French learning resources: a list organised by what you need

French learning resources are easiest to use when you pick them by need: knowing your level, getting a grammar answer, hearing the language, reading it, practising for an exam or finding a class. This page lists one set of resources per need and describes each only as its own page describes it. For what the levels mean, read French levels explained. For how long the work takes, see How long does it take to learn French. For how to use these resources, see French comprehensible input and French reading practice.

Which resources for learning French should you start with?

Start with the need, not the app. The table has one row per resource, with the publisher, what its page says it is for, and a level or audience only where the page states one. It is a list, not a ranking, and it does not say which is best.

How do you find your level first?

Use the Council of Europe’s two tables. The global scale gives a short description of each level from A1 to C2, and its page says it makes the system easier to explain to non-specialist users [1]. The self-assessment grid goes further: it presents 34 scales across five activities, and the page calls it a draft orientation tool that helps learners profile their main language skills and decide at which level to look at a checklist of more detailed descriptors [2].

Neither table is an exam. For the plain-word version and how the letters relate to the Canadian scale, read French levels explained.

TV5MONDE’s page also offers a 14-question listening-comprehension quiz to find your level of listening comprehension in French [10].

Where can you get answers on grammar and usage?

The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) runs the Banque de dépannage linguistique, which its site lists under the headings grammar, spelling, syntax and writing [3][4]. Its menu includes topics such as accents, hyphenation, homophones, word classes and past participle agreement [4]. It is written in French.

The OQLF’s “Outils pour apprendre le français” page is aimed at people preparing for the Office’s own French exam, and it lists vocabularies and short grammar lessons on agreement, with exercises and answer keys [5]. It is a different tool from the Banque, so read the audience line before using it.

Which dictionaries can you use online?

Two publishers describe their own online dictionaries. Usito, from the Université de Sherbrooke, calls itself a dictionary made in Quebec for all French speakers and francophiles [6]. The Académie française puts its dictionary online, with the 9th edition (2024) and earlier editions, and says the 10th edition is still being written [7]. Neither page, as opened, states whether access is free or what the terms are, so check that on the site.

Where can you practise listening?

Three sites cover listening, and they are built for different people.

• OHdio is Radio-Canada’s audio destination, with live radio, podcasts and audiobooks [8]. The page presents it as a general audio service, not as a course.
• RFI’s Le français facile says it offers podcasts and exercises “for all levels”, and tags its exercises from A1 to C1/C2 [9]. Its news bulletin is called “Journal en français facile” [9].
• TV5MONDE’s Apprendre le français describes itself as a free and interactive website that teaches French from videos, programmes and news reports, with more than 2,000 online exercises for oral comprehension, from beginner to advanced [10].

Where can you read in French?

Radio-Canada Info is Radio-Canada’s news destination, with international, national and regional news in articles, videos and live coverage [11]. The page is written for a general audience and states no level [11]. If you want the news with exercises at a set level, RFI’s tagged exercises are the closer fit [9].

Where can you practise for the exam?

This page does not restate exam material. For TEF Canada, see TEF Canada sample test, which lists what the exam body publishes. For TCF Canada, see TCF Canada practice test. RFI also has a page titled “S’entrainer au DELF, TCF et DFP”. It says, in French, to practise free of charge (“gratuitement”) for the DELF, TCF and DFP, with series of questions to prepare in exam conditions [14]. It names the TCF, not TCF Canada.

What French language learning resources does Canada offer?

Two governments publish class information, and other organisations publish tools.

• Federal classes. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says that if you are a permanent resident or a protected person, you can take language classes at no cost [12]. A second IRCC page says the formal training is delivered as LINC in English and CLIC in French [15]. The classes page lists general classes at basic, intermediate and advanced levels, and job-specific classes in some locations [12].
• Quebec courses. The Gouvernement du Québec says it offers free French courses to all persons 16 years of age and older who are living in Québec and are not subject to mandatory school attendance, as well as to persons planning to settle in Québec [13]. It adds that the courses may be eligible for financial assistance under certain conditions [13]. The page lists the levels and formats, such as full-time, part-time and online courses, so read the details for the course type you want [13].
• Language tools. The OQLF pages above are published by a Quebec office [3][5], and OHdio and Radio-Canada Info are published by Radio-Canada [8][11].

How much time any of this takes depends on your starting point and target, as How long does it take to learn French explains.

Common mistakes

• Treating a list as a ranking. This page orders resources by need. It does not say which is best.
• Using a self-assessment as an exam result. The Council of Europe grid is an orientation tool, not a score [2].
• Picking a resource aimed at someone else. The OQLF page is aimed at people preparing for the Office’s exam [5]. Read the audience line first.
• Assuming every site is free. Only some pages say so, in their own words [10][12][13][14]. The federal and Quebec pages tie it to who can take the classes [12][13].
• Skipping the exam format. Learning resources do not replace the exam body’s own material, covered in TEF Canada sample test and TCF Canada practice test.
• Trusting a list from a blog, including this one. Pages and offers change. Check each page’s own date against ours.

See also: best language learning apps.

Sources