Fun ways to maintain or improve your French
We all know that learning a foreign language is a lot of work. Personally, I have far too
many memories of my French teacher forcing us to learn hundreds of tables filled with
different verb tenses. French is a hard language, there’s no getting around that.
However, that doesn’t mean that the way we learn it can’t be fun or exciting. Here is a
list of 5 creative and enjoyable ways to learn and practice French.
1. Podcasts:
○ Did you know that more than 37% of Canadians ages 18+ listen to
podcasts at least once a month. They are perfect for morning commutes,
workouts, errands and so much more. They are also a great way to
practice your French listening and comprehension skills. Here are some
great podcasts we suggest:
■ La Poudre
● This wonderful podcast focuses on French feminist thinkers,
and discusses important issues relating to women all over
the world
■ DailyFrenchPod
● Perfect for intermediate learners, in DailyFrenchPod, the
host – Louis shares short news clips or stories, and then
breaks them down into smaller digestible chunks – explaining
the vocabulary, context and meaning behind them.
2. Read the news in French
○ Scrolling through our news apps in the morning is a common ritual for
many of us, so how about you change it up and read the news in French.
This will help you learn key words and phrases that are culturally and
politically relevant. Here are some informative news sources to consider
reading:
■ 20 Minutes
■ Le Parisien
■ Le Monde
■ L’Express (for Franco-Ontarian news)
■ La Presse (for Quebecois news)
3. Cooking or baking French recipes
○ This is by far our favorite idea, because anything that involves French
food hardly seems like a chore. Imagine baking traditional croissants using
an authentic Parisian recipe. Cooking using French recipes will help you
brush up on how to say basic ingredients in French, as well as metrics like
ounces, cups, etc. We also recommend branching out and trying recipes
from different French speaking countries, here are some suggestions for
what to make:
■ French Onion Soup (France)
■ Sole Meuniere (Belgium)
■ Kedjenou (Côte D’Ivoire)
4. Read a French book, or comic.
○ Whichever you prefer, as long as you’re reading in French, that’s great. A
book or story will expose you to new vocabulary, complex sentence
structures, and will get you thinking about characters and plots in French.
French books don’t have to be classics like Hugo and Balzac, there are
plenty of modern authors you might want to check out as well:
■ Le Scaphandre et le Papillon by Jean-Dominique Bauby
■ Vol 1618 by Bertrand Puard
■ The Cheffe: A Cook’s Novel by Marie NDiaye
5. Use Apps like Duolingo or Anki
○ Instead of scrolling through Tiktok or Instagram during your lunch break,
try your hand at Duolingo or Anki. Both are fun, easy-to-use apps that help
keep your French skills sharp and fresh.