French · Français
Guided 96 resource listings .
French has full A1–C2 paths and on-site tools on this site — start with the level that matches your speaking, not your reading vanity. Last reviewed 2026-08-01
French beyond one country
French is taught worldwide from a Paris-centered standard, but real speech shifts by country and register.
- France: Textbook baseline. Informal speech drops ne, uses on for “we,” and packs in slang (verlan, youth forms) that exams still under-test.
- Québec: Distinct vowels, vocabulary (char, dépanneur, magasiner), and anglicisms. Formal writing stays close to international French; street French needs Québec-specific listening.
- Belgium & Switzerland: Small number differences and local words (septante, nonante in Belgium/Switzerland vs soixante-dix/quatre-vingt-dix in France).
- Africa & the Caribbean: Huge communities of speakers. Local French mixes with national languages; news French is often clear, while informal speech may include code-switching learners should expect.
For CEFR exams and most courses, aim at international/Metropolitan French first, then add the regional media you actually need.
About French
- Language family
-
Indo-European, Italic, Romance (Gallo-Romance) Source: Glottolog stan1290
- Where it's spoken
- France, Canada (Quebec), Belgium, Switzerland, much of West and Central Africa
- Speakers
-
roughly 80 million native speakers and 300 million total Estimate source: Ethnologue language page (fra)
- Writing
- Latin
French developed from the Latin spoken in Roman Gaul, layered with Frankish (Germanic) influence, and was standardized around the Île-de-France dialect used in Paris. Colonial and diplomatic history spread it across West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, and parts of Canada, where it remains an official language today. It shares a large cognate vocabulary with the other Romance languages.
Speaker counts are approximate orders of magnitude for learners, not census figures. Family labels follow Glottolog-style classification; vitality notes (when shown) follow UNESCO WAL / Ethnologue-style framing and should be re-checked for program planning.
Sources
- ISO 639-3:
fra - Glottocode:
stan1290 - Ethnologue — French (fra)
- Glottolog — French (stan1290)
How to start
- Pick one free course (or free-with-upgrades) below and finish a short beginner unit before hopping apps.
- Bookmark one dictionary or grammar reference and look up every unknown word for a week.
- Add 10–15 minutes of listening most days — news, radio, or a teaching channel.
- Drill vocabulary with First 500 words , then situational lists in topic decks .
- Go deeper with the Language Hacks – French series · Buy on Amazon.
- When ready, use a tutor marketplace listing below for short speaking sessions.
Practice on this site
Deep links into trainers and drills that already cover French.
Language home First 500 words Topic decks Root Explorer Root of the day Cloze practice Conjugation Explorer Quick practice False-friend quiz Register & nuance Collocations Output workshop Media sheets C1 tasks Listening picker
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| Resource | Type | Levels | Cost | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Alison French courses
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | freemium | — |
|
Babbel French
Beginner starter path.
|
course paid | A1-A2 | paid | — |
|
Clozemaster French
Sentence-based cloze practice.
|
course paid | A2-C1 | freemium | — |
|
Coursera French courses
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | freemium | — |
|
Drops French
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-A2 | freemium | — |
|
Duolingo French
Structured beginner practice.
|
course paid | A1-A2 | freemium | — |
|
edX French courses
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | freemium | — |
|
FluentU French
Authentic video with interactive captions.
|
course paid | A2-C1 | paid | — |
|
FrenchPod101
Pod101-style audio and video lessons with a free tier.
|
course paid | A1-C1 | freemium | — |
|
Glossika French
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-C1 | paid | — |
|
Lingvist French
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | freemium | — |
|
Mango Languages French
Well-known learning resource.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | paid | — |
|
Memrise French
Video and spaced-repetition vocabulary course.
|
course paid | A1-B1 | freemium | — |
|
Rocket French
Interactive course with audio and grammar.
|
course paid | A1-B2 | paid | — |
|
Rosetta Stone French
Immersion-style commercial course.
|
course paid | A1-B1 | paid | — |
Know a better classroom-friendly resource for French? Suggest it with attribution.