Listen Up!

There’s no better way to get ready for a trip to France than to brush up on your vocabulary by listening to the language. You can get a head start on your language classes by improving your listening skills with free audio and video podcasts. Here are some you can use online or download to an MP3 player.

www.podcastfrancaisfacile.com
Taught by a French speaker who either reads a text or focuses on grammar points, and offers online exercises and answers. For beginners: www.podcastfrancaisfacile.com/debutant

www.dailyfrenchpod.com
A good choice for beginners. This podcast offers vocabulary lists to memorize and includes dialogues.

www.french-podcasts.com
Meet French people—children, musicians, vintners, driving instructors and many more— as they tell you about their lives in short audio podcasts.

www.sorbonne-podcast.com
The famed Sorbonne University offers a variety of podcasts suitable for advanced listeners. These audiofiles range from lectures on philosophy and history to political debates.

www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/
mafrance The BBC offers 24 interactive videos called Ma France, available online. Each video includes grammar points, vocabulary words and quizzes to test your knowledge.

www.youtube.com/user/imagiers
If you have a visual learning style, these vocabulary videos can be very useful. Each has a different theme such as numbers, letters of the alphabet or names of animals, and every word is pronounced slowly so you can try it yourself.