Best French Courses Online

Review & Comparison, Last Update December 9, 2023
Would you like to become as fluent in French as native speakers without visiting classes several times a week and having a lot of ...Read more
PROS

Interactive audio lessons allow you to learn French even when you drive a car, work-out in a gym, or walk in a park. You can install Rocket French application on your smartphone/tablet and study without turning your PC on. Once you subscribe to an online course, you get a lifetime access to the materials and updates of the site.

CONS

If you prefer classical teaching methods, this course won't suit you. 

OUR VERDICT

Boasting an innovative teaching approach based on interactive audio lessons, Rocket French Online Course will help you improve your French effectively. By the way, you don't need to spend hours a day to achieve great results. Just listen to grammar and cultural lessons when you have time, and you'll soon be able to speak like a native.

detailed parameters
Type

Audio lessons

Skill Level

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Best For

Improving grammar, Expanding vocabulary, Developing listening skills, Practicing pronunciation, Discovering French culture

Duration

Depends on your own pace

Features

Progress tracking, Progress tests, Mobile apps, Member's forum, Lifetime access

PROS

With Rosetta Stone on your PC or smartphone, you'll be able to learn French grammar and vocabulary as well as practice right pronunciation and speech fluency with innovative TruAccent technology. Downloadable audio lessons will come in handy if you're always on the go.

CONS

Those who dislike inductive learning may find the Rosetta approach too complicated.

OUR VERDICT

If you want to know French as a native, Rosetta Stone is just what you need. You start learning French in French, without translations, just like a baby discovers his mother tongue. Thanks to this very approach, you not only will learn words and phrases but also start using them right ahead. Don't be afraid to sound like a native with French courses from Rosetta Stone.

detailed parameters
Type

Any skill level

Skill Level

Depends on your own pace

Best For

Improving grammar, Expanding vocabulary, Developing listening skills, Practicing pronunciation and speaking

Duration

Depends on your own pace

Features

Fully immersive curriculum, Mobile apps, Available in CD, downloadable, and online versions

PROS

Step-by-step learning approach allows you to move from starter to advanced level in a natural way. A Placement Quiz helps you determine which course will suit your skill level best. A language course at Babbel can also be purchased as a gift certificate for your friend/relative.

CONS

It's available online only.

OUR VERDICT

Whether you are new to learning French or already have some level, Babbel will help you perfect your French. Start with beginner's or intermediate course (depending on your level) and continue with specialized courses to improve your writing, reading, and comprehension skills to speak French as a mother tongue.

detailed parameters
Type

Online courses

Skill Level

Any skill level

Best For

Improving grammar, Expanding vocabulary, Developing listening skills

Duration

Depends on your own pace

Features

Placement Quiz to determine your level, Free trial lesson, Gift option available

PROS

Coursera French Courses help you learn more about life and education in France. 6 weeks of lessons, dozens of videos, a great number of self-instructional materials, and quizzes at the end of every topic will make you confident in your knowledge. You can always ask your teacher for help if you have difficulties.

CONS

Beginners won't find this course useful. 

OUR VERDICT

If you're going to study in higher educational institutions of France, this course is created for you. In 6 weeks of lessons, you'll revise grammar and vocabulary of B1/B2 level and find out more about cultural peculiarities of France, including specific details such as opening a bank account in a French bank, etc.

detailed parameters
Type

Video tutorials, Practice quizzes

Skill Level

Intermediate

Best For

Revising essential grammar topics, Practicing pronunciation, Discovering French culture

Duration

6 weeks

Features

Structured lessons, Teacher support

PROS

edX French Language Course offers you to revise main grammar concepts of the French language to get ready for your AP exam. You'll also learn how to write personal and presentational essays to meet the requirements of the exam. The course is free and you have a chance to plan your own schedule.

CONS

Covers only grammar aspects of the language. 

