Learn French for Free: Top 7 Free Online French Courses

Want to be more productive during lockdown and learn French? The web has countless free resources for you to start learning French, but the sheer volume of it might make you feel a little bit lost. Here rounded up are seven free courses for you to learn French with the best material.

1. Duolingo

With 300 million active users and 62 courses taught in 19 languages, Duolingo should be the first place you go to learn French. The  cheery green owl mascot of this app gives you a daily gentle reminder to log into your app; with audio snippets to grow your French listening skills and lesson levels just like a  fun mobile game, you will have no problem jumping into lessons right away with badges and points tracking your progress. You can add your friends to the app to engage in a friendly competition. The scoreboards and points system keep you invested in keeping ahead of your friends.

2. Elearningfrench.com

Explore basic French phrases from the mini French-English and English-French dictionary and pick up a French accent by learning from the free lessons from this website. Two different course structures are available- beginner and intermediate, feel free to jump between both for an accelerated learning experience. There is also a feature for you to test yourself and a vocabulary bank that keeps track of new words you’ve learned automatically.  Even slang, flashcards and other learning materials are also available. You can also learn  French music from listening to available music and reading the provided translations.

3. Simple-french.com

Another website for stepping up your game and impressing French locals with your fluency is through this website, which includes basic common phrases to help you introduce yourself, order food at a restaurant and other pleasantries such as Merci and Au Revoir. Wow your waiter at a Paris bistro by effortlessly ordering food in perfect French! With audiobooks and an Assimil technique to teach French, this is one of the most high quality resources available for learning French. All of the lessons are read aloud with a standard french accent, so you don’t have to worry about sounding awkward or mispronouncing common French words with the help of this website.

4. Thefrenchexperiment.com

  The frenchexperiment website offers free children’s stories in French and other free adult courses. If you want your child to learn French during quarantine, this is a good engaging website offering nice visuals to go along with the stories. They also offer “Learn French in the Car” lessons, so your commute to and from work can be less boring and the kids can learn on the go.

5. Frenchpod101.com

 If you prefer learning by ear, then hurry over to Frenchpod101 to access thousands of free audio lessons in French so you can speak like a true Parisian in no time. You also have an option of submitting your own audio so that teachers can correct and guide you and your pronunciation will be impeccable. With PDF lessons and slideshows provided, this website is tailored and committed to deliver you a top-notch language learning experience. Premium users can also have one-on-one lessons with a native French speaker.

6. Forvo

Forvo is a website where users upload the pronunciation of words of their native language. Over 100,000 French pronunciations are available on the website. Forvo also has free high quality audio snippets of native French speakers’ pronunciations of common phrases  so you can learn to speak difficult French words hassle-free anytime, anywhere. Other users can step in and gently correct you in any pronunciation mistakes in the interactive community section- all for free.

7. Sorbonne University

Take a virtual seat in the class of one of the most prestigious universities on the planet; Sorbonne University traces its roots to 1257 AC College de Sorbon. This university offers courses taught by the Department of Continuing Education, offering high quality courses that’ll take students to a minimum of B1 fluency level in French. Sorbonne university offers certification after completion of its free French courses, so if you want to enroll online for video courses, this is a good option for you. Anyone who would like to have professional teachers and a legitimate certificate to bolster their resume with varied learned skills should look into completing a course from Sorbonne.

You are now armed with the tools you need to learn and speak French like a pro in no time! Use these websites to open your horizons to a new level and master a new language! Good Luck!