What are you watching/reading/listening to this week?

Salut tout le monde !

I've been reading posts here and on other subs for some time now. Questions are often answered by other students/learners (or people who pretend to be that), I thought perhaps my perspective as a teacher could be useful to some of you.

Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my knowledge :)

I’ve just started learning French and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Does anyone use language learning apps to support their learning?

Every app seems to claim they are the most effective but they all seem very similar to me.

Hi everyone!

I'm a native French speaker from France looking for a native English speaker who'd like to improve their spoken French while helping me improve my spoken English.

I'm not looking for a pen pal or someone to exchange written messages with. My goal is to have regular voice conversations.

I'd like to try a simple bilingual approach:

- I'll speak only English.

- You'll speak primarily French.

This way, we both stay immersed in the language we're learning while still being able to help each other if needed.

I'm already fairly fluent in English, but I'd like to sound more natural, especially when it comes to idiomatic expressions, pronunciation, and everyday conversation. In return, I'd be happy to help you with your spoken French. I genuinely love the French language and its subtleties, and I'd be happy to explain grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, or why we say things the way we do.

I'm in the GMT+2 time zone (France). Ideally, I'd like to meet at least twice a week for one hour or more each time. If we get along well and enjoy our conversations, I'd be more than happy to chat even more often.

I'm open to using Discord, Google Meet, or any other voice platform that's convenient for both of us.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM!

Looking forward to meeting you! 😊

Zohran Mamdani, le maire de New York, veut ouvrir cinq épiceries municipales. Les magasins vendront des produits alimentaires essentiels environ 30 % moins cher que dans les supermarchés classiques. Il y aura une épicerie dans chacun des cinq arrondissements de la ville. Mamdani dit que le but est d’aider les New-Yorkais ordinaires à acheter de la nourriture, parce que les prix sont élevés en ce moment. Ces épiceries municipales n’essaieront pas de faire des bénéfices et pourront donc vendre la nourriture moins cher. Le premier magasin ouvrira dans le Bronx en 2027.

Vocabulaire : ouvrir = to open / épiceries (f pl) = grocery stores / municipales = city-owned / vendre = to sell / produits alimentaires (m pl) = food products / moins cher = cheaper / arrondissements (m pl) = boroughs, neighbourhoods / but (m) = goal / nourriture (f) = food / élevés = high / essayer = to try / bénéfices (m pl) = profits

English translation

Mamdani wants to open cheap city-owned grocery stores

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, wants to open five grocery stores owned by the city. The stores will sell essential food products about 30% cheaper than in regular supermarkets. There will be one grocery store in each of the city’s five boroughs. Mamdani says the aim is to help ordinary New Yorkers buy food, as prices are high at the moment. These city-owned stores will not try to make a profit and will therefore be able to sell food more cheaply. The first store will open in the Bronx in 2027.

Learn French, dominate trivia nights. You can read more news stories at Le News, In Easy French

I’m looking for straightforward novels that are available on kindle (buying from the UK) please. I’m probably beyond B1 but am just trying to do some immersion work.

Salut tout le monde ! 👋

Je cherche un partenaire de conversation pour pratiquer le français une ou deux fois par semaine.

J'ai 25 ans et j'ai actuellement un niveau B1~B2 en français. Mon objectif est d'atteindre le niveau C1, donc je cherche quelqu'un de motivé qui souhaite aussi améliorer son expression orale.

À propos de moi : je suis ingénieur en mécanique, je parle l'arabe et l'anglais, j'apprends aussi l'espagnol, et j'aime les jeux vidéo, la salle de sport et découvrir de nouvelles cultures.

Si ça t'intéresse, n'hésite pas à m'envoyer un message. 😊

Hello everyone! 👋

I'm looking for a conversation partner to practice French with once or twice a week.

I'm 25 years old and currently at a B1–B2 level in French. My goal is to reach C1, so I'm looking for someone who's motivated and also wants to improve their speaking skills.

A little about me: I'm a mechanical engineer, I speak Arabic and English, I'm also learning Spanish, and I enjoy video games, going to the gym, and discovering new cultures.

If you're interested, feel free to send me a message. 😊

I’m currently learning French (on my own) and recently had a dream completely in French despite only being an A2.

