How to learn French with podcasts

Did you know that podcasts provide one of the best ways to learn French? After all, they're uniquely versatile. Unlike textbooks or exercise sheets, you can listen to a podcast while washing the dishes or driving to work - or even while you sleep!

Of course, as well as being a great way to learn French passively, podcasts reward active learning. By really paying attention, making notes and reading a transcript while you listen, you can improve your listening and reading skills simultaneously (which in turn will help with your speaking and writing skills, as you develop a sense of how to articulate statements in French). In short, the more effort you put in, the more you'll get out of it.

That said, there are a lot of French education podcasts out there, and it's important to choose one (or more) that works for you. Not all podcasts come with a ready-made French transcript or a translation into English, for example, and others may be aimed at learners of a lower or higher level than you. You may prefer podcasts that are dictated entirely in French, or you may find it more instructive to listen to English-language podcasts about French.

There are some podcasts that tick all the boxes. Alexa's podcast, for instance, is comprised of dozens of episodes across a range of topics, from movies to béchamel sauce. Some episodes are entirely in French, allowing listeners to follow along as Alexa talks about a subject such as la bise or her favourites pastimes in clear, comprehensible French. Others follow the format of discussions between Alexa and the team about some of the interesting quirks of the French language. Whichever episode you find yourself listening to, you're guaranteed to find it both highly engaging and informative.

Each of our latest episodes also comes with a written transcript in French and an English translation, as well as questions to help you engage with the topic, while some also include word lists to help expand your French vocabulary. Each episode of our new series also comes with a helpful support guide to aid with your comprehension.

If you prefer to watch rather than simply listen, you'll be happy to learn that each of our podcast episodes is released in video format on YouTube, too.

Use the transcript

Most learners find it harder to listen to French than to read it, which is why it can be helpful to follow the written text while you listen. This will give you a sense for how certain words are pronounced, and help you stay on track when the stream of spoken words flows too quickly. Being able to glance at a transcript will also help you quickly locate different parts of the episode.

Not all podcasts have transcripts, but many do. You can also use apps like Snipd to use AI to generate transcripts for podcasts that don't have them.

Listen to episodes on repeat

Even if you don’t understand everything the first time, one of the virtues of podcasts is that you can listen to them as many times as you like. Repetition helps build comprehension, and there’s no shame in re-listening to a podcast to better understand it and pick up things you might not have noticed on a first lesson.

One effective strategy is to listen to an episode, noting down words and phrases you might not be familiar with. Take some time to learn these, then revisit the episode. You'll be surprised by how much more you understand it the second time around.

Subscribe

Make sure to subscribe to the channel, regardless of where you get your podcasts, whether that's Spotify, Apple or YouTube. You'll be notified when new episodes release, and that's one of the best ways to keep your learning consistent and stay abreast of new content.