Ways you can learn French for free

Learning a language can be expensive but there are plenty of free resources that can help you learn French without opening your wallet!

APPS

Named iPhone app of the year in 2013, Duolingo applies computer science to the teaching of more than 20 languages including French, English, Portuguese and Vietnamese by developing a ‘tree’ of skills in which the user moves from one challenge to the next. Users answer multiple choice questions, speak translations into a microphone and learn through verbal repetition, and the app is free to download. Duolingo has 120 million users worldwide, and 5,474,466 are currently using it in the UK.

Read our pick of great apps to help you learn French

FRENCH-THEMED TWITTER ACCOUNTS

Accounts such as @frenchToday send out daily tweets with interesting French vocabulary and examples of its use in everyday language. The website also has downloadable language-learning audio books as well as details of lessons via Skype.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter too for our regular vocab tweets!

BBC LANGUAGES FRENCH

This excellent website features everything you could possibly need to learn French. There is everything from holiday phrases to audiovisual courses and sections on French slang. The site also has links to a host of French-language news sites and comes with a dedicated French grammar section.

ONLINE LANGUAGE CLUBS AND ORGANISATIONS

A language exchange with a French language pen pal is an excellent way to learn more about the culture and improve your language skills. The good news is there is a wealth of sites that will help you forge everlasting friendships with French native speakers. One of the best is My Language Exchange, which allows you to build an online profile and join online conversations to meet your perfect French pen pal.

FRENCH WEBSITES

A great way to gain regular exposure to French is by reading and/or listening to a French website. The French news website www.tf1.fr has regular news broadcasts which will enable you to test your listening skills while www.lemonde.fr is an excellent website for reading longer news articles which are sure to provide you with plenty of new vocabulary.

FRENCH LESSONS ON YOUTUBE

The increasingly-popular video-sharing website YouTube has fast become an excellent way of learning French. The website, which is free to use, offers a host of French language-learning video content, with recordings from French speakers based across the globe. All you have to do is enter what aspect of French you are looking to improve or learn and you will be sure to find a video that will help you on your way to fluency.

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