Best Ways to Learn French Online ( Don’t Ignore)

“Bonjour!”

My daughter-in-law was speaking on the phone to one of her offshore office clients in French. She learned the French language through an online training course when she shifted to the USA. She said that is the best way to learn the French language online. I liked the way she handled the calls from various parts of the world. I got to know a lot about how to work from home by observing my younger family members. When I was a student, I learned the basics of the French language to understand its influence on English. Multilingualism is knowing one or two national languages other than the native tongue. In addition, it is empowering to know at least one foreign language.

The French Language

French is the second most learned language after English. It is the sixth most spoken language in the world. More than 220 million people speak French across all five continents. Some learn it as part of their course curriculum in school and university. For some, it is part of their job need. Some like to travel the world and choose French as an international language. It is one of the most romantic-sounding languages!

What is the best way to learn French online?

I came across many options to learn French online. A person’s learning needs, interests, and use-value decide the best way to learn French online. You can learn French online –

· By joining a French Language learning course – Paid or free

· Through eLearning via an App – paid or free

· Getting a tutor

· Other informal ways

Reasons to learn the French language

A learner selects one or two of the above as the best ways to learn French online. The academic plan or career needs or travel requirements or interest in learning languages help in making the choice. Besides, he or she may want a certificate to make the CV look good and increase his or her salary. Finally, the best way to learn French online depends on the reason, time available, and the fees or price too.

Certification process–Best way to learn French online

It is important to understand the certification process by The French Ministry of Education that has the following four French language certificates. It certifies the competency of candidates from outside France in the French language. Most institutes follow the standards set by these certification processes.

· Test d’évaluation du français (TEF)

· Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française (DELF)

· Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française (DALF)

· Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF)

Online courses-Best Way to Learn French Online

The following are a few

1. Henry Harvin

Rating – 4.9/5

Availability – 6 graded levels from Beginner to Advanced

Fees – Rs 8999/- to Rs 14999/- (30 hrs to 220 hrs, Beginner to Advanced)

Certification – Yes with projects, Internship, and placement

Website- https://www.henryharvin.com/french-language-course

The Henry Harvin Language Academy provides the best platform for French language courses. Many multinational companies use French as their working language. These courses help the learner gain fluency through six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) of the French Language.

2. Udemy French Language courses

Rating -4.8/5

Availability – Beginner to Advanced levels

Fees – Rs 3499/- per course

Certification – Yes

Website- https://www.udemy.com/

The tagline of Udemy is ‘We share knowledge with the world’. It caters to the learning needs of individuals, companies, governments, and non-profit organizations. The French language learning sessions are offered as small bits. It becomes easy for the learner to remember. Each course focuses on an area of grammar, vocabulary, functions, situations, socio-cultural features of the French language.

3. inlingua French Language Courses

Rating -4.8/5

Availability – 6 levels of courses from Beginner to Advanced

Fees – Rs 12500/-per course

Certification – Yes

Website- https://inlinguabangalore.com/

Inlingua is a 50-year-old Swiss company. Its center is in Bangalore and it was set up 13 years ago. It gives online training in the French language through videos. It has sessions on weekdays as well as weekends.

4. LetsTalk French language Courses

Rating -4.5/5

Availability – 5 levels of courses from Elementary to Advanced

Fees – Not known

Certification – Yes

Website-https://www.letstalkindia.com/

LetsTalk was set up in 2004 in Pune, India. It offers online and face-to-face French language learning courses. It has built a reputation for quality language training in the country and across the world.

5. Alliance Francaise French Language Courses

Rating – 4.0 /5

Availability – A1 to C1 levels

Fees – Rs 10,000/- to Rs 20,000 (depends on the level, duration, and location)

Certification – Yes

Website – https://www.alliancefr.org/

Alliance Francaise is an international organization. It aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. It has 29 centers in India. The course is offered face-to-face as well as online courses. It offers its courses in schools, colleges, organizations, and community groups. The courses apply fun way teaching methods. Even students going for management studies abroad find the courses very useful.

6. Coffee break French language Courses

Rating – 4.0 /5

Availability – Courses for Beginners to Upper Advanced Learners

Fees – $ 124 per bundle (two levels – 40 audio lessons + 40 bonus audio lessons + 40 video lessons + 40 lesson notes). Each level has a different price.

Certification – Yes

Website – https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/

‘Your coffee break ……. your way.’ The tagline announces the spirit of Coffee Break. They have an interesting way of teaching through travel diaries, free podcasts, and each level is a season.