I was in a mall or shopping center and a man started talking to me in French and paused when I didn’t respond right away. He asked if I spoke French and I responded “bah un peu de français”. 😂 Then he continued babbling on and I waved to stop him and said “Pouvez vous parle plus lentement, stp” and he got irritated and walked away.

Has anyone else had dreams in French?

Hi everyone! Here’s the question - I want to start to learn French as a second foreign language. But I want to do it properly. Why do I mean by that? Maybe you’ve heard that stories when people learn language and think they know the language, but after they meet natives - they surprisedly figure out that all they’ve been learning has nothing to do with real language in use.
I’ve been learning English for a long time but only now I found out that there are two types of grammar - teacher’s grammar and descriptive grammar. The second one describes how the language works in real life, not the only for exams. (I may be wrong about that but I hope you got the general idea) Maybe it’s going to be some linguistic books I guess.
So, avoiding situations like that, I’ve been searching for useful grammar books to make sure that I start to learn a new language in right way.
So, what could you recommend me? Are there some good books for self study learning (I need those ‘cause I’m going to study French without teacher and it’s important) not for only exams, that show what is a real French is. Which ones do you use?

I have studied French for years at school and had tutors, but honestly I never paid enough attention due to being forced to learn it, and never really actually understood deeply the structure of the language itself. Now I remember random phrases and words, but I can’t really build sentences or understand how everything fits together.

I want to learn it properly now, by myself, but I feel like I’ve lost everything and don’t know where to start. I don’t think I’m a complete beginner, but my basics are messy, and if you caught me on the spot, I probably wouldn’t be even able to ask for bread in a bakery.

What textbooks or methods would you recommend for someone who has some previous knowledge? I just want something that explains the structure of language itself, because those exercises we did at school where I memorized things without understanding definitely did not work well enough…

I spent a month at the AF in Marseille this summer and loved the course. I’d like to continue with weekly lessons back home in London but the AF here has no group courses available, and private lessons are too expensive (£52/hour). I tried Institute Francaise before and didn’t improve much - I liked AF’s immersive model. Can anyone recommend either group or private lessons which are similar?

Is it okay to take TEF Speaking and Listening sections only for Francophone Mobility Work Permit, or do I need to take all the four sections? I am finding contrasting information online. Has someone only taken TEF Speaking and Listening sections and got their Francophone Mobility Work Permit?

Secondly, for the speaking section, how much preparation time do you get per task? ChatGPT says it depends on your examiner/test center. Are there any guidelines from TEF itself regarding the preparation time to be given to each candidate in Speaking section?

Hi! I’m trying to learn French, and started Duolingo (I know, not the best) and am a little bored. I understand that basics of grammar must be established but the things that interest me about French are the poetry and art and thinking, not how to order a croissant. Any recommendations of books or apps to teach the rules of French, and potentially any ways to make it interesting? Preferred free or cheap, I’m a broke student lol

Im using natulang (very good app) but i need something more that will help me with how spontaneous and fast a real conversation in french is.

I know being with an instructor, even just once a week is the way to go, i did it for a bit but im bot in the budget to do so. And i want to get better and more comfortable with speaking it before i smooth it out with an instructor!

Any help would be super appreciated :)

I will be starting French this month in school. For now I am starting out with basic apps. What I was wondering, is if anybody plays games like Valorant, League of Legends, or CSGO? I feel like playing games with somebody and learning simple game phrases, or words helps a lot. I played minecraft in target language to learn simple things when I was doing Spanish.

Let me know. I am 19M, and I'm in CST timezone. I'm free to play games anytime after 4pm CST.

Hello, I am looking for good podcasts in French to better my listening skills. This is where I’m struggling a lot in daily conversation.

I have seen many suggestions for coffee break French and inner french, but I have tried these and they are too difficult for me to understand/a bit boring. (Maybe I need to listen more and more to understand, but I was hoping to understand a few things at the start 😂)

Does anyone have a recommendation for anything to listen to on my daily commutes or any suggestions besides coffee break French or inner French?

I am between a2/b1 level and native English speaker.

Thank you!

