught himself French, English, German and Greek. Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau learned a number of languages without any tuition, while Kató Lomb, a Hungarian translator and author of Polyglot: How I Learn Languages, claimed to have mastered twenty-eight languages through self-study. With a bit of discipline and access to a wide range of resources, the achievements of these figures are a testament to how much progress languages learners can make without ever having to say bonjour to another person.

But there are limits to self-teaching. If your goal is purely to be able to read and write in French at an intermediate level, then this is perfectly possible for those who prefer the autodidactic approach. If, on the other hand, you want to become truly fluent, able to speak French at an advanced level and navigate a Francophone country with ease, then you're going to need some outside assistance. This is a fact which even the most erudite learners have acknowledged. Arrau, de Assis and Lomb may have all taught themselves second languages, but they supplemented their learning and put it into practice by immersing themselves in environments where their chosen languages were spoken, and by sustained conversation with other speakers.

Of course, in today's world, with so many resources available on the Internet, it's easier than ever to learn French without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. In fact, Alexa's Complete French Course achieves precisely this, by offering extensive, engaging classroom-style lessons that you can access anywhere, any time. The added advantage of taking an online course like The Complete French Course is that each lesson can be taken as and when you want, with the option to repeat lessons and skips ahead or rewind during the videos, allowing you to learn French at your own pace.

But we also recognise the importance of additional materials, which is why each lesson comes with a support guide, quizzes and supplementary videos. That said, there are also important aspects of French that you simply can't learn alone, so it's important to pursue these too for a well-rounded French education.

Learning vocabulary

Learning new words is one of the most formulaic aspects of studying French, but that also makes it one of the simplest.

Our advice? Commit to learning a set amount of words each day. It could be as few as five words, or as many as fifty. Consistency, rather than quantity, is the key here, and it's important to incorporate spaced repetition into your learning too. For instance, once you've learned your words for the day, make sure to go over them again the next day, and once again the next week. This will help cement them in your memory.

But how to choose which words to learn and when? Our vocabulary lists, available to subscribers, helpfully list French nouns in a range of different categories, from fruits and shapes to emotions and the environment. Each word comes with an image, to help you remember it, and an audio transcription to aid pronunciation. Our verb lists, meanwhile, help you learn the different conjugations for different tenses for over 100 common verbs.

Other methods for learning vocabulary involve combing through a dictionary to find new words , or simply making a note of new words as you encounter them, whether that's in YouTube videos, from watching films or from reading a book. These can all be done in total isolation.

Reading

Reading in French is one of the best ways you can improve your knowledge of the language, and introduce yourself to new vocabulary, aspects of grammar and other quirks of the language that aren't always included in French language syllabuses.

But how should you choose what to read? Books are an obvious way to immerse yourself in the written language, but they can also be difficult - and therefore off-putting - for beginners. Children's books such as Le Petit Prince (you can watch Alexa's read-along of this classic book on YouTube) are a good starting point, while bilingual books, which feature French text on one page and an English translation on other, make the classics much more approachable.

Beyond books, spending time on French websites is another great way to get yourself used to reading French. (Wikipedia, which allows you to toggle between hundreds of different languages, is a great resource for this.) Another way to improve your reading skills is to visit a francophone country, where you'll be surrounded by written French everywhere you look, from signs and menus to leaflets and tickets. But don't just learn passively: make a concentrated effort to read newspapers, magazines, and other written materials. Whichever method you prefer, immersion is key.

Mastering grammar

Tenses, conjugations, syntax...learning French grammar in all its colourful forms can be a little intimidating, but unfortunately it's one of those areas that requires learners to sit down and concentrate. For this reason, it's actually easier to master French grammar in isolation.

But isolation doesn't mean cutting off all support. We provide learners with everything they need to know to conquer French grammar, from the day 1 essentials to the trickier parts. The Complete French Course goes into depth on all aspects of grammar, introducing them at appropriate stages during the journey from A1 to C2, while keeping things engaging and approachable with examples of easy-to-follow explanations and interactive quizzes in each lesson. You can also check out our blog section for further information on a variety of grammatical topics, from negation to contractions and elisions.

Identifying blind spots

Blind spots are areas in your French learning that you still need to work on in order to achieve proficiency. They can be anything from knowledge of how to conjugate a certain tense, to not knowing how to ask for directions.

By definition, it can be difficult to know what you don't know, particularly if there are elements of the language that you've simply never encountered before. This is why practising French with a partner or teacher is essential, as they can let you know where you're slipping up or making mistakes that you otherwise wouldn't be aware of. You may be surprised how many French learners get to C2 level without ever understanding how to pronounce basic verbs properly or knowing the correct gender for common nouns.

That said, you can go some way towards remedying this by simply increasing your exposure to the French language in all its vastness and diversity. Read widely, listen to podcasts and keep an eye out for the latest Learn French With Alexa YouTube videos to get a sense of what you might still need to learn!

Answering your questions

The French language is vast, fascinating and often quite puzzling, which is why learners tend to have lots of questions, and why it seems that for every answer another two questions come to mind. While it's now possible to have your question answered by artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT, it's important to note that these platforms aren't always accurate, and that they get their information from sources that already exist on the web. In other words, if you have a question about French that can't be answered by Google, the chances are that ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini won't be able to provide a truly satisfactory answer either.

That's why it helps to be able to ask a verified French expert. Alexa's live lessons, for instance, are the perfect space to field your questions on all sorts of topics, and Alexa regularly addresses questions on all matter of subjects, from how and when to use certain words to personal learning advice.

Speaking practice

Many learners cite speaking as the hardest part of learning French, and part of the reason why is that they simply don’t get enough practice. That’s because to practise speaking French, you need to be striking up conversations with real people. This can be daunting and nerve-racking, and it can be difficult to find French speakers to converse with.

Thanks to technology, however, it's easier than ever to find a French-speaking partner. Chatbots such as Frenchbot allow you to practise your conversation skills with a fluent, reliable partner, and without the fear of embarrassment, while various platforms and apps now exist which allow you to find language partners and pen pals.

Meanwhile, our Speaking Practice and Conversation Club classes allow you to put your speaking skills to the test alongside other French learners, under the guidance of a native French speaker, allowing you to pursue your speaking practice goals with structure and at a level tailored to your skills.

There's simply no substitute for taking part in a genuine tête-à-tête, familiarising yourself with the way people speak in French and all the conversational customs and colloquialisms that you'll never see written down in a textbook.