7. Lingoda French Language Courses

Rating – 4.0 /5

Availability – Customized schedule and plan – beginner to advanced

Fees – $6 to $ 9.5 per class with free trial sessions

Certification – Yes

Website – https://www.lingoda.com/

Lingoda offers comprehensive online French classes. The online French language courses cover useful topics. The learner practices speaking in any real-time situation. The institute uses the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Free Online courses–Best Way to Learn French language Online

The following courses are offered free –

1. Skillshare French language Courses

Rating -4.0/5

Availability – From Beginners to Intermediate level courses.

Fees – Free

Certification – No certificate, but projects get posted

Website- https://www.skillshare.com/

Skillshare is an online learning community that inspires people to grow and develop. They have 8 to 10 courses in French language learning. The duration of each course varies. The course teachers or tutors are professional and experienced.

2. Coursera French Language Courses

Rating – 4.8/5

Availability – 4 levels- Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Mixed courses

Fees – Free

Certification – Yes

Website- https://www.coursera.org/

Coursera has 100% online courses. 11% of its learners get jobs and 21% get clear career benefits after completing the course. Each course is for 46 hours at least. The courses follow the European Framework of Reference for Languages.

3. Alison French Language Course

Rating 5/5

Availability – 6 courses

Fees – Free

Certification – Yes if assessment results are 80% and above

Website- https://alison.com/

Alison has 6 courses for beginners. It caters to specific areas of the language too like a course on French Grammar. These free online French language courses will help a person in his or her language skills. Since it has a certificate, it opens up the door of opportunities in jobs too. The learners get marks on their performance. The platform makes it easy to progress through a friendly interface. These courses are the most recommended for beginners.

4. BBC French Language Course

Rating 3.8 /5

Availability – Courses with specific purposes with complementary resources

Fees – Free

Certification – No

Website- https://www.bbc.co.uk/

BBC’s Introduction to the French language is in 10 interactive video parts. It has user guides, printable transcripts, guides for teachers and learners, and worksheets.

French language eLearning Apps–Best way to learn French online

Another best way to learn French online is through apps and their websites. The courses are available for beginners, intermediate and advanced speakers too. Each program is popular based on how easy it is to download and install. The learner finds the lessons interesting and learns fluency without searching for help menus.

1. Rosetta Stone

Rating – 4.9 /5

Best Immersion-Based App

Availability – mobile and desktop

Compatibility – iOS and Android

Price – $8

Website-https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.rosettastone.

The best way to learn a new language is to be in it, and this French language learning app does that. The dynamic Immersion method uses interactive and contextual language lessons. It has extended learning features too. Everything is accessible anytime and anywhere.

2. Pimsleur

Rating – 4.7 /5

Best Conversation – based App

Available – iOS 11.0

Compatibility – iPhone, iPad, Web App. Can be part of Alexa too.

Price – $ 19.95 per month

Website – https://www.pimsleur.com/

Pimsleur is a French-language learning app. It focuses on conversational language skills and goals. It teaches the learner how to speak from the first lesson. The quality of the course is evident through 1. core conversational lessons 2. reading lessons 3. speakeasy challenges 4. digital flashcards 5. skills categories 6. skill-building tools 7. sync progress 8. uninterrupted learning.

3. Duolingo

Rating – 4/5

Best Game-Based App

Available – iOS, Android

Compatibility- phone and desktop/laptop

Price – Free (need to pay to subscribe for downloading lessons)

Website – Duolingo – The world’s best way to learn a language

Duolingo is a free, fun, and effective way of language learning. It is the best French language learning software. It is easy to use too. It has quick, bite-sized lessons, the learner gets points from them and progresses to new levels of language. He or she gains real-world communication skills. The learning matches his or her needs which helps in quick progress. This keeps the learner motivated and interested.

4. Preply

Rating – 4/5

Best AI voice recognition app

Available – iOS, Andriod

Compatibility- Phone, desktop

Price – Rs 75/- to Rs 2950/- per hour (French Tutors)

Website – https://preply.com/

Preply is an award-winning language learning app and e-learning platform. Preply connects over 140,000 tutors teaching 50 languages in 203 countries worldwide. Its product is one-to-one human tutoring. AI voice recognition, interactive vocabulary exercises, and other features are available on all platforms.

5. Babbel

Rating – 4/5

Best language games-Based App for young learners

Babbel is one of the largest language learning platforms in the world. Its interactive learning methods improve vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation in a short time. It uses fun and effective teaching methods. Babbel lessons build basic conversational skills. They cover a wide range of topics that are used daily.