OUR VERDICT

This French course will be interesting for those who are going to pass AP French Language and Culture exam soon. Taking these online lessons, you'll be able to get acquainted with exam structure and revise the main grammar topics within three weeks. Sign up for edX course and get ready for your exam with the maximum efficiency. 

detailed parameters
Type

Online class

Skill Level

Advanced

Best For

Preparing for AP French and Culture Exam

Duration

3 weeks

Features

Deep grammar revision, Free course, Teacher support

Meet an Innovative Approach

Have you tried to learn French numerous times but you always failed? The developers of Rocket French know what you need to become a fluent French speaker, and it has nothing to do with spending hours in a classroom and doing a lot of homework. All you need to take the first step to your dream is sign up for one of the three courses available - the Premium, the Combo, or the Works. The Premium takes you from beginner to intermediate level while the Combo and the Works – from beginner to advanced (the latter one is more profound). If you’re not sure the teaching methods offered by Rocket French will suit you, you can use free trial option and get access to 4 hours of lessons. However, most users who have full access to the content find the lessons with Rocket French both effective and entertaining. Each course consists of step-by-step interactive audio lessons that allow you to understand the structure of the French language as well as cultural peculiarities of the French people. Of course, you’ll also practice what you've learned with built-in pronunciation exercises, flash cards, and testing tools.

Stay Motivated

Motivation is one of the strongest tools that can force us to work harder, and the Rocket French team tries its best to keep you motivated. In their opinion, the best motivation is seeing your achievements, that’s why progress tracking option, rating system, leaderboard, and My vocab applications were created. Using all of them, you’ll see how much you’ve already learned and understand what else you need to do to attain perfection. Moreover, you can get optional weekly emails with your progress report and recommendations for the lessons you should take.

You’re Not Alone

Self-teaching might often be challenging when it comes to learning languages. Although we succeed nine times out of ten, we still need a piece of advice from time to time. If you have a question or difficulties in understanding this or that topic, you can rely on the French Rocket teachers or other users. Just write about your problem in a forum/email addressing a support team and you’ll soon get an answer.


Let French Become Your Second Mother Tongue

If you want the French language to be as native to you as your mother tongue, learning it with Rosetta Stone is a sensible decision. The thing is that the developers of this software challenge you to learn a new language without translations – just like a child learns the language of his parents. At first, you learn new words associating them with pictures. At this stage, you see how words are written as well as listen to the way they are pronounced. Moreover, you learn nouns with articles that play an important role in French since they not only indicate the number (as it is in English) but also the gender of a word. For example, you see pictures of a man and a boy signed un homme and un garçon while those of a woman and a girl are signed une femme and une fille. 

This simple approach lets you understand that un (une) is the article for masculine (feminine) gender. Then, you learn phrases with new words. Again, you guess the meaning of every phrase thanks to the pictures. A picture signed Le garçon marche depicts a boy who walks while the one with La fille court signature shows a running girl. Thus, you learn two more articles (definite ones this time) and two verbs. 

Thanks to a learning approach this gradual, discovering a new language becomes a simple and natural process. What’s more important, this very approach teaches you to speak right ahead. You can start practicing your spoken French already during your first lesson with the TruAccent technology. It offers you to repeat words and phrases aloud to analyze your speech and give you a feedback on how native you sound. Don’t hesitate to speak from the very beginning of your study and you’ll soon be impressed with your results. And when you’re confident about your pronunciation, you can improve your fluency with the stories Rosetta Stone offers you to read. Challenge yourself to read these fun short stories aloud according to the rules of pronunciation and the tempo set by the program to become a better French speaker.

One more way to speak confidently is to communicate with native speakers who can help you overcome a language barrier, and Rosetta Stone helps you find your coach to improve your speech.

Benefits of Synchronization

One more advantage of Rosetta Stone is its availability in different formats. Depending on your schedule and your learning habits, you can choose CD, downloadable, or online version. Although CD and downloadable formats allow you to use the Rosetta Stone software offline, they have fewer functions than the online one. In its turn, online version allows you to listen to audio lessons on the go, use a phrasebook during travel, and learn French wherever you are if you have the Internet access. Moreover, it is available from any of your gadgets, be it your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The software syncs automatically with all your devices so you won’t spend time on searching where you stopped last time.