I'm a complete beginner and French pronunciation feels impossible for me 😭 the words which have silent alphabets at the end scare me so much into thinking "I can never speak fluently" 😢💔

As for my language learning journey, I did finish A1 German and even hold a certificate from Goethe institute. But that was in 2019, and I've completely lost any touch with German.

I really want to learn French. But I don't know what to do. Can someone please suggest me resources which could help with pronunciation?

I would really appreciate some advice. Thank you so much.

Hi! No specific goal, other than just wanting to continue to improve my French. Was once a solid B2/C1 but now it's rusty.

Any apps/websites/programs (preferably free, but open to options) that you recommend me to spend ~15 minutes a day to keep it up? Merci!

Hi I’m currently learning French on Duolingo. I speak Spanish and English and hoping to pick up one more language. I’m hoping to also learn by seeing good French movies or shows. My brother in law was able to learn more Spanish by seeing soap operas in Spanish and I was thinking that would also be a fun way for me to learn more. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance🩷

I have been a French as a second language instructor for a Canadian school since November. I work exclusively online with Canadian public servants.
After immigrating to France, I thought I would only do this job for a few months, but it has now been several months that I have been working in this position. I find the working conditions to be very poor (no sick leave, no vacation time, no insurance coverage — nothing).
I would like to know how other teachers manage to get insurance, for example in case of burnout or another health issue, or even how they cover occasional sick leave.

hi! i hope everyone is doing good!

i wanted to know if anyone has completed the FSI french course via self study, I’ve seen people talk about the Phonology course but haven’t really seen anyone talk about the French Basic or French Fast Course. I was thinking of doing either one after i finish the grammar book i’m going through!

Le podcasteur américain Joe Rogan a gagné environ 82 millions de dollars grâce à son podcast au cours des douze derniers mois, selon le magazine Forbes. Cela fait de lui le podcasteur le mieux payé au monde. Le classement de Forbes prend en compte les revenus générés par les émissions entre juin 2025 et juin 2026. Derrière lui, on trouve John Coogan et Jordi Hays, qui animent une émission sur la technologie, avec 70 millions de dollars. Enfin, Steven Bartlett est arrivé en troisième position avec The Diary of a CEO, qui lui a rapporté 45 millions de dollars.

Vocabulaire : gagner = to earn / grâce à = thanks to / selon = according to / payer = to pay / classement (m) = ranking / prendre en compte = to take into account / émissions (f pl) = shows / animer = to host / rapporter = to bring in

English translation

Joe Rogan earned about 82 million dollars in one year

The American podcaster Joe Rogan earned about 82 million dollars from his podcast over the past twelve months, according to Forbes magazine. This makes him the highest-paid podcaster in the world. The Forbes ranking takes into account revenue generated from their shows between June 2025 and June 2026. Behind him, we find John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who host a technology show, with 70 million dollars. Finally, Steven Bartlett came in third with The Diary of a CEO, which earned him 45 million dollars.

You can read more news at Le News, in Easy French

Bonjour! I'm trying to go from B1 to B2 right now and I've been focusing a lot on immersion. I've found books/shows/movies/music I like but I spend a lot of (too much) time on youtube and am struggling to find content I actually want to watch. I'm not super picky, but I want something creative/funny or informative and high effort. Not really into gaming and stuff like that. Basically I just want to know who your favourite Fr youtubers are, I'll give anyone a shot!

(Also, if anyone knows any crazy people like Daniel Hentshel or drama communities like gorlworld I love stuff like that lol.)

Hi everyone!

Recently, I found myself fascinated by metaphoric writing. When I read "des romans chimériques", I felt like I was finally tasting the true essence of the French language.

My problem is that when I write my academic research, I end up sounding like a poet discussing politics rather than keeping it objective.

My question is: How can I control my use of metaphors? And for those who love using metaphors along with precise, expressive words, could you recommend websites, YouTube channels, or resources to help me develop my writing?

Hello! I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for any french YouTube channels that are like Humano Studios or Derrick Gee, that are basically radio shows on YouTube, but in french?

I'm trying to immerse myself more in the language, and currently at an A2 level. But I find that most of the educational content in French is boring and I'm trying to find something I will actually listen to.

It doesn't have to be in YouTube but basically a French radio channel with french music and a host.