Best way to learn French language online – French Tutors

Both face-to-face and online tutors help the learner learn faster by setting a native-like situation. They give personalized attention and iron out any individual problems in learning. The tutor could be a native French speaker or an expert in the French language. The benefits of online tutoring are –

• No need to look for an offline class, saves time and money
• Finding online French native tutors or expert French tutors  is easy
• Find benefits of live communication
• A better understanding of French people, their culture, and dialect
• Effective listening practice with authentic French accents

The internet helps in identifying online independent tutors as well as institutes that have a group or individual tutoring Some of them are –

1. Wyzant

   Rating – depends on the tutor assigned or selected

   Fees – $30 to $80 per hour

   Website – https://www.wyzant.com/

Wyzant is an online services marketplace in educational technology for matching tutors with students. A learner can select a tutor from a panel that shows up after he or she answers a few questions. The institute believes that One-to-one learning works. But they also know it would work better if it was accessible, affordable, and more convenient for everyone. So they built an easier way to connect people who need to know with the experts who can teach them.

2. Takelessons

   Rating – 4.9/5

   Fees – Rs 5500/- per hour

   Website – https://takelessons.com/

Takelessons has expert teachers who provide personalized lessons. There is 100% success assured. The institute guarantees money back if the first two sessions don’t work.

3. Superprof

Rating – 4.9/5

Fees – Depends on the tutor

 Website – Superprof – Platform For Private Home Tutors in India

Superprof is a community of teachers who take sessions face to face and online. They have native and non-native expert tutors in the French language. Superprof is made up of 75 people at the Embassy of Knowledge Sharing who are here to help in 27 different countries, in 14 different languages.

4. Live Lingua

Rating – 4.9/5

Fees – $ 29 per hour with a first free trial session

Website – https://www.livelingua.com/

Live Lingua claims to be the world’s first total immersion language school online, offering tutoring services. They have personalized lesson plans, regular progress reports, flexible schedules and lesson duration. They provide learning material too. They have tutors for all age groups.

5. TeacherOn

Rating – 4.9/5

Fees – Depends on the level being taught

Website – https://www.teacheron.com/online-french-tutors-in-india

TeacherOn is a marketplace where one can find French language tutors.

6. UrbanPro

Rating – 4.5/5

Fees – Depends on the level being taught

Website – https://www.urbanpro.com/online

UrbanPro is India’s largest and most trusted Learning Network. Using UrbanPro, students, parents, and professionals can compare multiple Tutors, Trainers, and Institutes and choose the ones that best suit their requirements.

Mixed Bag– Best way to learn French online

The best way to learn the French language online and offline is to immerse in every way with everything connected to the language –

1. Get to know the history, geography, culture, ways of the people of France

Place some artifacts of the country around you. Browse through their tourism brochures. Everything is available on the internet. All this increases the familiarity and curiosity quotients about the French language!

 2. The French language should be spoken with the right accent and pronunciation

Practice the French sounds. Websites are available to help with this.

3. Master the basic grammar and vocabulary rules of the French language from the websites.

Make lists of basic pronouns, nouns, and verbs. Be sure of the question forms.

4. Write a journal in the French language.

Express thoughts and day-to-day happenings in writing. It improves writing skills as well as conversational skills.

4. Find a French language exchange program.

Student/employee exchange programs through universities and organizations are prevalent. This helps in gaining the social and cultural experience and comfort of interacting with native speakers of French.

5. Watch French-language movies, news, and dramas on the internet and television.

Listen to Spoken French and understand the content without translation options. Listening to audiobooks also helps.

6. Learn the dialogues and spoken phrases used in the functions of the French language

Greetings, requesting, agreeing, apologizing, giving permission, instructing, directing, acknowledging, thanking, asking for help, and more.

7. Vocabulary building

All of us use French words in our day-to-day conversations in English. These words have become such an intrinsic part of English that most of us are unaware that they are from another language. Some of them are – aubergine, boutique, bouquet, couture, café, chauffeur, genre, matinee, protégé and souvenir.

8. Read books, newspapers, posters, hoardings

Read any written material in the French language. Since the script is almost like English, it will be quite easy.

9. Join French Language learning groups on social media platforms.

Signing off

“Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language.”
Frank Smith

The lines between local and global are blurring fast and we are living and working in a ‘glocal’ world. So as a citizen of the new expanding local world, it is a huge, enriching advantage to be multilingual – both in the social as well as the professional world. So, next time you have chocolate or ‘Chocolat’, a tart or French fries, or watch the Award-winning Movie Les Miserables (based on the 1862 French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo), marvel at how the socio-cultural features of nations and geographies are mingling with each other. The virtual world is making the world smaller and getting everything to our doorstep. That’s enough motivation to learn the French language online!

Adieu!

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