Trusted all Over the World

The last but not the least argument in favor of Rosetta Stone is its experience. The linguists of this service have been working for more than 20 years to meet the needs of language learners all over the world. During this time, Rosetta Stone has taught thousands of thankful clients including large corporations like NASA. Don’t hesitate to discover a new language with this service. 


Learn With Babbel Whatever Your Level Is

Those seeking for simplicity and step-by-step approach to learning French might be interested in the Babbel courses. On this site, every student, whatever his level is, will find what he’s looking for. If you have never learned French before, you can take the very first course without hesitation. If you have some level already, you’ll be offered to take a short quiz (called a Placement Quiz) to determine your level. Once you answer 12 grammar questions, you’ll be offered one of the available courses that corresponds to your skill level best:

  • Beginner’s Course 1 is what you need if you are new to learning French. This course teaches you the simplest phrases you’ll need to introduce yourself or arrange meeting with others;
  • Beginner’s Course 2 is aimed at teaching you how to communicate when being on the street, asking for directions, and doing everyday things like going shopping;
  • Beginner’s Course 3 takes you to more extensive vocabulary you need to use when discussing your daily routine. Speaking of your home, hobbies, and leisure won’t be a problem after you finish this course;
  • Beginner’s Course 4 offers you to discover more complex grammar structures including different tenses. You’ll also be able to speak on more topics;
  • Beginner’s Course 5 will prepare you to speak as if you live in France. Making orders in a restaurant, buying theater tickets, describing your state of health, and expressing wishes are main learning goals of this course;
  • Beginner’s Course 6 allows you to feel confident when speaking of the environment, relationships and talking on the phone. More complex vocabulary and grammar are explained in this course.

Every course consists of the combination of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation tasks to get you speaking as fast as possible. Once you finish all of the beginner courses, it’s time to move further and take intermediate ones. 5 intermediate courses will help you feel confident when discussing any topic. Complex grammar won’t be an issue anymore. Additionally, your vocabulary will be enriched greatly. However, even when you finish these courses, you’ll still be able to improve your French. Take additional courses like Listening and Speaking, Reading and Writing, Countries and Traditions, Specials, and Words and Sentences to speak like a native.

Vocabulary as a Key to Success

Whatever language you learn, you won’t succeed until you have rich vocabulary. Understanding this fact, the developers of the Babbel service have created a vocabulary section where all the words you learn during your study are gathered. The words are conveniently categorized according to knowledge level, from the simplest to most difficult ones. What we liked about vocabulary practice is that Babbel reminds you when it’s time to revise learned words in order to keep them in your memory forever.

Present a Language Course at Babbel

Do you have a friend or a family member who wants to learn French but is always hesitant to start? Help your near and dear ones make their dream come true with Babbel. All you need to present a language course at Babbel is take several simple steps. First of all, choose the duration of the course among 3-, 6-, and 12-month options. Secondly, complete your purchase and get an e-mail confirmation with a gift code. Finally, print out the code and present it to that friend of yours who takes pleasure in learning new languages.


Get Ready to Study in France

If you’re going to enter a higher educational institution in France, this course from Coursera will help you prepare for life and study in this beautiful country. The course is developed and taught by professors of École Polytechnique, a prestigious educational establishment in France, so you can be sure you get high-quality preparation. Yet, you should be ready to make efforts to get the maximum benefit from this course. It lasts 6 weeks and requires you to spend from 5 to 7 hours a week studying. As it was mentioned above, this course prepares you to live in France, in other words, its main aim is to help you apply grammar and cultural aspects you already know in real-life situations. That’s why you should have B1-B2 level to handle the tasks of the course.

Step by Step

Although the course lasts only 6 weeks, it covers a lot of educational material you should know to feel confident while studying and living in France. Every week you’re going to revise and practice grammar and cultural aspects dedicated to a certain topic, and here is your plan for 6 weeks:

  • Week 1. The topic of this week is Arrival in France. You’re going to watch 10 videos about France and look into 5 pieces of self-instructional material to revise Le passé compose, expand your vocabulary on the topic of transport, and practice pronunciation of separate sounds.
  • Week 2 is dedicated to Adaptation to Life in France. L’imparfait and le plus-que-parfait are grammar topics of the week. You’ll also watch 10 videos, train your pronunciation, and discuss an oral topic.
  • Week 3 is about Students in France. During this week, you’ll not only watch videos and do grammar exercises but also improve your reading comprehension.
  • The topic of the week 4 is Visiting a Course that guides you to the world of courses in French educational institutions and gives you useful tips on successful study. Infinitive, indicative and subjunctive moods are covered in the grammar section.
  • Week 5 is about Communication and Integration. The educational material of this week will help you find out more about political and cultural peculiarities of French people. Plus, you’ll revise pronouns and practice their use.
  • The topic you study during the last week is Life in France. You’ll learn more vocabulary on different topics, have more listening, pronunciation, and speaking practice.

At the end of each week, you’re encouraged to take 4-7 practice quizzes to test your knowledge.

If You Need Help

Even if you have a good language level, chances are you still need help or explanation from more experienced people. If you’ve come across a difficult topic during the learning process, worry not! You can always contact your teacher or support team for assistance.


Do Well in Your AP Exam

Are you going to take AP French Language and Culture exam soon and want to show the best results? You’ll definitely be able to get the maximum score if you prepare for your test with French Language Course from edX. Since exam preparation always requires more efforts than any other course, be ready to spend 2-3 hours a week to cover all necessary material, 3 weeks in total. The edX French Language Course is created for advanced users and its aim is to help you revise main grammar rules and do exercises to enhance your knowledge. To be more precise, you’ll focus on main tenses and modes, infinitive, relative/complement/demonstrative/possessive pronouns, comparisons, and indirect speech. Moreover, you’ll get acquainted with the structure of the essay you’ll have to write during the exam. On top of that, this course is free and allows you to create your own schedule. Just fill in the form on the site, meet your online teacher, and start preparing for your AP exam today.

What Else to Pay Attention To

Although edX French Language Course mainly focuses on grammar aspects, AP French Language and Culture exam isn’t only about grammar. The exam consists of two sections, two parts each. The first section checks your comprehension of authentic printed texts and audios. In particular, you’re required to understand a general message of a text/audio, an author’s point of view, vocabulary with idiomatic phrases, as well as show critical reading skills within the cultural context. The second section contains writing and speaking tasks. You’ll have to write two essays, email reply and persuasive essay, and show your ability to communicate on formal and informal topics. That’s why, it’s recommended not to limit yourself to grammar lessons only, and add listening and speaking tasks to your exam preparation routine.

Learn More With edX

edX offers you more courses to prepare for your AP exams. Thus, if you’re going to take a test in Macroeconomics, Physics, Human Geography, Italian Language and Culture, Biology, English Literature and Composition, etc., you can find courses to prepare for these and many other exams on edX site.


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What Are the Best French Courses Online?

Why do you want to learn French? Is it because you’re a passionate polyglot and learning French is at the top of your list? Or is it because you're going to study or work in France, Canada, Switzerland, or another country where French is an official language and you need to be able to speak it fluently? Whatever your reason is, you can achieve your goal taking advantage of French lessons online. There's a great variety of courses available on the market and it should be easy for you to find the one that suits your needs best. There are courses for beginners and intermediate users, those teaching common language and preparing for exams, those using traditional teaching methods and innovative approaches, etc. With the user in mind, creators of almost all online French courses often offer you an opportunity to study at your own pace, choose different subscriptions, and even learn French on the go using special smartphone apps. Don’t hesitate to choose an online course from among the five options reviewed below and start improving your French already today.

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